Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Archives of Disease in Childhood logoLink to Archives of Disease in Childhood
. 2003 Feb;88(2):122–124. doi: 10.1136/adc.88.2.122

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: recognition in the hands of general paediatricians

M Stonehouse 1, G Gupte 1, E Wassmer 1, W Whitehouse 1
PMCID: PMC1719460  PMID: 12538312

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (94.3 KB).

Figure 1 .

Figure 1

Open in a new tab

Coronal brain MRI T2 weighted image showing areas of T2 prolongation in subcortical white matter of both cerebral hemispheres, thalamus, cerebellar peduncles bilaterally, dentate nuclei, and upper cervical cord.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Apak R. A., Köse G., Anlar B., Turanli G., Topaloğlu H., Ozdirim E. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in childhood: report of 10 cases. J Child Neurol. 1999 Mar;14(3):198–201. doi: 10.1177/088307389901400312. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Broich K., Horwich D., Alavi A. HMPAO-SPECT and MRI in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. J Nucl Med. 1991 Oct;32(10):1897–1900. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Caldemeyer K. S., Harris T. M., Smith R. R., Edwards M. K. Gadolinium enhancement in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. J Comput Assist Tomogr. 1991 Jul-Aug;15(4):673–675. doi: 10.1097/00004728-199107000-00026. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dale R. C., de Sousa C., Chong W. K., Cox T. C., Harding B., Neville B. G. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, multiphasic disseminated encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis in children. Brain. 2000 Dec;123(Pt 12):2407–2422. doi: 10.1093/brain/123.12.2407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Easterbrook P. J., Smyth E. G. Post-infectious encephalomyelitis associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila infection. Postgrad Med J. 1992 Feb;68(796):124–128. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.68.796.124. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fisher R. S., Clark A. W., Wolinsky J. S., Parhad I. M., Moses H., Mardiney M. R. Postinfectious leukoencephalitis complicating Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. Arch Neurol. 1983 Feb;40(2):109–113. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1983.04050020071016. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hall M. C., Barton L. L., Johnson M. I. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis-like syndrome following group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection. J Child Neurol. 1998 Jul;13(7):354–356. doi: 10.1177/088307389801300711. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hartung H. P., Grossman R. I. ADEM: distinct disease or part of the MS spectrum? Neurology. 2001 May 22;56(10):1257–1260. doi: 10.1212/wnl.56.10.1257. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hynson J. L., Kornberg A. J., Coleman L. T., Shield L., Harvey A. S., Kean M. J. Clinical and neuroradiologic features of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in children. Neurology. 2001 May 22;56(10):1308–1312. doi: 10.1212/wnl.56.10.1308. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kanter D. S., Horensky D., Sperling R. A., Kaplan J. D., Malachowski M. E., Churchill W. H., Jr Plasmapheresis in fulminant acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Neurology. 1995 Apr;45(4):824–827. doi: 10.1212/wnl.45.4.824. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kanzaki A., Yabuki S. [Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) associated with cytomegalovirus infection--a case report]. Rinsho Shinkeigaku. 1994 May;34(5):511–513. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kesselring J., Miller D. H., Robb S. A., Kendall B. E., Moseley I. F., Kingsley D., du Boulay E. P., McDonald W. I. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. MRI findings and the distinction from multiple sclerosis. Brain. 1990 Apr;113(Pt 2):291–302. doi: 10.1093/brain/113.2.291. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. McDonald W. I., Compston A., Edan G., Goodkin D., Hartung H. P., Lublin F. D., McFarland H. F., Paty D. W., Polman C. H., Reingold S. C. Recommended diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: guidelines from the International Panel on the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Ann Neurol. 2001 Jul;50(1):121–127. doi: 10.1002/ana.1032. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Nasr J. T., Andriola M. R., Coyle P. K. ADEM: literature review and case report of acute psychosis presentation. Pediatr Neurol. 2000 Jan;22(1):8–18. doi: 10.1016/s0887-8994(99)00116-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Patel S. P., Friedman R. S. Neuropsychiatric features of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: a review. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1997 Fall;9(4):534–540. doi: 10.1176/jnp.9.4.534. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Pohl-Koppe A., Burchett S. K., Thiele E. A., Hafler D. A. Myelin basic protein reactive Th2 T cells are found in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. J Neuroimmunol. 1998 Nov 2;91(1-2):19–27. doi: 10.1016/s0165-5728(98)00125-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Poser C. M., Paty D. W., Scheinberg L., McDonald W. I., Davis F. A., Ebers G. C., Johnson K. P., Sibley W. A., Silberberg D. H., Tourtellotte W. W. New diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: guidelines for research protocols. Ann Neurol. 1983 Mar;13(3):227–231. doi: 10.1002/ana.410130302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Py M. O., André C. Encefalomielite disseminada aguda e vacinaço antimeningocócica A e C. Relato de caso. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 1997 Sep;55(3B):632–635. doi: 10.1590/s0004-282x1997000400020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Sahlas D. J., Miller S. P., Guerin M., Veilleux M., Francis G. Treatment of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis with intravenous immunoglobulin. Neurology. 2000 Mar 28;54(6):1370–1372. doi: 10.1212/wnl.54.6.1370. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Schwarz S., Mohr A., Knauth M., Wildemann B., Storch-Hagenlocher B. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: a follow-up study of 40 adult patients. Neurology. 2001 May 22;56(10):1313–1318. doi: 10.1212/wnl.56.10.1313. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Straub J., Chofflon M., Delavelle J. Early high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: a successful recovery. Neurology. 1997 Oct;49(4):1145–1147. doi: 10.1212/wnl.49.4.1145. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Stüve O., Zamvil S. S. Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Curr Opin Neurol. 1999 Aug;12(4):395–401. doi: 10.1097/00019052-199908000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Sztajnbok J., Lignani L., Jr, Bresolin A. U., Marotto P. C., Seguro A. C. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: an unusual cause of encephalitic syndrome in childhood. Pediatr Emerg Care. 1998 Feb;14(1):36–38. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Wei T. Y., Baumann R. J. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis after Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Pediatr Neurol. 1999 Jul;21(1):503–505. doi: 10.1016/s0887-8994(99)00028-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Yamamoto K., Takayanagi M., Yoshihara Y., Murata Y., Kato S., Otake M., Nakagawa H. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. Acta Paediatr Jpn. 1996 Feb;38(1):46–51. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-200x.1996.tb03434.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Archives of Disease in Childhood are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES