Seminars in neurology
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Seminars in neurology · Feb 2008
ReviewAcute disseminated encephalomyelitis: current understanding and controversies.
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an uncommon monophasic idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disease. Available diagnostic criteria do not reliably distinguish it from first presentations of relapsing diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO). ⋯ We review pathological differences between ADEM and MS in terms of their utility in the diagnosis of ADEM. Finally, we present a practical approach for management of patients suspected of having ADEM when the diagnosis is uncertain.