Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Introduction: Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADE) is a neurological disorder characterized by inflammation of the brain and spinal cord caused by damage ... more about Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis.

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis: A rare neurological disorder where an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord occurs due to damage to the protective covering (myelin sheath) around the nerves. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis is available below.

Symptoms of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

• Sudden onset
• Headache
• Delirium
• Lethargy
• Coma

See full list of 29 symptoms of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Medical Textbooks Online about Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis?

• Misdiagnosis of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis
• Underlying causes of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Misdiagnosis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness because he suffered from sudden inability to...read more »

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,...read more »

Mild traumatic brain injury often remains undiagnosed: Although the symptoms of severe brain injury are hard to miss, it is less clear for milder injuries, or even those causing a mild concussion diagnosis. The...read more »

MTBI misdiagnosed as balance problem: When a person has symptoms such as vertigo or dizziness, a diagnosis of brain injury may go overlooked. This is particularly true of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI),...read more »

Brain pressure condition often misdiagnosed as dementia: A condition that results from an excessive pressure of CSF within the brain is often misdiagnosed. It may be...read more »

Post-concussive brain injury often misdiagnosed: A study found that soldiers who had suffered a concussive injury in battle often were misdiagnosed on their return. A variety of symptoms can occur in post-concussion...read more »

Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Causes of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

• Viral infection
• Bacterial infection
• Vaccination side effect

Read more about causes of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

More information about causes of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis:

• Underlying causes of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Treatments for Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

• Corticosteroids

Read more about treatments for Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

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Prognosis for Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Prognosis for Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis: The prognosis for individuals with ADE varies. Some patients achieve complete or nearly complete recovery while others may have residual deficits. Some severe cases of ADE may be fatal. Overall, the prognosis is good when the disorder is diagnosed early and treated promptly. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis Information Page: NINDS)

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Reseach about Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Visit our research pages for current research about Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis treatments.

Clinical Trials for Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis include:

• Phase III Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Study of Plasma Exchange for Acute Severe Attacks of Inflammatory Demyelinating Disease Refractory to Intravenous Methylprednisolone - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)

Read more about Clinical Trials for Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

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Article Excerpts about Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADE) is a neurological disorder characterized by inflammation of the brain and spinal cord caused by damage to the myelin sheath. The myelin sheath is the fatty covering, which acts as an insulator, on nerve fibers in the brain. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis Information Page: NINDS)

Definitions of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis:

An acute or subacute inflammatory process of the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM characterized histologically by multiple foci of perivascular demyelination. Symptom onset usually occurs several days after an acute viral infection or immunization, but it may coincide with the onset of infection or rarely no antecedent event can be identified. Clinical manifestations include CONFUSION, somnolence, FEVER, nuchal rigidity, and involuntary movements. The illness may progress to COMA and eventually be fatal. (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p921) - (Source - Diseases Database)

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis, or a subtype of Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)