title: Plasmapheresis in a child affected by acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.
abstract: We describe an eight year old girl with acute relapsing disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) who began to improve concomitantly with plasmapheresis therapy. The patient had previously undergone high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulins and Interferon beta-1b treatment which did not control the clinical course of the disease. The long term follow-up suggests that plasmapheresis is effective in this disorder and may give better results than steroids or IVIG.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Siena, Via M. Bracci, Le Scotte, 53100, Siena, Italy. balestri@unisi.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balestri
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grosso
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acquaviva
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernini
mesh_terms: D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D004673:Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010956:Plasmapheresis