title: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.
abstract: The authors report 6 children with the diagnosis of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Diagnosis was based on clinical and radiological findings. The most common presenting symptoms were fever and disturbed consciousness, followed by cranial nerve abnormalities and pyramidal signs. Brain MRI showed hyperintense signals on T2-weighted images, most commonly in the subcortical and periventricular white matter, brainstem, basal ganglia and thalamus. The lesions were bilateral, asymmetrical and highly variable in size and number. A preceding infection was present in 3 of 6 children. Early high-dose corticosteroids were given to all the patients. All patients recovered clinically. Follow-up ranged from 10 months to 2 years. No relapses were observed during this period. Early high-dose steroid therapy seems to be an effective treatment in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Department of Pediatrics, Lokmanya Tilak Medical College & General Hospital, Sion, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balu
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shanbag
authors.forename: Vaishali
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: More
authors.forename: Mamta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vaidya
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004673:Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D008775:Methylprednisolone