title: Masquerades of acquired demyelination in children: experiences of a national demyelinating disease program.
abstract: The diagnosis of acquired demyelinating syndromes of the central nervous system in children requires exclusion of other acute central nervous system disorders. In a 23-site national demyelinating disease study, standardized clinical, laboratory, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were obtained prospectively from onset, and serially at 3, 6, and 12 months and annually. Twenty of 332 (6%) participants (mean [SD] age, 10.21 [4.32] years; 12 (60%) female) were ultimately diagnosed with vascular disorders (primary or secondary central nervous system vasculitis, vasculopathy, stroke, or migraine, n = 11 children), central nervous system malignancy (n = 3), mitochondrial disease (n = 2), or central nervous system symptoms in the accompaniment of confirmed infection (n = 4). Red flags that may serve to distinguish disorders in the differential of acquired demyelination are described.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Toronto, Canada. julia.omahony@sickkids.ca
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Mahony
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bar-Or
authors.forename: Douglas L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: A Dessa
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Sadovnick
authors.forename: Ruth Ann
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Marrie
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Banwell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020293:Vasculitis, Central Nervous System / Q000473:pathology