title: Clinical improvement precedes lesion size regression in a severe case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.
abstract: Here, we present a case of a severe acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) of a 42-year-old male patient. The diagnosis was established after brain biopsy and due to acutely evolving encephalopathy occurring in the context of atypical Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP). We analysed the prominent MRI white matter lesions using a three-dimensional algorithm as cutting-edge technique to study morphological abnormalities and correlated them to the clinical condition of the patient. We found a discrepancy between the lesion size and the clinical deficits of the patient, actually the clinical improvement antedated the regression of the white matter lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany. mark.stettner@med.uni-duesseldorf.de
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stettner
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Derksen
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Turowski
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Neuen-Jacob
authors.forename: Hans Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Hartung
authors.forename: Bernd C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Kieseier
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arendt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D004673:Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D056784:Leukoencephalopathies / Q000175:diagnosis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011019:Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / Q000150:complications*; D035583:Rare Diseases