title: Persistent pseudobulbar affect secondary to acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.
abstract: Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a common complication of central nervous system diseases such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological diseases, but it remains under-recognized and under-treated in the clinic. PBA caused by acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) has rarely been reported. Here, we report a 30-year-old Chinese woman who has experienced PBA from ADEM for 7 years. The patient's principal manifestations were extreme emotions or tears when she saw, heard, or spoke about sad news or other sad things; the durations of these unmanageable emotions were often less than 30 sec, and they occurred at frequencies that ranged from one to several times a day. Occasionally, she laughed uncontrollably while people were talking despite a lack of funny or sad stimuli in the conversation or the surrounding environment. Thus, her social functioning was impaired. This case indicates that the long-term PBA can occur secondarily to ADEM, and this possibility should be considered clinically to ensure timely identification and treatment.
authors: Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, China; lizdsysu@163.com.
authors: Zhendong
authors: Z
authors: Li
authors: Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, China.
authors: Shijian
authors: S
authors: Luo
authors: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, China.
authors: Jianying
authors: J
authors: Ou
authors: Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, China.
authors: Rihe
authors: R
authors: Huang
authors: Department of Radiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, China.
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Wang
keywords: affective lability; central nervous system disease; complication; emotion; involuntary emotional expression disorder; pathological laughter and crying