Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) can represent a diagnostic challenge for clinicians, as many disorders (inflammatory and noninflammatory) have a similar clinical and radiologic presentation. The diagnosis of ADEM depends on the history, physical examination, and supplemental neuroimaging. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis is an immunologically mediated inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in multifocal demyelinating lesions affecting the gray and white matter of the brain and spinal cord.
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis should be adequately defined and distinguished from other diseases affecting the white matter. In particular, a diagnostic challenge lies in distinguishing multiphasic forms of ADEM from multiple sclerosis (MS). Available diagnostic criteria do not reliably distinguish it from first presentations of relapsing diseases…
