A Case of Multiple Sclerosis Presenting as Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis.

Han,  Sung Hye; Park,  Geun Soo; Lee,  Sang Lak; Kim,  Joon Sik; Kwon,  Tae Chan

Case Report

Journal of the Korean Child Neurology Society 1998;6(2):377-381.
Published online May 30, 1998.

A Case of Multiple Sclerosis Presenting as Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis.

Sung Hye Han, Geun Soo Park, Sang Lak Lee, Joon Sik Kim, Tae Chan Kwon

Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Taegu, Korea.

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis are demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system those can present initially as an acute focal demyelinating syndrome. Multiple sclerosis is characterized by a multiphasic disease with stepwise or progressive deterioration in neurologic function, whereas acute disseminated encephalomyelitis is a monophasic disease with good prognosis. So the differentiation of the two diseases in a patient with single clinical episode attributable to central nervous system demyelination is of prognostic importance, but the differentiation is not easy. We report a case of multiple sclerosis with spinal cord involvement initially misdiagnosed as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in the brain stem.

Key Words: Multiple Sclerosis, Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis