Abstract

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an autoimmune and monophasic central nervous system disease that principally affects brain and spinal cord by causing non-vasculitic inflammatory diffuse demyelination. ADEM is one of the rare causes of impaired consciousness in childhood. Incidence of the disease under the age of 20 is 1.5-3 / 100000 per year and it mostly occurs in children between the ages of 5-8 years. Underlying causes aren't defined clearly yet, however, infections and vaccinations are known as predisposing factors for the disease. Multifocal white matter lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are characteristic signs of ADEM. In our case, hyperintense lesions in cerebrum were detected on cranial MRI subsequent to impaired consciousness and convulsion. No specific feature was found in cerebrospinal fluid analysis of the patient. In this paper, we present a three-year-old boy who developed ADEM subsequent to viral upper respiratory tract infection and had full recovery after high dose steroid therapy.

Key words: Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis; Cranial MRI; Multiple Lesions; High Dose Steroid Treatment.