Clinical and neurovisual signs of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) in childhood
The description of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) in children - the disease having autoimmune nature and being characterized by the development of foci of demyelination in the brain and spinal cord, is been presented. By its character ADEM refers to secondary encephalomyelitides. The damages of the nervous system in ADEM commonly appear 2-4 weeks, but sometimes and more, after precedent disease manifested with respiratory or intestinal symptoms on the background of temperature response. The main difference of ADEM from primary encephalomyelitis consists in autoimmune genesis of neurological disorders - occurrence of foci of demyelination due to sensibilization of own lymphocytes and activation of humoral immune reactions directed against epitopes of myelin antigens. The questions on clinical picture, differential diagnosis and prognosis of the diseases are discussed.