What are the symptoms of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis?

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What are the symptoms of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis?

More than half of patients have an illness, usually an infection, two to four weeks before developing ADEM. Most of these illnesses are viral or bacterial, often no more than an upper respiratory tract infection. In children with ADEM, prolonged and severe headaches occur. In addition, the patient develops fevers during the ADEM course.

Along with this pattern, the patients usually get neurological symptoms which may include:

  • Confusion, drowsiness, and even coma
  • Unsteadiness and falling
  • Visual blurring or double vision (occasionally)
  • Trouble swallowing
  • Weakness of the arms or legs

In adults with ADEM, motor (movement) and sensory (tingling, numbness) symptoms tend to be more common. Overall, what triggers a diagnosis of ADEM is a rapidly developing illness with neurological symptoms, often with fever and headache, usually following an upper respiratory tract infection, and which has significant MRI and spinal fluid findings consistent with ADEM.

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