Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders | Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Definition

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADE) is a neurological disorder involving inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. A hallmark of the disorder is damage to the myelin sheath that surrounds the nerve fibers in the brain, which results in the inflammation.

Description

Acute disseminating encephalomyelitis was first described in the mid-eighteenth century. The English physician who first described the disorder noted its association with people who had recently recovered from smallpox. Symptoms often develop without warning. As well, mental disorientation can occur. The disorder is also known as postinfectious encephalomyelitis and immune-mediated encephalomyelitis. The nerve demyelination that occurs in ADE also occurs in multiple sclerosis. However, the two maladies differ in that multiple sclerosis is long...