What is Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis?

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis is a condition in which the myelin sheath, a fatty substance that covers and protects nerve cells throughout the body, becomes damaged and can no longer effectively guard nerve cells. Damage to the myelin sheath will often cause swelling or irritation in the spinal cord or brain cells. This condition can lead to partial or full paralysis or even become fatal in rare cases.

One of the main causes of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis is infection. The infection can be either viral or bacterial, but it may lead to destruction of the myelin sheath. Another, rarer, possible cause of the condition are vaccinations, which may result in myelin sheath damage. These causes are more likely to occur in children, but can also affect adults as well.

The symptoms of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis tend to progress and gradually worsen. Some of the more common beginning symptoms of the condition include fatigue, headache, pain or difficulty moving the neck, nausea, or a sudden drop in weight. As the condition gets more serious, a person may experience loss of vision, convulsions, or hallucinations. In the most serious cases, a patient may experience paralysis on one or both sides of his or her body. The exact time frame of the progression of the symptoms may vary for each individual, but can range from two days to one month.

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis may be effectively treated if the condition is still in a less serious form and has not progressed to paralysis. Medications containing steroids may be able to reduce symptoms and prevent additional myelin sheath damage from occurring, because the steroids may be able to reduce swelling and irritation. If the condition does not respond to the medication and starts to worsen, a doctor may prescribe pain medication to make a patient more comfortable and to improve the quality of his or her life.

How fully a patient recovers from the condition can vary widely and doctors typically do not know what causes one person to completely recover, while for another person, the condition may cause lifelong symptoms or even death. The earlier the condition is recognized and treated may have an impact on recovery; however, not all patients respond equally to it. Physical therapy may be helpful for people who experience paralysis as a symptom and can reduce the chances of it being permanent.

Although acute disseminated encephalomyelitis may be the result of vaccinations, it is very rare. Doctors do not generally recommend forgoing vaccinations to prevent the condition. The chances tend to be much higher that a person may develop diseases that vaccinations protect against if they skip the shots, which is usually more dangerous than the risk of myelin sheath damage.