Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Over the past decade there has been an exponential increase in studies related to demyelinating diseases in children. Demyelinating disease in children may be monophasic or chronic. Typical monophasic disorders in children are acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) including optic neuritis (ON) and transverse myelitis (TM). However some cases of ADEM or CIS progress to become chronic disorders including multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO). This chapter summarizes the current knowledge on monophasic and chronic demyelinating disorders in children, focusing on demographic features, clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, disease course, imaging and biomarker findings as well as treatment and long-term outcomes.