Prior to a diagnosis being made, a physician will suspect ADEM when a patient presents with headache, confusion, seizures, drowsiness, loss of vision, weakness, numbness, loss of bladder control and loss of coordination of the limbs preceeded by a viral infection or vaccination. The physician will make the diagnosis of ADEM by performing blood tests and xrays to look for signs of recent infection, examining the spinal fluid to exclude other processes which can look like ADEM, and an MRI of the brain and/or spinal cord which will show inflammation of the myelin sheaths and confirm the diagnosis.
Prior to a diagnosis being made, a physician will suspect ADEM when
a patient presents with headache, confusion, seizures, drowsiness,
loss of vision, weakness, numbness, loss of bladder control and
loss of coordination of the limbs preceeded by a...
More
Dr. Darshan Shah of NorthShore University HealthSystem answered:Prior to a diagnosis being made, a physician will suspect ADEM when a patient presents with headache, confusion, seizures, drowsiness, loss of vision, weakness, numbness, loss of bladder control and loss of coordination of the limbs preceeded by a viral infection or vaccination. The physician will make the diagnosis of ADEM by performing blood tests and xrays to look for signs of recent infection, examining the spinal fluid to exclude other processes which can look like ADEM, and an MRI of the brain and/or spinal cord which will show inflammation of the myelin sheaths and confirm the diagnosis.Prior to a diagnosis being made, a physician will suspect ADEM when a patient presents with headache, confusion, seizures, drowsiness, loss of vision, weakness, numbness, loss of bladder control and loss of coordination of the limbs preceeded by a... More