Disseminated leukoencephalitis and multiple sclerosis: cause and effect

Aim: to define clinical and etiological, radiation and neurophysiological parameters determining the transformation of disseminated leukoencephalitis to multiple sclerosis in children. Materials and methods: clinical and etiological analysis of leukoencephalitis in 229 children aged 1-17 years old and their catamnesis for 5,5±1,8 years were performed. Morphostructural characteristic was made by brain and spinal cord MRI and multimodal provoked potentials. Results: The development of multiple sclerosis in children was observed in the outcome of leukoencephalitis chronic course in 44,4% of the cases and in 73,3% of the cases of mixed herpes viral infection (Epstein-Barr virus and 6 type herpes virus). Morphostructural features in the cases of leukoencephalitis in children depending on the disease course characterized by the prevalence of edematous and inflammatory character of CNS changes in the cases of an acute course, by demyelinating changes in the cases of a prolonged course, and by degenerative and demyelinating ones in the cases of a chronic course were determined. Administration of etiopathogenetic therapy for leukoencephalitis allows to achieve either a complete recovery or with the deficiency up to 2,5 points by EDSS in 96,6% in the cases of acute and prolonged course, and clinical and radiation remission in 50,1% and recovery in 5,5% in the cases of chronic course.