Idiopathic Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases - Diseases Included in This Category

Diseases Included in This Category

The list of these diseases depends of the author, but usually are included:

• Standard multiple sclerosis, the most known and extended variant.
• Optic-spinal MS, or Opticospinal, variant which often include visual symptoms and have a more severe course than typical MS. Though multiple scars (scleroses) are present in CNS, and sometimes Poser criteria classifies it as clinically definite multiple sclerosis, currently is considered outside the scope of Multiple Sclerosis and inside the scope of Devic's disease, though is not sure if this applies to all cases.
• Devic's disease, currently considered a separate disease

• Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis or ADEM, a closely related disorder in which a known virus or vaccine triggers autoimmunity against myelin.

• Acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis, possibly a variant of Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis

• Balo concentric sclerosis, an unusual presentation of plaques forming concentrenic circles, which can sometimes get better spontaneously.

• Schilder disease or diffuse myelinoclastic sclerosis: is a rare disease that presents clinically as a pseudotumoural demyelinating lesion; and is more common in children.

• Marburg multiple sclerosis, an aggressive form, also known as malignant, fulminant or acute MS.

• Tumefactive Multiple sclerosis: lesions whose size is more than 2 cm, with mass effect, oedema and/or ring enhancement

• Solitary sclerosis: This variant has been recently proposed (2012) by Mayo Clinic researches. It is defined as isolated demyelinating lesions which produce a progressive myelopathy similar to primary progressive MS.

Some others sources include in the list also other conditions associated with the presence of the scleroses

• Optic neuritis (monophasic and recurrent)
• Transverse myelitis (monophasic and recurrent)

As MS is an active field for research, the list is not closed or definitive. For example, some diseases like Susac's syndrome (MS has an important vascular component), Myalgic encephalomyelitis (aka Chronic fatigue syndrome) or autoimmune variants of peripheral neuropathies like Guillain-Barré syndrome or Progressive inflammatory neuropathy could be included assuming the autoimmune model. Also Leukodystrophy (which see) and its sub-conditions: Adrenoleukodystrophy and Adrenomyeloneuropathy could be in the list. Venous induced demyelination has also been proposed as a hypothetical MS variant produced by CCSVI.