Gadolinium enhancement in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a widespread CNS inflammation that usually follows an infection or vaccination. We present a case of ADEM, which in addition to the typical MR findings, demonstrates gadolinium enhancement of several of the lesions. Since ADEM is usually a monophasic illness, it has been postulated that all lesions might enhance with paramagnetic contrast medium since they would all be expected to be active. Our case demonstrates enhancement of some of the lesions, without enhancement of others.