encephalomyelopathy

Any disease of both brain and spinal cord. [G. enkephalos, brain, + myelon, marrow, + pathos, suffering]

- carcinomatous e. SYN: paraneoplastic e..

- epidemic myalgic e. a disease superficially resembling poliomyelitis, characterized by diffuse involvement of the nervous system associated with myalgia.

- necrotizing e. [MIM*256000] SYN: Leigh disease.

- paracarcinomatous e. SYN: paraneoplastic e..

- paraneoplastic e. an e. as a remote effect of carcinoma, most often oat cell carcinoma of the lung; characterized by extensive nerve cell loss, which may be diffuse, but often predominates in particular portions of the central nervous system, particularly the limbic lobes, medulla, cerebellum, and gray matter of the spinal cord. SYN: carcinomatous e., encephalomyelitis associated with carcinoma, paracarcinomatous e..

- subacute necrotizing e. (SNE) a rare fatal disorder, primarily of children, being both acute and chronic in onset, manifested primarily as brainstem dysfunction, with ataxia, cranial nerve palsies, pseudobulbar palsy, hemi- or quadriplegia, mental deterioration, and involuntary movements; deficiencies of pyruvate dehydrogenase or cytochrome C oxidase have been found in some patients; pathologically, there is widespread symmetric necrosis involving much of the brainstem; these changes are similar to those seen with Wernicke encephalopathy.

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en·ceph·a·lo·my·elop·a·thy -.mī-ə-'läp-ə-thē n, pl -thies any disease that affects the brain and spinal cord

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n.

any condition in which there is widespread disease of the brain and spinal cord. Necrotizing encephalomyelopathy of childhood is a progressive illness with extensive destruction of nerve cells throughout the central nervous system. It is thought to be caused by a disorder of metabolism.

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en·ceph·a·lo·my·elop·a·thy (en-sef″ə-lo-mi″əl-opґə-the) [encephalo- + myelopathy] any disease or diseased condition of the brain and spinal cord.