Persistent pseudobulbar affect secondary to acute disseminated encephalomyelitis

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a common complication of central nervous system diseases such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological diseases, but it remains under-recognized and under-treated in the clinic. PBA caused by acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) has rarely been reported. Here, we report a 30-year-old Chinese woman who has experienced PBA from ADEM for 7 years. The patient’s principal manifestations were extreme emotions or tears when she saw, heard, or spoke about sad news or other sad things; the durations of these unmanageable emotions were often less than 30 sec, and they occurred at frequencies that ranged from one to several times a day. Occasionally, she laughed uncontrollably while people were talking despite a lack of funny or sad stimuli in the conversation or the surrounding environment. Thus, her social functioning was impaired. This case indicates that the long-term PBA can occur secondarily to ADEM, and this possibility should be considered clinically to ensure timely identification and treatment. Keywords: central nervous system disease; emotion; affective lability; pathological laughter and crying; involuntary emotional expression disorder; complication (Published: 18 March 2015) Citation: Socioaffective Neuroscience & Psychology 2015, 5 : 26210 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/snp.v5.26210