Walsh & Hoyt: Optic Neuritis in Myelinoclastic Diffuse Sclerosis (Encephalitis Periaxialis Diffusa, Schilder's Disease)

In 1912, Schilder reportedthe case of a 12-year-oldgirl who experienced rapidly progressive mental deterioration associatedwith signs of increasedintracranial pressure and death within 19 weeks. Postmortem examination disclosed large, well-demarcated areas of demyelination in the white matter of both cerebral hemispheres anda number of smaller demyelinating foci that resembled the typical plaques of MS. There was a prominent inflammatory reaction in both types of lesions with relative sparing of axon cylinders.