experimental allergic encephalomyelitis

noun
variants: or experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Medical Definition of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis

: an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the brain and spinal cord that has been induced in laboratory animals and especially mice by injecting them with diseased tissue from affected animals or with myelin basic protein and that is used as an animal model in studying human multiple sclerosis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis Effectiveness in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis has been considered a prerequisite, but many therapies that are effective in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis are not useful in patients with multiple sclerosis.— Richard A. Rudick et al., The New England Journal of Medicine, 27 Nov. 1997 abbreviation EAE