Acute pulmonary oedema: presenting symptom of multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Acute pulmonary oedema and headache are both common. The former is usually cardiogenic in origin. Severe headache of sudden onset in a young person may be suggestive of subarachnoid headache. We describe a 24-year-old man who presented with headache and pulmonary oedema, finally ascribed to multiple sclerosis. This is the first report of neurogenic pulmonary oedema as the first symptom of multiple sclerosis. We review the neuroanatomical basis and experimental evidence for neurogenic pulmonary oedema.