Tumefactive multiple sclerosis, also called Balo’s disease, is a rare type of multiple sclerosis that looks like a brain tumor. Multiple sclerosis is a disease that affects the myelin sheath, or coating, that protects nerve fibers, leading to nerve damage.

Symptoms of tumefactive multiple sclerosis differ from the more common type of multiple sclerosis. Symptoms of tumefactive multiple sclerosis include headaches, fatigue, weakness, mental confusion, difficulty speaking, difficulty understanding speech, difficulty with the muscles controlling speech, and seizures. In individuals with tumefactive multiple sclerosis, an MRI scan reveals a lesion in the brain that is larger than two centimeters and similar in appearance to a brain tumor. Most individuals with tumefactive multiple sclerosis experience remissions and relapses of the disease.

There is currently no cure for tumefactive multiple sclerosis. Treatment for tumefactive multiple sclerosis is focused on alleviating the symptoms and includes corticosteroids; plasma exchange; antidepressants; muscle relaxants, such as baclofen, tizanidine, and cyclobenzaprine; medications to treat fatigue, such as amantadine, modafinil, and methyfenidate; and medications to manage frequent urination. Individuals who develop relapsing-remitting tumefactive multiple sclerosis may be treated with disease-modifying therapies commonly used for multiple sclerosis, such as ocrelizumab, interferon beta, glatiramer acetate, fingolimod, dimethyl fumarate, diroximel fumarate, teriflunomide, Siponimod, cladribine, natalizumab, and alemtuzumab; the chemotherapy drug, cyclophosphamide; and physical and occupational therapy.