Patients with which of the following diseases would most likely have a normal EEG tracing?

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that primarily affects the myelin sheath of nerve fibers, leading to a variety of neurological symptoms. However, in the early stages or even at certain points during the disease progression, patients may have a fairly normal EEG tracing. This is due to the fact that multiple sclerosis can present with a variety of symptoms that may not directly alter the brain's electrical activity in a way that is detectable on an EEG.

While other conditions such as advanced Alzheimer's disease can show distinct changes like generalized slowing and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease typically causes abnormal discharges due to its prion-related pathology, and herpes encephalitis can lead to specific localized abnormalities, multiple sclerosis does not consistently produce these changes, especially in earlier stages. Consequently, it is possible for EEG results to appear normal in patients with multiple sclerosis, particularly in the absence of active lesions or during stable periods in their illness.