Detection of Optic Neuritis on Routine Brain MRI without and with the Assistance of an Image Postprocessing Algorithm

Author(s):  
A. Schroeder ◽  
G. Van Stavern ◽  
H.L.P. Orlowski ◽  
L. Stunkel ◽  
M.S. Parsons ◽  
...  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabeel Badri ◽  
Mohamed Teleb ◽  
Saad Syed ◽  
Miraie Wardi ◽  
Mateo Porres-Aguilar ◽  
...  

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a rare disease, common in white females and rarely reported in Hispanic males. It is usually associated with recurrent demyelinating spectrum that is autoimmune in nature. The diagnosis is usually confirmed by antibody biomarkers; however, they can be negative and lead to more dilemma in diagnosis. Furthermore, the course of disease and prognosis are different in seronegative as compared to seropositive NMO. Treatment is similar in both subgroups with new approaches under investigation for seronegative NMO patients. We present an interesting case of a 37-year-old Hispanic male who presented with sudden onset of lower extremity weakness, numbness, blurry vision, and urinary retention. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the thoracic spine showed multiphasic demyelinating process involving the thoracic spinal cord. His brain MRI also revealed changes suggesting optic neuritis. The patient met the criteria for diagnosis of NMO by having optic neuritis and myelitis by imaging studies despite having negative aquaporin-4 antibodies (AQP4-Ab). His condition improved after plasma exchange. NMO can be difficult to distinguish from acute multiple sclerosis in the early stages of the disease. Having AQP4-Ab testing is important for diagnosis with imaging studies; however, negative antibody results cannot exclude the diagnosis, but rather group it in seronegative subtype. Ongoing studies and research suggest that seronegative NMO might have a different pathophysiology, manifestation, and prognosis.


Neurology ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1404-1413 ◽  
Author(s):  

The objective of our study was to assess the 5-year risk of and prognostic factors for the development of clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS) following optic neuritis. In a prospective cohort study design, 388 patients, who did not have probable or definite MS at study entry enrolled in the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial between 1988 and 1991, and were followed for the development of CDMS. The 5-year cumulative probability of CDMS was 30% and did not differ by treatment group. Neurologic impairment in the patients who developed CDMS was generally mild. Brain MRI performed at study entry was strong predictor of CDMS, with the 5-year risk of CDMS ranging from 16% in the 202 patients with no MRI lesions to 51% in the 89 patients with three or more MRI lesions. Independent of brain MRI, the presence of prior nonspecific neurologic symptoms was also predictive of the development of CDMS. Lack of pain, the presence of optic disk swelling, and mild visual acuity loss were features of the optic neuritis associated with a low risk of CDMS among the 189 patients who had no brain MRI lesions and no history of neurologic symptoms or optic neuritis in the fellow eye. The 5-year risk of CDMS following optic neuritis is highly dependent on the number of lesions present on brain MRI. However, even a normal brain MRI does not preclude the development of CDMS. In these patients with no brain MRI lesions, certain clinical features identify a subgroup with a particularly low 5-year risk of CDMS.


2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
J de Seze ◽  
C Lebrun ◽  
T Stojkovic ◽  
D Ferriby ◽  
M Chatel ◽  
...  

Devic's neuromyelitis optica (NMO) associates optic neuritis and myelopathy without other neurological signs. Many patients with NMO may be diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis (MS). However, there have been no previous studies comparing these two patho logies and it is still unclear if NMO is a separate entity or a subtype of MS. In the present study, we compared a series of NMO patients with a series of MS patients for whom optic neuritis or myelopathy was the presenting symptom, in order to determine the place of NMO in the spectrum of MS. We retrospectively studied 30 patients diagnosed with NMO and we compared these patients with 50 consecutive MS cases revealed by optic neuritis or acute myelopathy. MS patients were only included if a relapse occurred demonstrating time and space dissemination. We compared the two groups in terms of clinical presentatio n, laboratory findings (MRI and C SF) and clinical outcome. NMO patients were older and more frequently women than MS patients but the difference was not significant. C SF and MRI data were clearly different: oligoclonal bands (O C B) were found in 23% of NMO cases and 88% of MS (P B/0.001), abnormal brain MRI data were observed in 10% of NMO cases and 66% of MS (P B/0.001) and a large spinal cord lesion was observed in 67% of NMO cases and 7.4% of MS cases (P B/0.001). C linical outcome was evaluated as more severe in the NMO group (P B/0.001). O n the basis of clinical data, all NMO patients but three had dissemination in time and space. When we included MRI parameters, only two of the NMO patients met criteria for MS and one of the MS patients met criteria for NMO. O ur study demonstrates that NMO and MS should be considered as two different entities. The respective criteria for NMO and MS were able to distinguish these two patho logies but only when MRI data were applied. This finding could have implications for future therapeutic trials.


2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Tsakiri ◽  
Klaus Kallenbach ◽  
Dan Fuglø ◽  
Benedikte Wanscher ◽  
Henrik Larsson ◽  
...  

Background: In recent years, small-scale clinical trials have indicated that statins or 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase inhibitors exert pleiotropic immunomodulatory effects, with potential therapeutic implications in multiple sclerosis (MS). Objective: To investigate whether simvastatin treatment (80 mg daily for 6 months) in patients with optic neuritis (ON) had a beneficial effect on visual outcome and on brain MRI. Methods: Sixty-four patients with acute ON were randomized to simvastatin treatment ( n = 32) or placebo ( n = 32) for 6 months. None of the patients had been on immunosuppressive therapy for 6 months prior to inclusion or treated with steroids from symptom onset. Contrast sensitivity (Arden plates), visual acuity, colour perception, visual evoked potentials (VEP) – latency and amplitude, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, and gadolinium enhancing and T2 lesions on brain MRI were evaluated at screening visit, day 14 (except brain MRI), day 90 and day 180. Results: Simvastatin had a beneficial effect on VEP in both latency ( p = 0.01) and amplitude ( p = 0.01), a borderline effect on the Arden score ( p = 0.06) and VAS ( p = 0.04), and no effect on brain MRI or on relapse rate between the groups. Conclusion: This study provides Class I evidence that simvastatin 80 mg daily is well tolerated and possibly effective in patients with acute ON.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 102558
Author(s):  
Edgar Carnero Contentti ◽  
Guillermo Delgado-García ◽  
Pablo A. López ◽  
Juan Criniti ◽  
Juan Pablo Pettinicchi ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 807-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco A Lana-Peixoto ◽  
Dagoberto Callegaro

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) has been traditionally described as the association of recurrent or bilateral optic neuritis and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM). Identification of aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-IgG) has deeply changed the concept of NMO. A spectrum of NMO disorders (NMOSD) has been formulated comprising conditions which include both AQP4-IgG seropositivity and one of the index events of the disease (recurrent or bilateral optic neuritis and LETM). Most NMO patients harbor asymptomatic brain MRI lesions, some of them considered as typical of NMO. Some patients with aquaporin-4 autoimmunity present brainstem, hypothalamic or encephalopathy symptoms either preceding an index event or occurring isolatedly with no evidence of optic nerve or spinal involvement. On the opposite way, other patients have optic neuritis or LETM in association with typical lesions of NMO on brain MRI and yet are AQP4-IgG seronegative. An expanded spectrum of NMO disorders is proposed to include these cases.


2011 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquín A. Peña ◽  
María Elena Ravelo ◽  
Eduardo Mora-La Cruz ◽  
Cecilia Montiel-Nava

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical, neuroimaging characteristics and positivity of the acquaporin water channel (NMO-IgG) in pediatric patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO). This disorder could have a variable clinical expression. To address such variability, the term NMO spectrum has been suggested. METHOD: We evaluated six pediatric patients, with a median age of 11 years at the time of the study, with the diagnosis of NMO by the Wingerchuck criteria. RESULTS: All the cases exhibited bilateral optic neuritis (ON). Four patients had abnormalities on brain MRI from the onset,although only three of them developed symptoms correlated to those lesions during the course of their disorder. NMO-IgG was positive in 80%. CONCLUSION: Optic neuropathy is the most impaired feature in NMO patients. Brain MRI lesions are not compatible with multiple sclerosis and positivity of the NMO-IgG are also present in NMO pediatric patients, confirming the heterogeneity in the expression of this disorder.


2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1069-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
JH Min ◽  
HJ Kim ◽  
BJ Kim ◽  
KW Lee ◽  
IN Sunwoo ◽  
...  

Background and objectives Optic neuritis or longitudinally extensive myelitis in Sjogren syndrome (SS) suggests a neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). However, brain abnormalities of SS remain to be elucidated for the association with neuromyelitis optica (NMO). Methods Twelve primary SS patients (all women, 42 ± 13.2 years) who had recurrent central nervous system (CNS) manifestations with brain involvement were retrospectively identified. Brain MRI, and neurologic and serologic findings were analyzed with the measurement of anti-aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-Ab). Results All patients showed brain lesions characteristic of NMO as follows: 1) the involved sites adjacent to the third and fourth ventricles and in the posterior limb of the internal capsule, 2) unique configurations, such as the longitudinal course from the internal capsule to the midbrain, large cerebral or cerebellar lesions over 3 cm, and cavity-like formations. AQP4-Ab was positive in six of eight patients tested, and all the seropositive patients showed lesions with increased diffusion, suggestive of vasogenic edema. Four patients met the revised criteria of NMO, and nine had features of NMOSDs. Of the remaining three patients showing only brain involvement, one had AQP4-Ab. Conclusions This study demonstrates that SS patients with recurrent CNS involvement have brain abnormalities characteristic of NMO and AQP4-Ab in Korea. The presence of AQP4-Ab in one SS patient with only brain involvement may suggest that the coexistence of NMO should be explored in SS patients with recurrent CNS manifestations, even without optic neuritis or myelitis.


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