Dataset Information

Neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis: Seeing differences through optical coherence tomography.

ABSTRACT: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that preferentially targets the optic nerves and spinal cord. The clinical presentation may suggest multiple sclerosis (MS), but a highly specific serum autoantibody against the astrocytic water channel aquaporin-4 present in up to 80% of NMO patients enables distinction from MS. Optic neuritis may occur in either condition resulting in neuro-anatomical retinal changes. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become a useful tool for analyzing retinal damage both in MS and NMO. Numerous studies showed that optic neuritis in NMO typically results in more severe retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell layer thinning and more frequent development of microcystic macular edema than in MS. Furthermore, while patients' RNFL thinning also occurs in the absence of optic neuritis in MS, subclinical damage seems to be rare in NMO. Thus, OCT might be useful in differentiating NMO from MS and serve as an outcome parameter in clinical studies.

SUBMITTER: Bennett JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4425816 | biostudies-other | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis: Seeing differences through optical coherence tomography.

Bennett J L JL de Seze J J Lana-Peixoto M M Palace J J Waldman A A Schippling S S Tenembaum S S Banwell B B Greenberg B B Levy M M Fujihara K K Chan K H KH Kim H J HJ Asgari N N Sato D K DK Saiz A A Wuerfel J J Zimmermann H H Green A A Villoslada P P Paul F F

Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) 20150206 6

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that preferentially targets the optic nerves and spinal cord. The clinical presentation may suggest multiple sclerosis (MS), but a highly specific serum autoantibody against the astrocytic water channel aquaporin-4 present in up to 80% of NMO patients enables distinction from MS. Optic neuritis may occur in either condition resulting in neuro-anatomical retinal changes. Optical coherence tomography (OC ...[more]

PMID: 25662342

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Project description:Background: Progressive retinal neuroaxonal damage after acute optic neuritis may occur in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). However, it is unclear if treatments used to prevent attacks influence neurodegeneration. Objectives: We aimed to investigate retinal damage in patients treated with disease-modifying drugs in a longitudinal study. Methods: We retrospectively included 50 patients with aquaporin 4-antibody-seropositive NMOSD. Peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness, macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC) thickness, total macular volume (TMV), and optic disc measures were acquired by spectral domain optical coherence tomography in patients treated with tocilizumab, rituximab, and azathioprine. Results: Longitudinally, in eyes with a history of ON (NMOSDON+), we observed annual thinning of mGCC [tocilizumab: -1.77 (-3.44, -0.09) μm, p = 0.041; rituximab: -2.03 (-3.58, -0.48) μm, p = 0.017; azathioprine: -1.79 (-2.22, -1.37) μm, p < 0.001], and pRNFL [tocilizumab: -2.07 (-0.75, -3.39) μm, p = 0.005; rituximab: -2.18 (-0.36, -4.00) μm, p = 0.023; azathioprine: -2.37 (-0.98, -3.75) μm, p = 0.003], reduced TMV [tocilizumab: -0.12 (-0.22, -0.01) mm3, p = 0.028; rituximab: -0.15 (-0.21, -0.08) mm3, p = 0.001; azathioprine: -0.12 (-0.20, -0.04) mm3, p = 0.006], and increased cup area [tocilizumab: 0.08 (-0.01, 0.16) mm2, p = 0.010; rituximab: 0.07 (0.01, 0.12) mm2, p = 0.019; azathioprine: 0.14 (0.02, 0.26) mm2, p = 0.023]. However, we detected no significant differences in annual changes in mGCC, pRNFL, TMV, and cup area between patients with tocilizumab, rituximab, and azathioprine in NMOSDON+ eyes. NMOSDON- eyes did not display mGCC or pRNFL thinning in patients treated with tocilizumab and rituximab. Intriguingly, we observed significant thinning of mGCC in patients treated with azathioprine compared with tocilizumab [-0.84 (-1.50, -0.18) μm vs. -0.19 (-0.87, 0.48) μm, p = 0.012] and rituximab [-0.84 (-1.50, -0.18) μm vs. -0.07 (-1.25, -2.51) μm, p = 0.015] in NMOSDON- eyes. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that retinal ganglion cell loss is independent of ON attacks in NMOSD. Tocilizumab and rituximab may delay mGCC thinning in NMOSDON- eyes compared with azathioprine.

Project description:BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Both clinical and imaging criteria must be met to diagnose neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and multiple sclerosis. However, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders are often misdiagnosed as MS because of an overlap in MR imaging features. The purpose of this study was to confirm imaging differences between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and MS with visually detailed quantitative analyses of large-sample data. MATERIALS AND METHODS:We retrospectively examined 89 consecutive patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (median age, 51 years; range, 16-85 years; females, 77; aquaporin 4 immunoglobulin G-positive, 93%) and 89 with MS (median age, 36 years; range, 18-67 years; females, 68; relapsing-remitting MS, 89%; primary-progressive MS, 7%; secondary-progressive MS, 2%) from 9 institutions across Japan (April 2008 to December 2012). Two neuroradiologists visually evaluated the number, location, and size of all lesions using the Mann-Whitney U test or the Fisher exact test. RESULTS:We enrolled 79 patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and 87 with MS for brain analysis, 57 with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and 55 with MS for spinal cord analysis, and 42 with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and 14 with MS for optic nerve analysis. We identified 911 brain lesions in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, 1659 brain lesions in MS, 86 spinal cord lesions in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, and 102 spinal cord lesions in MS. The frequencies of periventricular white matter and deep white matter lesions were 17% and 68% in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders versus 41% and 42% in MS, respectively (location of brain lesions, P < .001). We found a significant difference in the distribution of spinal cord lesions between these 2 diseases (P = .024): More thoracic lesions than cervical lesions were present in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (cervical versus thoracic, 29% versus 71%), whereas they were equally distributed in MS (46% versus 54%). Furthermore, thoracic lesions were significantly longer than cervical lesions in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (P = .001), but not in MS (P = .80). CONCLUSIONS:Visually detailed quantitative analyses confirmed imaging differences, especially in brain and spinal cord lesions, between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and MS. These observations may have clinical implications.

Dataset Information

Neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis: Seeing differences through optical coherence tomography.

Publications

Neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis: Seeing differences through optical coherence tomography.

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