The borderland of neuromyelitis optica
- 1Specialist Registrar in Neurology, Department of Clinical Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
- 2Core Medical Trainee, Department of Clinical Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
- 3Consultant Neurologist and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Oxford University Department of Clinical Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
- 4MRC/MNDA Lady Edith Wolfson Clinician Scientist and Honorary Consultant Neurologist, Oxford University Department of Clinical Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
- Correspondence to Dr Martin Turner, Department of Clinical Neurology, West Wing Level 3, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; martin.turner{at}clneuro.ox.ac.uk
Abstract
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO), also known as Devic’s disease, is an emerging clinical and pathological entity originally thought to be a variant of multiple sclerosis. Characterised by episodes of demyelination confined to the optic nerve and spinal cord, the discovery in such patients of antibodies to the aquaporin-4 channel has been largely responsible for defining the phenotype to date. Recently it has become clear that there is a borderland where there are patients with optic neuritis-only and myelitis-only forms of the disease, and these may be seronegative in the early phase. We describe two cases of optic neuritis-only NMO, and explore the current understanding of the diagnosis and spectrum of NMO disorders.
Footnotes
-
Competing interests None.
-
Patient consent Obtained.
-
Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
