Identification and measurement of cervical spinal cord atrophy in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and correlation with clinical characteristics and cervical spinal cord MRI data

Comparison of clinical characteristics between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders with and without spinal cord atrophy

BACKGROUND Spinal cord lesions is one of the predominant characteristics in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD). Interestingly, mounting evidence indicates that spinal cord atrophy (SCA) is one of common clinical features in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and correlates closely with the neurological disability. However, Clinical studies related to the SCA aspects of...

Cervical spinal cord atrophy

Objective To assess whether cervical spinal cord atrophy heralds the onset of progressive MS. Methods We studied 34 individuals with radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) and 31 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) age matched to 25 patients within a year of onset of secondary progressive MS (SPMS). Two raters independently measured (twice per rater) the cervical spinal cord average seg...

Author's response to reviews Title:Comparative clinical characteristics of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders with and without spinal cord atrophy Authors:

Magnetization Transfer MRI measurements of Cervical Spinal Cord abnormalities in patients with Neuromyelitis Optica

Objective: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory and demyelinating disease of central nervous system that preferentially affects the optic nerve and spinal cord. NMO has long been thought of as a rare and severe variant of multiple sclerosis (MS), however, clinical, immunological and pathological characteristics that distinguish it from MS are now recognized [1]. As NMO involves recurre...

Cervical spinal cord atrophy in NMOSD without a history of myelitis or MRI-visible lesions

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune disease that usually presents with optic neuritis or severe myelitis. NMOSD can be diagnosed after only one typical clinical syndrome if immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against the aquaporin-4 receptor (NMO-IgG) are present. Patients with NMOSD can develop marked spinal cord atrophy after myelitis, but it is unknown whether atrop...