1/3. New ways to look at an old problem.A 32-year-old man presented with optic neuritis (papillitis). A discussion of optic neuritis, the role of magnetic resonance imaging, and possible treatment options are presented. The role of optical coherence tomography in following patients with optic neuritis is discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = optica (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/3. Serial quantitative MR assessment of optic neuritis in a case of neuromyelitis optica, using gadolinium- "enhanced" STIR imaging.A patient is presented with neuromyelitis optica. MR imaging, using a short inversion time inversion recovery (STIR) technique, clearly depicted the lesion in the left optic nerve. Subsequent serial STIR imaging, with and without gadolinium-DTPA, allowed quantitative assessment of changes parallel to improved optic nerve function. STIR imaging is a sensitive technique to demonstrate optic nerve lesions, and enables quantitative assessment to be made of the effect of (steroid) medication.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 91.995081514091keywords = neuromyelitis optica, neuromyelitis, optica (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/3. neuromyelitis optica: two new cases and review of the literature.The clinical features of two recent cases of neuromyelitis optica are reviewed, along with 43 cases from the literature. Severe bilateral visual impairment, thoracic myelitis, prodromal symptoms suggesting a viral syndrome, and moderate pleocytosis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were characteristic. Respiratory failure developed in 22% of the cases. Seventy percent of patients improved neurologically, 14% had a poor neurological outcome, and 16% died in the acute stages. Predictors of a poor outcome were older age, marked CSF pleocytosis, and severe myelitis. Forty-two percent of patients had a recurrence of demyelinating disease after initial recovery, suggesting a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Fifty-eight percent of patients had a self-limited monophasic illness, consistent with a post-infectious encephalomyelitis. No clear predictors of patients at risk for recurrence were identified. CSF oligoclonal bands were absent in three patients with information available.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 22.399016302818keywords = neuromyelitis optica, neuromyelitis, optica (Clic here for more details about this article) |