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Treatmenf of optic neuritis by retrobulbar injection of triamcinolone.

In a single-blind controlled clinical trial patients with optic neuritis caused by demyelination were given a single retrobulbar injection of triamcinolone. Though the treated group showed a trend towards more rapid recovery of vision than the controls, there was no significant difference in visual acuity, colour vision, or visual fields during the first six months after treatment. We conclude that routine use of corticosteroids is not justified in unilateral optic neuritis when vision in the other eye is good. Shortening the period of visual disability in bilateral disease or unilateral disease when vision in the other eye is poor, however, may be justifiable.

Adolescent↗

Role of vegetarianism, smoking, and hydroxocobalamin in optic neuritis.

Only 20 patients with optic neuritis of unknown aetiology could be collected in Bombay over a period of two and a half years. Only six of them were smokers and only three (one a non-smoker) had bilateral centrocaecal scotomata similar to those found in tobacco amblyopia. In 11 untreated patients the serum vitamin B(12) and plasma thiocyanate levels were estimated and found to show no significant differences from those in normal control subjects. Treatment with hydroxocobalamin in the majority of cases and with cyanocobalamin, corticotrophin, or prednisolone in the rest showed equally good results; spontaneous improvement was seen in one case.No significant role could be assigned to smoking (cyanide) or to vegetarianism in the production of optic neuritis in these patients; nor was there any evidence of depletion of total (cyanide-extracted) B(12) or of an increase in the proportion of non-cyanide-extracted B(12) in the serum.

Adolescent↗

Suprathreshold vision in acute optic neuritis.

The perception of contrast was measured in patients with acute unilateral optic neuritis by a technique of subjective suprathreshold contrast matching, and was compared with contrast sensitivity as defined by threshold measurements. The suprathreshold apparent contrast and threshold contrast sensitivity was repeatedly assessed during the recovery phase. Generally, an attenuation of suprathreshold apparent contrast was found for high and intermediate spatial frequencies in the eye with optic neuritis. At a low spatial frequency, however, the suprathreshold contrast vision was spared. The threshold contrast sensitivity was not however, spared at low spatial frequencies. During recovery this frequency-specific loss in suprathreshold apparent contrast diminished and finally a "normal" suprathreshold contrast vision was observed in all affected eyes reaching a visual acuity of 1.0 or better. In these cases also subjectively normal vision was reported in site of a persisting abnormality in threshold contrast sensitivity.

Acute Disease↗

Disseminated lesions at presentation in patients with optic neuritis.

Thirty five adults and two children with clinically isolated optic neuritis were examined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the presence of disseminated lesions within the brain at presentation and to compare these findings with the results of evoked potential studies. Of the adult patients, 61% showed lesions on the scans whereas the evoked potentials suggested the presence of lesions outside the visual system in 30%. MRI is a sensitive method for the demonstration of clinically unsuspected lesions in patients with uncomplicated optic neuritis.

Adolescent↗

Magnetisation transfer ratios and transverse magnetisation decay curves in optic neuritis: correlation with clinical findings and electrophysiology.

Conventional MRI sequences do not permit the distinction between the different pathological characteristics (oedema, demyelination, gliosis, axonal loss) of the multiple sclerosis plaque. Magnetisation transfer imaging and transverse magnetisation decay curve (tMDC) analysis may be more specific. These techniques have been applied to the optic nerves in 20 patients with optic neuritis and the results correlated with clinical and visual evoked potential (VEP) findings. tMDC analysis failed to identify separate intracellular and extracellular water compartments within the optic nerve but gave a measure of transverse relaxation time (T2) without the confounding effects of CSF in the nerve sheath. Both T2 and magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) were abnormal after an episode of optic neuritis. T2 did not correlate with visual function or with VEP latency or amplitude. There was a significant correlation between MTR reduction and prolongation of VEP latency: this increased latency may reflect an effect of myelin loss on MTR. Longer lesions were associated with worse visual outcome, implying that the overall extent of pathological involvement is likely to influence the degree of functional deficit.

Adult↗

Spinal cord MRI in clinically isolated optic neuritis.

BACKGROUND/METHODS: One hundred and fifteen patients with clinically isolated optic neuritis underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and spinal cord within 3 months of the onset of symptoms. RESULTS: Eighty one (70%) patients had brain lesions and 31 (27%) had cord lesions. Cord lesions were seen in 12% with a normal brain MRI, 21% with between one and eight brain lesions, and 45% with nine or more brain lesions. When the new diagnostic criteria for MS were applied, MRI cord imaging used for evidence of dissemination in time and space allowed a diagnosis of MS in only one additional asymptomatic patient at 1 year, two additional asymptomatic patients at 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: Using existing criteria, spinal cord imaging rarely contributes to the diagnosis in patients with clinically isolated optic neuritis.

Adolescent↗

Reversible optic neuritis secondary to paranasal sinusitis.

Three patients are described in whom optic neuritis was presumably caused by concurrent sinus infection. Aggressive treatment of the underlying sinus condition led to prompt visual improvement. Although underrecognized in clinical neurology, paranasal sinusitis is an uncommon but treatable cause of optic neuritis. Shortcomings of conventional radiological investigations and inappropriate use of corticosteroids may contribute to initial misdiagnosis.

Acute Disease↗

Conjugated deferoxamine reduces blood-brain barrier disruption in experimental optic neuritis.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the role of deferoxamine (DFO) scavenging of hydroxyl radical (.OH) on disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and demyelination in experimental optic neuritis. Eighteen strain-13 guinea pigs were sensitized for experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Nine animals received 100 mg/kg of hydroxyethyl starch-conjugated (HES) DFO by daily intraperitoneal injection commencing the day of antigenic sensitization. Nine paired litter mates received daily IP injections of HES. Serial fat-suppressed magnetic resonance imaging of the optic nerves was obtained with a T2 weighting (T2w) to evaluate demyelination and after intravascular administration of Gd-DTPA to evaluate BBB disruption. The intensity of Gd-DTPA enhancement and T2w signal of the optic nerves was quantitated 3, 7, 10 and 14 days after antigenic sensitization. Animals were then sacrificed and the optic nerves processed for light and transmission electron microscopy with ultracytochemical localization of endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and immunogold colocalization of extravasated serum albumin. The area of the optic nerve head, intensity of toluidine blue staining, and the cellular infiltrate were digitized and quantitated. Administration of HES-DFO significantly reduced the intensity of Gd-DTPA enhancement in the optic nerves of HES-DFO-treated animals compared to paired control HES animals (p = 0.0236), with the mean difference between control and treated animals of 19.39. The difference in T2w signal was not significant (p = 0.39), with a mean difference between control and treated animals of -5.51. The intensity of toluidine blue staining of optic nerve specimens was slightly less with HES-DFO compared to untreated animals (mean pair difference 2.48), and the inflammatory infiltrate was reduced with HES-DFO compared to untreated animals (mean pair difference = 61.57); these differences were not statistically significant. In the optic nerve specimens of both groups cerium perhydroxide-derived H2O2 reaction product was evident in a predominantly perivascular and perineural distribution. Immunogold-labeled serum albumin showed extravasation at foci of perivascular inflammation in both the presence and absence of H2O2-derived reaction product. Conjugated DFO reduces disruption of the BBB, as measured by Gd-DTPA enhancement, suggesting the .OH radical generated from perivascular H2O2 may play a role in alterations of vascular permeability in experimental optic neuritis.

Animals↗

Temporal modulation transfer function of vision by pattern visual evoked potentials in patients with optic neuritis.

To reveal the impairment of the temporal modulation transfer function of vision in patients with optic neuritis, the pattern visual evoked potentials (P-VEPs) were recorded at reversal frequencies ranging from 4 to 24 per second, and the fast Fourier transform (FFT) of VEPs were investigated. In normal subjects, curves of the square root of the power of the FFTs of P-VEPs versus temporal frequency showed the maximum peak at 6 Hz (12 reversals/s). The specific distribution of the power spectrum could be found at each temporal frequency, and the amplitudes of higher harmonic components decreased while a single power spectrum peak became prominent as the temporal frequency increased. In patients with optic neuritis, an abnormality of the power spectrum of steady-state P-VEPs could by detected by estimating the 1st and 2nd harmonic components. The abnormality of the power spectrum of transient P-VEPs could be detected by estimating the higher harmonic components of the power spectrum.

Adult↗

Orthostatic postural control in vestibular neuritis: a stabilometric analysis.

Posturographic data for 182 vestibular neuritis patients were recorded on a static posturographic platform (stabilometry) with the patients' eyes both open and closed. Three of the parameters studied are presented here: mean position of the center of pressure, area of the statokinesigram, and Romberg's quotient. Vestibular neuritis modifies the performance of the fine-postural system in unpredictable ways, varying with the subject. It may disturb either the mean position of the center of pressure or the integration of visual input. Sixty of the patients in this study did not use visual input to stabilize their position in relation to their surroundings. The value of stabilometry as a method for observing the integration of visual input in the control of orthostatic posture is discussed.

Adult↗

Spontaneous listeric encephalitis and neuritis in sheep. Light microscopic studies.

Sixteen of 17 sheep with spontaneous listeric encephalitis had neuritis characterized by diffuse and focal intrafascicular and perineural accumulations of lymphocytes, plasma cells, macrophages and neutrophils in one or more cranial nerves. Nine sheep had extensive trigeminal neuritis which was usually unilateral. Brain lesions were mainly in the stem and were foci of macrophages or neutrophils or both, malacia, neutrophilic neuronophagia, vascular cuffing, and meningitis. Lesions in the brain and trigeminal ganglia were most severe on the same side as the affected trigeminal nerve. Gram-positive bacilli were in proximal parts of cranial nerves in foci of inflammatory cells and occasionally in morphologically intact nerve fibers. Organisms in the brain were in phagocytes in areas of inflammation and in scattered neurons and axons. The results were consistent with centripetal migration of the infectious agent along one or more branches of the trigeminal nerve to the brain and dissemination in the brain stem occurring, at least partly, along fiber tracts. Intraaxonal movement of bacteria probably is a mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of this disease.

Animals↗

Optic neuritis: a novel presentation of Schilder's disease.

The clinical features of a 7-year-old girl who presented with unilateral optic neuritis are presented. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed lesions in the affected optic nerve and the centrum semiovale bilaterally. Biopsy of one of the cerebral lesions was consistent with a diagnosis of Schilder's disease. Visual acuity returned to normal, and the demyelinating MRI lesions improved markedly with corticosteroid treatment. Optic neuritis is a novel mode of presentation in Schilder's disease.

Biopsy↗

Possible role of corticosteroids in nervous system plasticity: improvement in amblyopia after optic neuritis in the fellow eye treated with steroids.

OBJECTIVE: Amblyopia consists of reduced visual function in the absence of organic disease, caused by deficient visual stimulation, most commonly due to squint or refractive error. Amblyopia is thought to be reversible up until the age of approximately 8 years (critical period) and is usually treated with occlusion of the fellow eye. There is recent evidence for visual system plasticity extending beyond the critical period, supported by reports of improvement in visual acuity in the amblyopic eye after loss of vision in the contralateral eye. This suggests that the adult visual system exhibits sufficient plasticity to allow such improvement. We describe here improvement in visual acuity in three amblyopic patients after they received high-dose intravenous glucocorticoids for optic neuritis in the contralateral eye. METHODS: Clinical and neurological evaluation added. RESULTS: In all cases, the improvement was sustained, even after the recovery from the optic neuritis. CONCLUSIONS: Because steroids affect neural plasticity, we hypothesize that they facilitate and enhance visual improvement in amblyopia, a quality that may be tested in future controlled trials.

Adult↗

Serum uric acid levels in optic neuritis.

Uric acid, an antioxidant, is reduced in multiple sclerosis (MS). Patients with gout have a reduced incidence of MS. Optic neuritis (ON), often the first manifestation of MS, is not known to be associated with reduced uric acid. Patients with recent onset of ON were investigated to determine whether uric acid levels were reduced at presentation. Twenty-one patients with ON were included, 17 females and 4 males. The mean (SD) serum uric acid in the ON female group was 184.4 ( +/-55.1) micromol/L (range, 116-309 micromol/L), whilst in the control group it was 235.2 (+/- 50.2) micromol/L (range, 172-381 micromol/L). The difference was statistically significant (chi2 = 8.93, P = 0.003). In the small male cohort, mean (SD) serum uric acid was 305 (+/- 52.1) micromol/L, whilst in the control group it was 328 (+/- 80.4) micromol/L. These differences were not statistically significant. Reduced antioxidant reserve is possibly an early pathogenic mechanism in inflammatory demyelination, and raises the possibility that low uric acid levels could be an indicator of disease activity. Since optic neuropathies of other causes were not investigated, future research needs to determine whether low uric acid represents a unique feature of optic neuritis or is seen in other optic neuropathies.

Adult↗

A double-blind, randomized trial of IV immunoglobulin treatment in acute optic neuritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if IV immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment in the acute phase of optic neuritis (ON) could improve visual outcome and reduce MRI disease activity 6 months after onset of ON. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients with ON were randomized within 4 weeks from onset of symptoms. Thirty-four patients were randomized to IVIG 0.4 g/kg body wt, and 34 patients were randomized to placebo. Infusions were given at days 0, 1, 2, 30, and 60. Contrast sensitivity, visual acuity, and color vision were measured at baseline and after 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months. Pattern reversal visual evoked potential studies and gadolinium-enhanced MRI were performed at baseline and after 1 and 6 months. Clinical relapses during follow-up were recorded. RESULTS: There was no difference in the primary outcome, contrast sensitivity after 6 months, between patients randomized to treatment with IVIG or placebo. In addition, there was no significant difference in the secondary outcome measures, improvement in the visual function measures and MRI, at any time during follow-up. At baseline, a significantly higher number of patients in the IVIG group had one or more enhancing lesions on MRI and IVIG-treated patients had a significantly higher number of enhancing lesions on MRI than patients treated with placebo. No difference was found in number of patients with one or more enhancing lesions or number of enhancing lesions in subsequent scans between treatment groups. Number of relapses was equal in the two treatment groups during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: There was no effect of IV immunoglobulin (IVIG) on long-term visual function following acute optic neuritis, nor was there an effect of IVIG treatment in reducing latency on visual evoked potentials and thus preserving function of axons of the optic nerve.

Acute Disease↗

The clinical features, MRI findings, and outcome of optic neuritis in children.

BACKGROUND: Optic neuritis (ON) in childhood is thought to be more likely bilateral and less likely to lead to multiple sclerosis (MS) vs ON in adults. METHODS: The authors evaluated clinical features, maximal visual deficit and recovery, visual evoked potentials (VEPs), neuroimaging, and outcome in a cohort of children with ON. RESULTS: Records of 36 children (female/male ratio 1.6), ages 2.2 to 17.8 (mean 12.2) years, were reviewed. ON was unilateral in 58% and bilateral in 42%. Maximal visual deficit was severe in 69%, but full recovery occurred in 39 of 47 affected eyes (83%). VEPs were abnormal in 88%. Neurologic abnormalities in addition to those associated with ON were documented in 13 children. Neuroimaging studies of the optic nerve were abnormal in 55%. Brain MRI in 35 children demonstrated white matter lesions separate from the optic nerves in 54%. Follow-up is 2.4 years (0.3 to 8.3 years). To date, 13 children (36%) have been diagnosed with MS and 1 has Devic disease. Bilateral ON was more likely to be associated with MS outcome (p = 0.03). All 13 children with MS had white matter lesions on brain MRI. None of the children with a normal brain MRI have developed MS to date. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to expectations, optic neuritis (ON) in childhood was more likely to be unilateral, multiple sclerosis (MS) risk was high (36% at 2 years), and bilateral rather than unilateral ON was associated with a greater likelihood of MS. Clinical findings extrinsic to the visual system on baseline examination (p < 0.0001) and MRI evidence of white matter lesions outside the optic nerves (p < 0.0001) were strongly correlated with MS outcome.

Adolescent↗

Internuclear ophthalmoplegia and "optic neuritis": paraneoplastic effects of bronchial carcinoma.

A 56-year-old man developed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia and "optic neuritis" as remote effects of a bronchial carcinoma. These clinical findings correlated pathologically with secondary demyelination of the medial longitudinal fasciculus and with round cell infiltration and adhesive arachnoiditis of the optic nerve. There was no evidence of CNS metastasis. "Optic neuritis" and internuclear ophthalmoplegia may be paraneoplastic effects of systemic cancer.

Carcinoma, Bronchogenic↗

The triad of neurologic manifestations of Lyme disease: meningitis, cranial neuritis, and radiculoneuritis.

We studied 38 patients with Lyme meningitis, a newly recognized spirochetal infection. The patients characteristically had intermittent attacks of severe headache, mild meningismus, and a predominantly lymphocytic pleocytosis. In addition to meningitis, 11 patients experienced subtle encephalitic signs, 19 had cranial neuritis, most commonly unilateral or bilateral facial palsy, and 12 developed peripheral radiculoneuritis, plexitis, or mononeuritis multiplex. Without antibiotic therapy, the duration of neurologic involvement was 3 to 18 months. Although sometimes incomplete, the triad of neurologic manifestations of Lyme disease--meningitis, cranial neuritis, and radiculoneuritis--presents a unique clinical picture.

Adolescent↗