Damage to the central nervous system can often result from the progression of an autoimmune disease. Demyelination often occurs as a result, where the myelin sheath on a neuron’s axons is destroyed due to excessive autoimmune responses (1).This destruction ultimately leads to lesions in the brain or spinal cord (2,3).The uncontrolled autoimmune responses can be primary, where the infiltrates begin the destruction of the myelin sheath, or secondary, where infiltrates respond to previous CNS damage and subsequently further the damage (4) . Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most noted example of a CNS demyelinating autoimmune disease (3,4), with 350,000-500,000 individuals currently diagnosed(3)
Imaging Immune-Mediated Depression and Cognitive Impairment in Autoimmune Neurologic Diseases: MRS of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Transverse Myselitis Adam I. Kaplin, M.D., Ph.D.
Background: Optic neuritis (ON) is a common first demyelinating event in multiple sclerosis (MS), and one of absolute clinical events to diagnose neuromyelitis optica (NMO). However, it seemed not all ON attacks are clinically evident.
It may be possible to save money by treating multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica with lower doses of rituximab, but the result may be a shorter period of effectiveness, according to one study.
Lidocaine unmasks silent symptoms and eases neuropathic pain in multiple sclerosis patients; however, the effects of lidocaine in neuromyelitis optica have never been reported. We describe the case of a 59-year-old Japanese woman with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder who developed optic neuritis 1 day after intravenous lidocaine injection for treating allodynia. Her symptom seemed to result from a relapse of neuromyelitis optica induced by lidocaine administration, and not because of the transient effects of intravenous lidocaine administration.
Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO, also known as Devic disease) are rare autoimmune disorders, with upper-limit prevalence estimates in the general population of 15 per 100 000 and 5 per 100 000, respectively. To our knowledge, an association between these diseases has not been previously reported.