By GREG ALLMAIN Federal Way Mirror reporter April 4, 2012 · 10:46 AM With National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Month having just ended in March, and the MS Walk coming up in Tacoma on April 14-15, there’s one Federal Way woman who is well acquainted with the disease. Deanna Kirkpatrick, 44, was diagnosed with the debilitating condition six years ago
My notes of reading/lectures/thoughts about neuromyelitis optica (Devic’s disease).
Transverse Myelitis: Symptoms, Causes and Diagnosis Joanne Lynn, M.D. Transverse myelitis (TM) is a neurologic syndrome caused by inflammation of the spinal cord. TM is uncommon but not rare.
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.
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO or Devic’s syndrome) is a rare autoimmune disease, previously considered a multiple sclerosis variant. The most important laboratory and clinical features are optic myelitis and transverse myelitis, associated with neuromyelitis optica-IgG antibody (NMO-IgG) positivity. Subsequent to this immunological test being available, different groups have described the not-so-rare comorbidity of neuromyelitis optica with other systemic autoimmune diseases, systemic lupus erythematosus with secondary anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS) in particular.
Anti-aquaporin-4 (Aqp-4) antibody and complement system have emerged as major pathogenic factors in neuromyelitis optica (NMO). To test the significance of interleukin-6 (IL-6), another important humoral immunity factor, in NMO pathogenesis, we measured serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IL-6 levels of 23 NMO, 11 transverse myelitis, 16 optic neuritis, 27 relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients, and 20 neurologically normal controls
BACKGROUND: They are severe inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, often called idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disease (IIDD). These diseases are explosive or pseudotumoral multiple sclerosis (MS), acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), transverse myelitis and neuromyelitis optica (NMO).
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO), characterised by longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM), was previously thought to be a variant of multiple sclerosis.
When Mrs G presented to the emergency room, clinical examination with transverse spinal cord syndrome, magnetic resonance imaging, and her complete clinical remission after plasmapheresis as well as lack of response to treatment pointed to longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis, representing an inaugural or limited form of neuromyelitis optica. The diagnosis was confirmed by detection of anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4) antibodies.