A novel feature disclosed in opticospinal multiple sclerosis in Asians.

Increased evidence suggests that opticospinal multiple sclerosis (OS-MS) preferentially found in Asians is a distinct disease entity which differs from the conventional or universal form of MSin manyaspects. The following characteristics have been reported in OS-MS;1) severe and selective involvement of the optic nerve and spinal cord, 2) paucity of brain MRI lesions, 3) frequent occurrence of spinal cord atrophy on MRI, 4) marked pleocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluid (more than 50 cells/|iil), 5) a strong association with HLA-DPB 1 *0501 allele, but not with HLA-DRB1*1501allele which is a susceptibility gene for the conventional form of MS(1, 2). Yamasaki et al in this issue of Internal Medicine added a new feature to the abovementioned list, i.e. , a frequent occurrence of hyperprolactinemia (3).