We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials on steroid treatment for multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis. Of the 25 trials comparing steroids and controls without steroid treatment that we identified 12 were selected for this review. A meta-analysis was conducted to calculate the overall odds ratio across the studies for the numbers of patients without functional imp...

OBJECTIVE To investigate potential associations of the PlA1/A2 polymorphism of the platelet glycoprotein IIIa (GPIIIa) gene with susceptibility to, and clinical expression of, giant cell arteritis (GCA). METHODS One hundred forty patients with biopsy-proven GCA who were residents of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and 241 population-based healthy controls from the same geographic area were genotyped fo...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Increases in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) from diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging are thought to be due to axonal disruption, and changes have been well documented in multiple sclerosis lesions. DW imaging of the optic nerves, however, presents many challenges. The goal of this study was to measure ADC in patients with optic neuritis by using zonal oblique multisecti...

BACKGROUND To determine whether retinal axonal loss is detectable in patients with a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), a first clinical demyelinating attack suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS), and examine patterns of retinal axonal loss across MS disease subtypes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Spectral-domain Optical Coherence Tomography was performed in 541 patients with MS, including ...

BACKGROUND Patients' understanding of their condition affect the choice of treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate patients' understanding and treatment preferences before and after an information session on the treatment of acute optic neuritis. METHODS Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of 14 questions before and after an information session presented by ...

BACKGROUND Optic neuritis is associated with neurodegeneration leading to chronic impairment of visual functions. OBJECTIVE This study investigated whether early treatment with interferon beta (IFN-β) slows retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thinning in clinically isolated optic neuritis. METHODS Twenty patients with optic neuritis and visual acuity decreased to ≤0.5 (decimal system) were inc...

The management of acute optic neuritis by neurologists and ophthalmologists in the north west of England was assessed in the light of the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial (ONTT) recommendations. A questionnaire on a fictitious case of typical unilateral optic neuritis was mailed to all consultant ophthalmologists and neurologists working in the North West and Merseyside Health Authorities. They w...

BACKGROUND A few reports have described ocular complications of influenza A infection, such as impaired ocular movement, parasympathetic ocular nerve, keratitis, macular lesion, and frosted branch angiitis. We encountered a rare case of acute anterior uveitis and optic neuritis associated with influenza A infection. CASE PRESENTATION A 70-year-old man presented with symptoms of upper respirat...

Objective. To correlate visual and neurologic clinical scores and treatment of optic neuritis and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with assays of serum phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain (pNF-H) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements of axonal loss. Design/Methods. The Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial (ONTT) randomized 457 patients with acute optic neuritis to intravenous methy...

AIMS To report on a case of bilateral retrobulbar optic neuritis in a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV); and to review the literature focusing on: cases reported, epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment. PRESENTATION OF CASE A 38-year-old woman with AIDS presented with a 10-day history of progressive bilateral visual ...