Optic-spinal form of multiple sclerosis and anti-thyroid autoantibodies

The optic-spinal form of multiple sclerosis (OSMS), characterized by recurrent involvement of optic nerve and spinal cord with rare brain magnetic resonance imaging lesions, is relatively common among Asians. While individual cases of OSMS with anti-thyroid autoantibodies (ATABs) have been reported, the frequency of ATAbs in OSMS and classical multiple sclerosis has not been studied. We studied serum ATAbs and anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) in 46 Japanese patients with multiple sclerosis: 14 with OSMS, and 32 with non-OSMS. Six patients were positive for ATAbs: five women with OSMS and one man with non-OSMS. The frequency of ATAbs in OSMS (5/14) was significantly higher than that in non-OSMS (1/32; P = 0.007), but the frequency of ANA did not differ between OSMS (3/14) and non-OSMS (6/32; P = 0.99). There may be a pathogenetic link between anti-thyroid autoimmunity and a subgroup of OSMS in Japanese.