Cervical cord and ventricle affection in neuromyelitis optica

Area of Science:

• Neuroimmunology
• Neuroimaging
• Neurology

Background:

• Cervical cord involvement is frequent in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS).
• The impact of cervical cord lesions on disability in NMO is understudied.
• Previous NMO research focused on periventricular regions but lacked ventricle volumetry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare cervical cord atrophy and ventricular changes between NMO and MS patients.
• To assess supra- and infratentorial brain measures in NMO versus MS.
• To determine the impact of these neuroimaging findings on clinical disability.

Main Methods:

• Magnet resonance imaging-based volumetry was used for the cervical cord, ventricles, grey matter, white matter, brainstem, and cerebellum.
• 18 NMO patients, 20 MS patients, and 26 healthy controls were included.
• Voxel-based morphometry analyzed cerebrospinal fluid patterns for ventricular widening.

Main Results:

• Cervical cord atrophy was similar in NMO and MS patients.
• Both groups showed third ventricle enlargement; MS additionally exhibited fourth ventricle widening.
• In NMO, disability correlated with cervical cord area and third ventricle volume; in MS, it correlated with grey matter and fourth ventricle volume.

Conclusions:

• Cervical cord atrophy and third ventricle enlargement are clinically significant in NMO.
• Ventricle volumetry highlights differing periventricular structural involvement between NMO and MS.
• Neuroimaging metrics provide insights into disease-specific disability pathways.