PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Maciej Juryńczyk
AU  - George Tackley
AU  - Yazhuo Kong
AU  - Ruth Geraldes
AU  - Lucy Matthews
AU  - Mark Woodhall
AU  - Patrick Waters
AU  - Wilhelm Kuker
AU  - Matthew Craner
AU  - Andrew Weir
AU  - Gabriele C DeLuca
AU  - Stephane Kremer
AU  - Maria Isabel Leite
AU  - Angela Vincent
AU  - Anu Jacob
AU  - Jérôme de Sèze
AU  - Jacqueline Palace
TI  - Brain lesion distribution criteria distinguish MS from AQP4-antibody NMOSD and MOG-antibody disease
AID  - 10.1136/jnnp-2016-314005
DP  - 2017 Feb 01
TA  - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
PG  - 132--136
VI  - 88
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/88/2/132.short
4100  - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/88/2/132.full
SO  - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry2017 Feb 01; 88
AB  - Importance Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) can present with very similar clinical features to multiple sclerosis (MS), but the international diagnostic imaging criteria for MS are not necessarily helpful in distinguishing these two diseases.Objective This multicentre study tested previously reported criteria of ‘(1) at least 1 lesion adjacent to the body of the lateral ventricle and in the inferior temporal lobe; or (2) the presence of a subcortical U-fibre lesion or (3) a Dawson's finger-type lesion’ in an independent cohort of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and AQP4-ab NMOSD patients and also assessed their value in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-ab positive and ab-negative NMOSD.Design Brain MRI scans were anonymised and scored on the criteria by 2 of 3 independent raters. In case of disagreement, the final opinion was made by the third rater.Participants 112 patients with NMOSD (31 AQP4-ab-positive, 21 MOG-ab-positive, 16 ab-negative) or MS (44) were selected from 3 centres (Oxford, Strasbourg and Liverpool) for the presence of brain lesions.Results MRI brain lesion distribution criteria were able to distinguish RRMS with a sensitivity of 90.9% and with a specificity of 87.1% against AQP4-ab NMOSD, 95.2% against MOG-ab NMOSD and 87.5% in the heterogenous ab-negative NMOSD cohort. Over the whole NMOSD group, the specificity was 89.7%.Conclusions This study suggests that the brain MRI criteria for differentiating RRMS from NMOSD are sensitive and specific for all phenotypes.