Time is tissue in optic neuritis

Once again, this issue of Neurology® Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation (N2) highlights the diversity of the field with studies on a range of clinical disorders and a variety of research approaches. Optic neuritis in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders associated with aquaporin 4 antibodies (AQP4) or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies is considered steroid responsive, although patients can accumulate disability with recurrent attacks. For these patients, Stiebel-Kalish et al.1 investigated whether the time from symptom onset to steroid treatment affected outcome. This was a retrospective study of a consecutive cohort of patients after their first AQP4 or MOG antibody–related attack of optic neuritis. The results showed that patients from both cohorts who received treatment within 4 days of symptom onset had improved outcomes compared with patients treated later and that even a 7-day delay negatively affected outcome. The authors suggest that antibody-mediated optic neuritis should potentially be viewed with the same sense of urgency as heart attack or stroke and reminds the reader that for these patients "time is tissue."
Source: Neurology Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Editor ' s Corner Source Type: research