Heterogeneity and continuum of multiple sclerosis in Japanese according to magnetic resonance imaging findings

Clinical and laboratory characteristics of atopic myelitis: Korean experience

“…Cord swelling with focal enhancement was not frequent in non-AM patients. LESCL with selective gray matter on axial images, as is frequent in NMO or opticospinal multiple sclerosis (OSMS) [18,19], were observed in 9 of 15 patients, three of them developed recurrent myelitis. Eccentric large lesions were absent in this group.…”

Relationship between Barkhof criteria and the clinical features of multiple sclerosis in northern Japan

“…In their study of 136 subjects with C-MS, OS-MS, or PP type of MS [10], 52.9% fulfilled the Barkhof criteria. This percentage is much lower than that in our study (70.2%).…”

“…The increasing incidence of MS and the progressive predominance of the C-MS phenotype in Japan may reflect the westernization of MS in Japan. However, C-MS in Japan has several characteristics that are different from those observed in Western countries; Japanese patients probably have a lower incidence of cerebellar hemispheric lesions [28] and a higher incidence of longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesions (LESCLs) (14.3-31.5%) [10,29,30].…”

“…These criteria are highly accurate for the diagnosis of MS in patients with a CIS in Western countries [3][4][5][6][7][8][9], and according to these criteria, at least one of the main clinical features of MS must be present for the diagnosis of DIS. However, few long-term follow-up examinations have been conducted to determine the proportion of MS cases in which the Barkhof criteria are fulfilled [10].…”

Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging features of multiple sclerosis with autoreactive antibodies in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

“…Since both OSMS and neuromyelitis optica (NMO) characteristically involve the optic nerves and the spinal cord, the differences between these diseases has been discussed especially in Japan (Matsuoka et al, 2008). The development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology and the discovery of anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibodies have resulted in the revision of diagnostic criteria for NMO in 2006 (Wingerchuk et al, 2006).…”