Unilateral Optic Neuritis: A Rare Complication after Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination in a 30-Year-Old Woman

Abstract

Purpose. To report a case of unilateral optic neuritis following Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccination. Methods. A 30-year-old female developed unilateral optic neuritis five days after a Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) booster vaccination. The patient displayed unilateral involvement, with severe visual loss. However, visual acuity improved significantly after four days of intravenous steroid therapy with 500 mg/day of methylprednisolone. Conclusions. Optic neuritis is one of the rare complications associated with the mumps, measles, and rubella vaccine. It may be a toxic reaction to the nonviral component of the vaccine, but the exact etiology is unknown. Postvaccination neuritis is generally bilateral and usually affects children. In adults, unilateral optic neuritis is usually correlated with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Vaccination of multiple sclerosis patients during the COVID-19 era: Novel insights into vaccine safety and immunogenicity

“…Therefore, MMR vaccine administration is imperative. However, several cases of optic neuritis were observed following the MMR vaccine, thought to be associated with the toxic reactivation of the non-viral component of the vaccine (De Giacinto et al, 2016;Riikonen, 1989). All but one case subsequently developed MS (Riikonen, 1989).…”

“…Of note, MS can develop 7-10 years after an acute demyelinating attack and thus, there may be limited use of the aforementioned studies. (De Giacinto et al, 2016;Riikonen, 1989;Joyce and Rees, 1995;Lim et al, 2004) Nonetheless, several studies have since aimed to understand if there is an association with the MMR vaccine and the development of MS and all but one have returned negative (DeStefano et al, 2003;Zorzon et al, 2003;Ramagopalan et al, 2009;C Ahlgren et al, 2009;C Ahlgren et al, 2009;MF Farez and Correale, 2011) The singular study that did find an association had a relatively small sample size, however (Zorzon et al, 2003).…”

Neuro-Ophthalmologic Symptoms Associated With the Moderna mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine: A Case Report

“…Other studies have reported similar neuro-ophthalmologic complications following other COVID-19 vaccines Ad26.COV2.S vaccine (Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies) [6], Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine [7], Covishield vaccine [8], and Sinopharm vaccine [9]. Similar neuroophthalmologic complications have been reported following the administration of the measles vaccine [10,11].…”

Current Immunological and Clinical Perspective on Vaccinations in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Are They Safe after All?

“…Of special interest, there were several cases of ON following days to weeks of the MMR vaccine administration [ 100 ]. All except one case, in a 13-year-old patient [ 101 ], showed significant improvement following treatment and did not develop clinically definite MS.…”