Multiple sclerosis presented as clinically isolated syndrome: the need for early diagnosis and treatment

Multiple Sclerosis: An Emergency Medicine-Focused Narrative Review

BACKGROUND

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a rare but serious condition associated with significant morbidity.

OBJECTIVE

This review provides a focused assessment of MS for emergency clinicians, including the presentation, evaluation, and emergency department (ED) management based on current evidence.

DISCUSSION

MS is an autoimmune disorder targeting the central nervous system (CNS), characterized by clinical relapses and radiological lesions disseminated in time and location. Patients with MS most commonly present with long tract signs (e.g., myelopathy, asymmetric spastic paraplegia, urinary dysfunction, Lhermitte's sign), optic neuritis, or brainstem syndromes (bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia). Cortical syndromes or multifocal presentations are less common. Radiologically isolated syndrome and clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) may or may not progress to chronic forms of MS, including relapsing remitting MS, primary progressive MS, and secondary progressive MS. The foundation of outpatient management involves disease-modifying therapy, which is typically initiated with the first signs of disease onset. Management of CIS and acute flares of MS in the ED includes corticosteroid therapy, ideally after diagnostic testing with imaging and lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Emergency clinicians should evaluate whether patients with MS are presenting with new-onset debilitating neurological symptoms to avoid unnecessary testing and admissions, but failure to appropriately diagnose CIS or MS flare is associated with increased morbidity.

CONCLUSIONS

An understanding of MS can assist emergency clinicians in better diagnosing and managing this neurologically devastating disease.

Correlation between high density lipoprotein and monocyte subpopulations among stable coronary atherosclerotic heart disease patients

High density lipoprotein (HDL) is a structurally and functionally heterogeneous molecular particle whose function is unclear in atherosclerosis at present. Studies show that small HDL functional imbalance may exist in Coronary Atherosclerotic Heart Disease (CAD) patients. Monocyte is considered to play an important role in atherosclerosis, in accordance with the expression of superficial CD14 and CD16, it can be divided into three subpopulations. The purpose of this study was to explore the relation between HDL and monocyte subpopulations among CAD patients. We report 90 cases of stable CAD patients and define the monocyte subpopulations as classical monocyte (CD14++CD16-; CM), intermediate monocyte (CD14+CD16+; IM), and non-classical monocyte (CD14+CD16++; NCM); HDL group is measured by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The results indicated that the small HDL in blood serum has a correlation with proinflammatory NCM in circulation but a negative correction with CM and no relationship with diabetes, saccharify hemoglobin, hypertension, smoking history and taking dose of statins drugs and severity of disease. In conclusion, this study primarily confirms that micromolecule HDL level correlates with the increase of non-classical monocyte subpopulations and decrease of classical monocyte quantity. Thus demonstrates the proinflammatory correlation between micromolecule HDL and internal immunity in the development of stable atherosclerosis.

Impact of delayed diagnosis and treatment in clinically isolated syndrome and multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive inflammatory disease with several possible clinical courses; before the development of definite MS, some patients may have clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), which is a single attack of neurological symptoms caused by inflammation or demyelination. Disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) have been extensively used for the management of MS, resulting in improvements in the clinical presentation and decreases in MS-associated neurological damage. Earlier initiation of DMT in the course of MS is associated with better outcomes. For patients with CIS, initiation of interferon-beta or glatiramer acetate treatment after an initial clinical event indicative of MS has been associated with delays in the progression to clinically definite MS as well as improvements in measures of neurological damage via magnetic resonance imaging. The initiation of treatment for patients with CIS should be considered, and nurses play a vital role in educating patients about the risks of conversion to MS and the benefits of early DMT.

Diagnostic Efficacy of Conventional MRI Pulse Sequences in the Detection of Lesions Causing Internuclear Ophthalmoplegia in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of a range of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse sequences in the identification of internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO) caused by medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) lesions in multiple sclerosis patients using a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) methodology.

METHODS

A total of 15 clinically confirmed INO and 15 control subjects underwent conventional MRI at 1.5 T consisting of T2-weighted, proton density (PD)-weighted, and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences, following full institutional approval. A free-response, multiple-reader multiple-case design ROC study was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of each sequence. All imaging sequences were evaluated by 10 board-certified neuroradiologists. Area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity were analysed statistically for all three pulse sequences using repeated-measures analyses of variance and post-test analysis using Bonferroni's multiple comparison test of differences.

RESULTS

No significant AUC differences were found between the three sequences (p = 0.0697), with T2 recording the highest AUC (0.8346). Sensitivity differences between PD (0.7927) and FLAIR (0.6329) were significant (p < 0.05). Non-significant differences were also evident between T2 and FLAIR (p = 0.0511). The specificity analysis revealed an overall difference (p = 0.0005), with specific inter-sequence differences shown between T2 and PD (p < 0.05) and PD and FLAIR (p < 0.001) with the PD values being lower than those provided with the other two sequences.

CONCLUSION

T2-weighted axial imaging through the MLF region resulted in the greatest overall diagnostic efficacy when viewing a combination of mean AUC, sensitivity, and specificity, in terms of the identification of INO-causing lesions.

Differences in oligoclonal bands and visual evoked potentials in patients with radiologically and clinically isolated syndrome

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and visual evoked potentials (VEP) abnormalities, and ANA titers in patients with either clinically or radiologically isolated syndrome (CIS and RIS). We gathered records from 330 hospitalized patients diagnosed with CIS/RIS within a 3-year period. Symptoms, CSF findings, VEP and ANA titers were analyzed. Incomplete transverse myelitis was the presenting symptom in 32.7 %, optic neuritis in 22.7 %, brainstem/cerebellar symptoms in 19.4 %, hemispheral symptoms in 2.7 % and multifocal symptoms in 15.2 % of patients in the CIS cohort. We identified 24 (7.3 %) patients with atypical or no symptoms-RIS cohort. Positive oligoclonal bands (OCB) were found in 75.5 % patients. When we divided the patients into CIS and RIS groups, the presence of OCB was 82.4 and 44 %, respectively. VEP were performed in 87.3 % patients and prolonged latencies were found in 39.6 % of them (43.8 and 14.3 % in the CIS and RIS cohort, respectively). ANA were positive in 15.2 % (14.7 and 16 % in the CIS and RIS cohort, respectively) of patients. RIS patients had statistically significant lower percentages of positive OCB and positive VEP (P = 0.002 and 0.001, respectively). Detection of OCB and VEP still has an important role for satisfying the "no better explanation for the clinical presentation" criteria when presented with a patient with a first "radiological" demyelinating episode.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Levels of Soluble Amyloid Precursor Protein and β-Amyloid 42 in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Neuromyelitis Optica and Clinically Isolated Syndrome

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) accumulation in axonal ovoids is a sensitive marker for acute axonal injury in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions. This study measured levels of α-cleaved soluble APP (αsAPP) and β-amyloid 42 (Aβ42) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 42 MS, 10 neuromyelitis optica and 25 clinically isolated syndrome patients and 21 healthy controls, and analysed the correlation between αsAPP and Aβ42 levels and relevant clinical parameters. The CSF concentrations of αsAPP and Aβ42 in patients and controls were not significantly different. There was a significant inverse correlation in patients between CSF asAPP concentration and the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), but no significant correlation between CSF Aβ42 concentration and EDSS. The concentration of αsAPP in the CSF of statin-treated patients was significantly higher than in those not treated with statins, suggesting that statins may have a neuroprotective effect. In conclusion, αsAPP was present at similar levels in the CSF of patients with neuromyelitis optica, MS and clinically isolated syndrome and healthy controls, and an inverse correlation existed between CSF αsAPP concentration and neurological disability.

Characteristics of multiple sclerosis at onset and delay of diagnosis and treatment in Spain (the Novo Study)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease supposedly of autoimmune origin, with reactivity directed against myelin antigens. From the neuropathological point of view, MS produces inflammation, demyelination and axonal and neuronal degeneration. Inflammatory phenomena are predominant in the initial phase of the disease, followed later by neurodegenerative processes. Over the last decade, early treatment, during the most inflammatory phase of the disease, has been considered the best strategy to treat MS. Accordingly, we decided to determine the periods of delay between the first symptoms and the time to the first medical visit, the time to referral to a specialised MS unit, the delay in undertaking clinical and paraclinical tests, the diagnostic criteria used and the overall delay in diagnosis and treatment. The median time from onset of first symptoms to the first visit to a physician was 19.2 months, which represented the greatest delay. The median time between this initial medical consultation and the confirmation of the diagnosis by a specialised MS unit was 5.7 months, and the overall time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 24.9 months (2.08 years). The median time between onset of the first symptoms and the decision to give the first treatment was 2 years. The most important delay was that from symptom onset to the first medical visit, with the other delays being less. Thus, it is during this initial period that greater effort is required in order to reduce the time to diagnosis, by increasing awareness of the problem of MS among the general population and primary care physicians.

Understanding autoimmune disease: new targets for drug discovery

A more complete understanding of the mechanisms that drive autoimmune diseases has begun to be translated into therapeutic options with significant clinical consequences. A clear example of this is the introduction of biological therapies, which have provided new therapeutic avenues, as well as validated the mediators (TNFalpha, IL-6), mechanisms (T cell costimulation, leukocyte migration), and cellular players (T and B lymphocytes) of the disease process itself. New discoveries into the role of Th17 and regulatory T cells and the epigenetic regulation of cytokine expression may offer novel intervention strategies to satisfy the unmet medical needs that still exist in these diseases.