The Effect of Corticosteroids for Acute Optic Neuritis on the Subsequent Development of Multiple Sclerosis

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 329; no. 24; pp. 1764 - 1769
• Main Authors: Beck, Roy W, Cleary, Patricia A, Trobe, Jonathan D, Kaufman, David I, Kupersmith, Mark J, Paty, Donald W, Brown, C. Hendricks
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 09.12.1993
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Body weight; Corticosteroids; Intravenous administration; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical research; Medical sciences; Methylprednisolone; Multiple sclerosis; Neuritis; Neuroimaging; Neurology; Neuropharmacology; Neuroprotective agent; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Optic nerve; Optic neuritis; Patients; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Prednisone; Human; Corticosteroid; Eye disease; Nervous system diseases; Chemotherapy; Multiple sclerosis; Treatment; Optic nevritis; Disorders of cranial nerves
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199312093292403

Optic neuritis is frequently the first manifestation of multiple sclerosis 1 . Even when optic neuritis occurs without other clinical signs of multiple sclerosis (“isolated optic neuritis”), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain often demonstrates signal abnormalities of white matter, 2 – 5 and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid often shows oligoclonal bands 6 – 8 . Within 2 years of an attack of optic neuritis, the risk of multiple sclerosis is approximately 20 percent, 8 – 12 and within 15 years it is in the range of 45 to 80 percent 8 – 11 . The Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial, a multicenter, randomized clinical trial of corticosteroid treatment . . .