Factors Linking Optic Neuritis to MS Risk

In children with isolated optic neuritis, 3 independent biomarkers are strongly associated with progression to multiple sclerosis, according to a retrospective analysis of 357 children with the condition.

Investigators used multiple Cox proportional regressions to determine the following hazard ratios (HR):

• abnormal cranial magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI), 5.94

• the presence of cerebrosnial fluid immunoglobulin G oligoclonal bands (OCB), 3.69

• age, 1.08 per year of age

• cMRI and OCB positivity combined, 26.84

Neither sex nor laterality (unilateral or bilateral) were associated with an increased rate of disease progression to MS.

Citation: Heussinger N, Kontopantelis E, Gburek-Augustat J, et al; for GRACE-MS (German-speaking Research Alliance for ChildrEn with Multiple Sclerosis). Oligoclonal bands predict multiple sclerosis in children with optic neuritis. Ann Neurol. 2015. doi:10.1002/ana.24409.