title: Neuromyelitis optica in a child with atypical onset and severe outcome.
abstract: We report on a seven-year-old boy with inflammatory relapsing-remitting CNS disease, involving the optic nerves and spinal cord, with increasingly severe sequelae after each relapse. Clinical course, neuroimaging and laboratory findings were consistent with neuromyelitis optica. Biopsy of leptomeninges and underlying nervous tissue showed increased vascularization and thickened hyalinized vessel walls, reported as suggestive for neuromyelitis optica. Clinical features at onset were atypical, rendering the case highly unusual and the diagnosis tentative.
authors.affiliation: Child Neurology Department, Istituto Nazionale Neurologico C. Besta, Milan, Italy. nmilani@istituto-besta.it
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Milani
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zibordi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Erbetta
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pollo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Angelini
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009471:Neuromyelitis Optica / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D012008:Recurrence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome