title: Optic neuritis: experience from a south Indian demyelinating disease registry.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Natural history of optic neuritis (OPN) has not been studied in India.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study consecutive patients with optic neuritis as the initial manifestation of the neurologic disease and with disease duration of 3 or more years registered in the Mangalore Demyelinating Disease Registry.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 59 patients with a primary diagnosis of optic neuritis (confirmed by either an ophthalmologist or a neurologist or both). All the patients were investigated and followed-up in the clinic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the follow-up of the 59 patients, 29 (49%) patients developed multiple sclerosis (MS); 3 (5%) patients neuromyelitis optica (NMO); and 13 (22%) patients chronic relapsing inflammatory optic neuritis (CRION), while the remaining 14 (24%) did not either progress or relapse, monophasic OPN. An initial abnormal magnetic resonance imaging predicted conversion to MS in all 7 patients who had imaging at onset. Patients with NMO were left with significant residual visual loss distinguishing NMO from MS. In this large series of patients with CRION, nearly 50% of patients had deterioration in vision while steroids were being tapered. Long-term immunosuppression was essential for maintaining good visual outcome in both NMO and CRION.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Optic neuritis in India appears similar to that in the West with nearly 50% developing MS in the long term.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte University, Mangalore, Karnataka, India. panditming@gmail.com
authors.forename: Lekha
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pandit
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.forename: Zulkifli
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Misri
authors.forename: Subrahmanya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.forename: Hrishikesh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pai
authors.forename: Rammohan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009471:Neuromyelitis Optica / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000473:pathology; D009902:Optic Neuritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult