Objective To investigate the changes in brain MRI scan in neuromyelitis optica (NMO).Methods MRI images in 27 cases with NMO were examined in a retrospective study.Results Twenty-two of 27 patients (81.5%) had abnormal brain MRI findings,which were classified as nonspecific (7 cases),atypical (1 case),multiple sclerosis-like (3 cases) and ventricle-aqueduct-syringocoele lesions (11 cases).The lust type is the most common (40.7%).Furthermore,the analysis showed that the number of brain lesions positively correlated with lag time from the onset to the last MRI scan (r=0.475,P=0.025).Conclusions Brain lesions in NMO are diverse,which might result from different pathogenesis.However,ventricle-aqueduct-syringocoele is the most common lesion.Early brain MRI examination of suspected cases is essential.

Objective To investigate the characteristic MRI appearance of neuromyelitis optics (NMO) and muhip]e sclerosis (MS) in the spinal cord.Methods Twenty cases of MS and 23 cases of NMO were examined by MRL All image appearances were analyzed.Results The characteristic MRI appearance of NMO patients in the spinal cord was linear medullary lesion (LML), linear medullospinal lesion (LMSL), linear spinal lesion (LSL) and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM), and spinal cord MRI with contiguous T2-weighted signal abnormality extending over 3 or more vertebral segments (23 cases), while in MS, spinal cord MRI with contiguous T2-weighted signal abnormality often extended less than 3 vertebral segments (only 12 cases, χ2 = 19.142, P < 0.01), and the distribution of spinal lesion usually was eccentric (17 cases, compared with NMO group, χ2 = 25.256, P < 0.01).Conclusions NMO is distinct from MS.In MRI, spinal lesion in NMO usually conforms to the distribution of aquaporin 4, while spinal lesion in MS always conforms to the demyelination.NMO has neuroimaging features that move it ever closer to distinct disease status.