Neuromyelitis optica

The condition is also known as Devic’s disease and a rare inflammation condition. The type is known as inflammatory demyelintation disease and called so since it happens due to the damage in the protective quoting between the spinal cord and the nerves in the brain area. As the condition occurs, it also produces an inflammation in the spinal cord and the nerves of the brain. This disease occurs in most of the people from Asian and African origin and also to people hovering around 40 years of age. The condition varies from person to person and also comes in Relapsing and monophasic types. The replapsing is the most common type and recurrences take place over the years and also can lead to permanent disability to the patient. The monophasic type is the one where people go through few attacks in the lesser span of time and also no further attacks are seen after this occurrence. The monophasic type has been seen to affect equal number of men and women around.

Symptoms

The symptoms would normally include swelling of the disc, or loss of vision or reduction of the same in one eye, color visioning and confusion in the proper identification of colors, inflammation of the optic nerve also takes place as one of the symptoms. In case of the transverse myelitis, the symptoms would be pain in neck, shooting sensations, altered sensations, weakness in arms and legs, bladder and bowel problems also start to surface.

Causes

The exact causes are not known for this condition and there are only few identified scenarios or factors which play a part in it. NMO is not a hereditary condition but normally occurs to people from African and Asian descent. There could be chances of genetic predisposition. Also there are tuberculosis and other organisms which get associated with the condition in rare cases. NMO is also an autoimmune disorder and related to the defense mechanism of the body and also takes into consideration, the protective blanket for the spinal cord and optic nerve.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis can be confused with other causes which are mixed connective tissue disorder, cancer associated inflammation, sjogren’s syndrome, or multiple sclerosis. The condition has lot of similarity with those conditions and makes it tough to diagnose. The doctor would need to ask for a blood test, lumbar puncture tests and magnetic resonance imaging to come to a concrete conclusion on the exact condition of the patient.

Treatment

There is no cure as of now available for the NMO but there are treatments available for different conditions. For relapses type of NMO, the patient may be put through a steroidal treatment and also plasma exchange therapy. The patient may also be given azathioprine to suppress the body’s immune system. The doctor may also recommend Carbamazepine for reducing the pain, stiffness and bladder problems without a treatment of the condition.

Complications

At times, a sever condition can lead to permanent blindness, paralysis, breathing difficulties, sexual dysfucntioning and also depression due to change in lifestyle as an outcome of NMO.