Optomyelitis, or Devic's disease, is a demyelinating pathology that is accompanied by a characteristic triad: damage to the spinal cord, optic nerve, and the presence of serum NMO-IgG antibodies. Changes can also spread to other CNS structures that contain aquaporin-4.
Previously, opticoneuromyelitis was considered a form of multiple sclerosis, but it is now recognized as an independent disease. The incidence of the disease peaks at the age of 40, and women are more susceptible to the pathology.
The clinical picture in Devic's opticomyelitis includes such specific manifestations:
• neuritis of the optic nerve with significant loss of vision, up to blindness;
• Hiccups, nausea, and vomiting, which are difficult to eliminate because of damage to the brain structures that control these processes;
• loss of muscle strength;
• decreased motor activity of the limbs (often paresis of the legs);
• pelvic organ dysfunction, urinary incontinence.
