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Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) has been differentiated from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) by clinical, laboratory, and pathological findings, including the presence of the anti-aquaporin 4 antibody. Measurement of evoked potentials (EPs) is often used for the diagnosis of RRMS, although the possibility of applying EPs to the diagnosis of NMOSD has not been investigated in detail. Eighteen patients with NMOSD and 28 patients with RRMS were included in this study. The patients' neurological symptoms and signs were examined and their EPs were recorded. Characteristic findings were absence of visual evoked potentials and absence of motor evoked potentials in the lower extremities in patients with NMOSD, and a delay in these potentials in patients with RRMS. Most patients with NMOSD did not present abnormal subclinical EPs, whereas many patients with RRMS did. None of the patients with NMOSD showed abnormalities in auditory brainstem responses. NMOSD can be differentiated from RRMS by EP data obtained in the early stages of these diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to report the electrophysiological findings in patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO) differentiated from multiple sclerosis (MS). We diagnosed 17 patients with NMO based on the clinical symptoms, brain MRI, and aquaporin-4 antibody positivity. Those patients underwent visual evoked potential (VEP), auditory brainstem response (ABR), somatosensory evoked potential (SEP), and motor evoked potential (MEP) analyses. Forty-four point one percent of the patients presented abnormal VEP findings. All patients presented normal ABR findings. Abnomal findings were presented at rates of 8.8% in upper extremity SEP, 21.9% in lower extremity SEP, 13.6% in upper extremity MEP, and 36.4% in lower extremity. There were few abnormal subclinical findings in the electrophysiological findings. We found smaller percentage of abnormal findings in patients with NMO compared to patients with MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]