ABSTRACT
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.