Optic Nerve and Spinal Cord Are the Major Lesions in Each Relapse of Japanese Multiple Sclerosis

Table 1

Clinical characteristics and initial symptoms of MS and NMO patients.

Characteristics	Total of MS and NMO	MS	NMO
	n = 78	n = 55	n = 23
Sex
Male/female	21 (27%)/57 (73%)	15 (27%)/40 (73%)	6 (26%)/17 (74%)
Age at onset, y.o.
Mean ± SD	35.3 ± 13.6	32.5 ± 13.0^a	41.9 ± 13.1^a
Duration of disease, years
Mean ± SD	5.2 ± 7.0	6.0 ± 7.1	3.3 ± 6.3
EDSS
Mean ± SD	3.9 ± 2.5	3.9 ± 2.6	3.9 ± 2.2
Initial symptoms
Sensory disturbance	29%	24%	44%
Visual loss	26%	27%	22%
Double vision or vertigo	12%	15%	4%
Acute motor weakness	5%	5%	4%
Chronic motor weakness	5%	7%	0%
Sphincter disturbance	4%	2%	9%
Ataxia	1%	2%	0%
Consciousness disturbance	1%	2%	0%
Complex	17%	16%	17%

^aMean age at onset of NMO patients was significantly older than that of MS patients (P = 0.005). Student’s t-test was used for the statistical analysis.