Devic disease: clinical course, pathophysiology, and management

Abstract

Devic disease is characterized by an attack or attacks of optic neuritis and necrotizing myelitis without clinical or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evidence of brain involvement or presence of oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). More than a century after its first systematic study by the French physician, Eugene Devic, its cause as well as its pathogenesis, remains unknown. Devic disease is both a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to clinicians. The authors present the latest review on the nature, course, possible mechanisms, and therapeutic options of Devic disease.