Table 4.

Distinctive characteristics between MS and NMOSD.

Distinctive characteristics of MS
Progressive course
Partial transverse myelitis
Brain MRI features
	Perpendicular periventricular lesions (Dawson fingers)
	Periventricular lesions in the inferior temporal lobe
	Juxtacortical lesions involving subcortical U-fibers
	Cortical lesions
	More severe brain atrophy
Spinal cord MRI features
	Lesions <3 complete vertebral segments
	Lesions located predominantly in the peripheral cord
	Diffuse, indistinct signal change on T2-weighted sequences
Cerebrospinal fluid analysis
	Presence of oligoclonal bands
Optic coherence tomography features
	Predominant atrophy of temporal RNFL
Distinctive characteristics of NMOSD
Complete transverse myelitis
Brain MRI features
	Multiple patchy enhancement with blurred margin in adjacent regions (cloud-like enhancement)
	Large and edematous callosal lesions
	Large and confluent white matter lesions (as in PRES)
	Predominantly posterior brainstem lesions (around the fourth ventricle lesions and periaqueductal lesions)
	Hypothalamic lesions
	Extensive optic nerve lesions and chiasmal lesions
Spinal cord MRI features
	Longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis lesions (≥3 contiguous segments)
	Longitudinally extensive spinal cord atrophy (≥3 contiguous segments)
	Centrally-located or holomedullary spinal cord lesions
Cerebrospinal fluid analysis
	Moderate or marked pleocytosis
	Presence of neutrophils and eosinophils
Optic coherence tomography features
	Predominant atrophy of superior and inferior RNFL

MS: multiple sclerosis; NMOSD: neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders; PRES: posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome; RNFL: retinal nerve fiber layer.