Background. Uveitis is 20 times more frequent in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients than in the general population. Methods. A retrospective study of local multiple sclerosis and uveitis cohorts described the ophthalmological and neurological characteristics of patients with multiple sclerosis and uveitis. Results. Uveitis and multiple sclerosis were associated in seven patients. The time intervals between diagnoses of MS and uveitis ranged from 6 months to 15 years. Analysis of the patients’ characteristics revealed that multiple sclerosis was associated with an older age of onset than usually expected, that is, 39 years. Uveitis was bilateral in three cases and mainly posterior (5/10). Five patients presented with acute optic neuritis (two in one eye and three in both eyes). All eyes presenting with acute optic neuritis were also affected by uveitis , though not simultaneously. Conclusion. The ipsilateral association between optic neuritis and uveitis in this series of patients with multiple sclerosis may suggest a reciprocal potentiation between optic neuritis and uveitis in multiple sclerosis. 1. Introduction Optic neuritis (ON) is the most frequent ophthalmic manifestation of multiple sclerosis (MS), occurring in ~30% of cases. In contrast, uveitis is only associated with MS in 1% of patients [1]. Similarly, uveitis is attributed to MS in 1%–3% cases of uveitis and is associated with an increased risk of severe visual disability [2, 3]. The clinical features of uveitis in MS vary considerably between reports but generally manifest as bilateral, intermediate (pars planitis) uveitis [1, 4–6]. In a series of 1855 patients with chronic anterior uveitis, MS was diagnosed in 30 patients (1.6%) [7]. Patients with MS and uveitis also present with ON more frequently than expected in MS [4, 5], but a direct pathogenic link between ON and uveitis has not yet been considered. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of uveitis in a cohort of patients with MS and to analyze its relationship with ON with regards to both the ophthalmological and neurological characteristics of these patients. 2. Patients and Methods Patients from Montpellier Hospital with MS-associated uveitis were retrospectively identified through the MS clinic database in the Neurology Department (700 patients) and the uveitis database from the Ophthalmology Department (450 patients). Diagnosis of MS was assessed from clinical and MRI data according to the 2005 revised McDonald criteria for relapsing-remitting or primary progressive MS [8]. Acute uveitis was defined by the
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