Peripheral Bilateral Telangiectasiae in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Treated with Interferon B1a

Introduction

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system characterized by myelin and oligodendrocytes damage, local gliosis and axonal injury. Ophthalmic manifestations include lesions of either the neuro-ophtalmic afferent visual pathway, the efferent oculomotor pathways, or the eye with anterior, intermediate or posterior uveitis [1]. The most common mode of presentation of MS is a relapsing remitting course [2], commonly treated with immunomodulatory agents, such as subcutaneous interferon beta1a injection (IB1a). The systemic use of IB1a can rarely be complicated by ischemic retinopathy accompanied by retinal hemorrhages, cotton wool spots and microvascular retinal occlusions affecting mostly the posterior pole [3], [4], [5]. All the above publications reported the disappearance of the retinal manifestations with the discontinuation of IB1a therapy. Clinical presentation of IB1a retinopathy is compared to the ischemic retinopathy associated with interferon alpha [6] and both molecules are structurally related and share a common ancestor [7]. We describe the ophthalmic features of two patients diagnosed with quiescent relapsing-remitting MS previously treated with IB1a who both exhibited asymptomatic bilateral peripheral retinal telangiectasiae.

• References

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