An MRI of a 25-year-old female with recent vision loss in one eye and numbness in her legs shows inflammation and demyelination of the optic nerve and multiple plaques in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord. What could be the potential diagnosis?
This young woman's symptoms and MRI findings suggest a condition called Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD), which primarily affects the optic nerves and spinal cord, causing symptoms such as vision loss and numbness or weakness in the legs. It could also be multiple sclerosis, which can have similar findings. Further testing, such as aquaporin-4 or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody testing, would help differentiate between these possibilities.