Author(s)

Najib Kissani^1,2, Reine Joephane Bikouta Ouadika^1,2*, Nirmeen Adel Kishk³, Ouali Chaymae¹, Eetedal Ahmed A. Ibrahim⁴, Youssoufa Maiga⁵, Ravi Paul⁶, Gams Massi Daniel⁷, Assadeck Hamid⁸, Komi Assogba⁹, Ndiaga Matar Gaye¹⁰, Jyh Yung Hor¹¹, Callixte Kuate Tegueu¹², Romain Marignier¹³, Jacqueline Palace¹⁴, Brian G. Weinshenker¹, Amany Hussein Ragab³, Kazuo Fujihara¹⁶

¹Department of Neurology, University Teaching Hospital Mohammed VI, Marrakesh, Morocco.
²Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience Research, Faculty of Medicine, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco.
³Department of Neurology, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
⁴Department of Neurology, Alneelain University, National Centre for Neurological Centre, Khartoum, Sudan.
⁵Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Bamako, Bamako, Mali.
⁶Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Lusaka, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁷Neurology Unit, Douala General Hospital, Douala, Cameroon.
⁸Department of Neurology, University Niamey, Niamey, Niger.
⁹Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Campus of Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
¹⁰Neurology Department of Fann Teaching Hospital, Dakar, Senegal.
¹¹Department of Neurology, General Hospital, Penang, Malaysia.
¹²Department of Neurology, Laquintinie Hospital of Douala, Douala, Cameroon.
¹³Department of Neurology, MS, Myeline Pathologies and Neuroinflammation, Pierre Wertheimer Neurological Hospital, Hospices Civil of Lyon, Lyon, France.
¹⁴Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁵Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
¹⁶Southern TOHOKU Research Institute for Neuroscience, MS and NMO Center, Department of Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Koriyama, Japan.

Neuromyelitis Optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are a group of inflammatory disorders of the CNS, characterized by severe attacks of optic neuritis and myelitis. There are very few epidemiological studies of NMOSD in Africa. The purpose is to provide descriptive details of all cases published and reported in scientific meetings, analyze epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic, and outcome profiles of NMOSD in Africa and compare our data with literature. Authors did a literature search using MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCIENCE DIRECT, and GOOGLE SCHOOLAR. The search further extended to international and local journals, as well as regional and national meetings for all reports and articles about NMOSD in Africa. Till the end of 2019, 622 cases were reported in Africa, originating from 21 countries. The average age at disease onset was 32.5 years and the women to men ratio was 2.78:1. The big majority of patients underwent both brain MRI and serum aquarporin-4 antibody testing. The prognosis was generally unfavorable, with motor and/or visual sequelae. This 1st report of NMOSD in Africa does not reflect reality; theoretical number is around 50,000 cases, due certainly to considerable gap with many under-diagnosed and certainly misdiagnosed cases, due to many factors.

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders, CNS, Aquarporin-4, Antibodies, Africa

Kissani, N., Ouadika, R.J.B., Kishk, N.A., Chaymae, O., Ibrahim, E.A.A., Maiga, Y., Paul, R., Daniel, G.M., Hamid, A., Assogba, K., Gaye, N.M., Hor, J.Y., Tegueu, C.K., Marignier, R., Palace, J., Weinshenker, B.G., Ragab, A.H., and Fujihara, K. (2022) Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders in Africa (A Narrative Review of 622 Cases). Open Access Library Journal, 9, 1-11. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1109649.