A case of radiologically isolated syndrome developing Balo's concentric sclerosis lesions on long-term follow-up

Abstract

Background; Radiologically Isolated Syndrome (RIS) depicts a clinical scenario with multiple sclerosis (MS)-like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in individuals without clinical features of a demyelinating bout. Balo’s concentric sclerosis (BCS) on the other hand, is a variant of MS characterized by concentrically layered white mater demyelinating lesions. Case presentation: a 49-year-old male with an incidental brain lesion on MRI underwent a stereotactic biopsy and diagnosed as a demyelinating process. He remained asymptomatic throughout the long term clinical and radiological follow-up. However, the patient developed new demyelinating lesions with some showing concentric layers of BCS. Conclusion:this is the first reported case; to our knowledge, whereby a pathologically verified RIS patient developed characteristic BCS lesions. Our case highlights the heterogeneity of RIS as a clinico-radiological entity, requiring further sub-classification of the spectrum for improved management