Margarida Maia, PhD, science writer —

Achieving nine goals could help address inequities with access to properly diagnosing and treating neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a Massachusetts physician maintains. The goals were proposed by Farrah Mateen, MD, PhD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston as a personal viewpoint in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal under…

Uplizna (inebilizumab) reduces the number and size of subclinical lesions — those that cause no apparent symptoms — in the spinal cord of people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) about six months after the start of treatment. That’s according to a new analysis from the Phase…

Testing positive for self-reactive antibodies causing both neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD) — two related autoimmune disorders — is extremely rare, but it appears to manifest more as NMOSD, a study in India suggests. So-called double positivity was found in three of…

Starting treatment with off-label rituximab soon after neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) symptoms begin may prevent long-term disability worsening, a South Korean study suggests. This approach was particularly true for patients who were younger than 50, female, and for those with a severe level of disability before starting rituximab,…

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) may begin to manifest as uncontrollable nausea, vomiting, or hiccups — a condition referred to as area postrema syndrome (APS) — as described in a report of four patients in China. Because these symptoms can overlap with those of other diseases, their occurrence…

Eye scans of people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) revealed they may have a thicker retina — the eye’s light-detector — and more blood vessels than people with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD). That’s according to a study in which researchers used two noninvasive imaging techniques,…

Undergoing plasma exchange, a blood-cleaning procedure, within 10 days after a relapse of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) may help ease symptoms in children positive for antibodies against AQP4 and who do not respond well to corticosteroids. That’s according to a small study that assessed the safety and efficacy…

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and the ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) enzyme appear to get shed into the bloodstream in the early stages of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study found — suggesting that these blood proteins may one day be used to diagnose the autoimmune disease…

People who develop neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) later in life may go on to experience worse outcomes than those who have early-onset disease, a study in China has found. Worse outcomes included a higher frequency of inflammation of the thoracic spinal cord during relapses, more brain lesions and…

People with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who experience relapses are three times more likely to change their treatment regimen than those who have no relapses, a study found. Researchers also observed that people who experienced optic neuritis with or without brain symptoms, those with shorter disease duration, and…