Margarida Maia, PhD, science writer —

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…

People with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who are diagnosed with at least one non-immune system comorbidity, or simultaneous disease, are at a higher risk of vision loss and paralysis than those without such conditions, a study found. NMOSD patients with these comorbidities also were significantly more likely to…

A chemotherapy regimen was able to treat a woman’s neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) which was likely secondary to follicular lymphoma, a type of cancer that begins in cells of the immune system, according to a case report by researchers at King’s College London in the U.K. O-CVP —…

Women are more likely to have neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) symptoms, or a rebound of symptoms, within three months after delivering a baby, a Chinese study found. Women who didn’t receive immunotherapy during pregnancy and the postpartum period were more than five times as likely to have…

A young woman had a rebound of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) toward the end of her pregnancy, for which she underwent plasma exchange and took steroids, according to a report from researchers in the U.S. Because treatment with plasma exchange and steroids did not work well enough, the…

Patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) or multiple sclerosis (MS), another disease that damages the protective myelin sheaths around nerve cells, are at higher risk than healthy individuals of also developing Parkinson’s disease (PD), a South Korean study found. The study, “Risk of Parkinson’s disease…

A man’s first manifestation of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) was aseptic meningitis, an inflammation of the meninges (the membranes that enclose the brain and spinal cord) without evidence of a bacterial infection, which is unusual and made a quick diagnosis difficult, says a report from Japan. The man…

Astrocytes, star-shaped cells found around nerve cells, make an inflammation driver of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) called interleukin-6 (IL-6) in part by gearing up a chain of reactions involving nuclear factor kappa B, or NF-kappaB, according to a study in rat cells. Researchers also observed that by blocking…