Margarida Maia, PhD, science writer —

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…

Longer-term treatment with immunosuppressants may halve the risk of relapse, or of symptoms returning, in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study in China found. When taken non-stop for up to five years, such treatment reduced the risk of relapse in NMOSD patients, with a mild rebound when immunosuppressants…

Rituximab may be a more effective immunosuppressive therapy for preventing a first relapse in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) than mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a new meta-analysis found. The anti-CD20 antibody rituximab, commonly used off-label in NMOSD, also appears to work better than azathioprine, though the results failed…

Uplizna (inebilizumab-cdon), a medication for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), is now available in the U.S. through specialty distributor BioCareSD and specialty infusion pharmacy BioTek Remedys. The companies added the medication to their portfolio of specialty therapeutics to expand upon their product offering…

A branch of the European Medicines Agency has recommended that Enspryng (satralizumab) be approved to treat patients, 12 and older, with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), who carry antibodies against the aquaporin-4 protein (AQP4-IgG). The recommendation, made by the agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use…