Patricia Inacio, PhD, science writer —

Uplizna (inebilizumab) treatment markedly reduces the number of several subsets of immune B-cells that are linked to disease relapses in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), trial data show. The therapy also lowers levels of the self-reactive antibodies against the AQP4 protein that drive most NMOSD cases,…

Experiencing attacks marked by transverse myelitis, or spinal cord inflammation, significantly increases the chance of worse disability in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients and the related condition myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). Those are the findings of a study analyzing data from a Portuguese national…

Nearly all neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients who start taking Enspryng (satralizumab) are free of relapses after six months, according to interim data from an ongoing post-marketing surveillance study in Japan. With a relapse rate of only 5% over six months, the findings were “comparable or lower…

Immunosuppressive therapy significantly reduces relapses in elderly people with late-onset neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), with more than half of patients becoming relapse-free, a retrospective study in South Korea has found. Treatment also eased or stabilized disability for most patients, without a marked risk of severe infections, and was…

Treatment with rituximab significantly reduces the risk of relapse and lessens disability in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients with antibodies against aquaporin-4 (AQP4), according to a long-term, retrospective Australian study. Most of the analyzed patients received an initial infusion of rituximab at 1,000 mg, given as two separate…

The circulating levels in the blood of six inflammatory proteins may help predict the risk of relapse and severe attacks in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study from China reports. Four of these inflammation-related proteins — FGF-23, DNER, GDNF, and SLAMF1 — were used to build…

As many as half of people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) experience depression, anxiety, and/or sleep problems, according to a new meta-analysis of published studies. Moreover, these symptoms were more frequent among NMOSD patients than in the general population. “There is a high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and…

The clinical symptoms of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in people in their 50s or older may look like those of a stroke — which can delay proper diagnosis and treatment of the the progressive autoimmune disorder, according to a case report and systematic literature review. That’s what happened…

Out of four markers of nervous system cell injury, blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) were found to best predict disability worsening in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study showed. Measures of blood NfL levels at the time of an NMOSD attack were the only ones…

In a racially diverse group of people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), rituximab worked better to prevent relapses than did oral immunosuppressive therapies, a single-center U.S. study showed. This result was particularly relevant for Black patients — who are usually underrepresented in NMOSD clinical trials but who, the…