Patricia Inacio, PhD, science writer —

A low dose of rituximab — infused at 100 mg weekly for three consecutive weeks — was effective at preventing relapses and disability progression in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), according to a meta-analysis of five different regimens. Moreover, treatment with rituximab at this low…

Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may trigger neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a case report suggests. The report, “Antibody‐Positive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder After Second COVID‐19 Vaccination: a Case Report,” was published in the journal SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine. Recommended…

Uplizna (inebilizumab-cdon) was found effective both at reducing attacks and lessening disability in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) living in Europe, according to data from the N-MOmentum Phase 2/3 trial. Nearly 90% of participants given Uplizna remained free from attacks six months after starting the therapy,…

About a third of adults with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) have cognitive impairments, affecting mostly visual learning and memory, according to a small Spanish study. Mood, fatigue, and satisfaction with life were among the contributing factors to cognitive impairment. According to the researchers, cognitive…

The use of immunomodulatory therapy based on type 1 interferons (IFNs) may trigger neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), according to a new case report. Researchers in China described the case of a 24-year-old man diagnosed with the autoimmune disease after receiving treatment with IFN-alpha, a…

Constipation may be linked with pain due to nerve cell damage in people diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and the related disorder myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD), a study suggests. “Both symptoms were significantly more common among patients with a history of myelitis,” the researchers wrote of constipation…

People with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), but lacking anti-AQP4 and anti-MOG antibodies, show no signs of damage to astrocytes — nervous system cells attacked in NMOSD — when compared to those with anti-AQP4 antibodies. Those findings from a recent study suggest that the mechanisms underlying NMOSD symptoms in…

InnoCare Pharma will soon launch a Phase 2 clinical trial in China to test orelabrutinib, its oral investigational Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, to treat neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). The announcement comes after China’s National Medical Products Administration approved the company’s request to conduct such a trial,…

Merck KGaA will continue to advance CRD1 for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), after the company acquired the therapy’s original developer, Chord Therapeutics. The investigational therapy is an oral cladribine product that works by reducing the number of immune cells, namely…

A committee of the European Medicines Agency has recommended approving Uplizna (inebilizumab-cdon) for adults with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who test positive for aquaporin-4 water channel autoantibodies (AQP4-IgG). This recommendation from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, known as CHMP, will now be reviewed by…