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People with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) may experience gradual shrinkage, or atrophy, of the brain even during periods without relapses, according to a new study that challenges the long-held view that most neurological damage in NMOSD occurs mainly during relapses. The researchers also found that starting biologic therapies earlier…

Even if they don’t have disease relapses, people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) tend to experience abnormal atrophy, or shrinkage, of the spinal cord over time, a new study shows. According to the researchers, “spinal cord involvement … accounts for significant disability in up to 80% of patients…

MIL62, an injection therapy approved exclusively in China for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), was found to keep most NMOSD patients free of relapses for up to two years, while being generally safe and well tolerated. That’s according to data from the Phase 1b portion of a single-center…

An international team of researchers has identified three genetic variants significantly associated with higher odds of developing neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) with self-reactive antibodies against the AQP4 protein. The data also suggest that, in terms of genetic risk factors, AQP4-positive NMOSD is more similar to systemic autoimmune diseases…

Use of the approved therapy Uplizna (inebilizumab) reduces the risk of relapse and worsening disability in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), regardless of whether patients had previously received conventional immunosuppressive treatments. These are the findings of a post-hoc analysis of data from the Phase 2/3…

People with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) often experience severe fatigue, pain, anxiety, and depression that are not fully captured by standard physical disability tools used in the clinic, a study found. According to the researchers, “disability scores were weakly associated with symptom burden” on the Expanded Disability Status…

Ultomiris (ravulizumab-cwvz) was associated with sustained disease control in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), regardless of whether they had been previously treated off-label with rituximab. That’s according to a new analysis of data from the Phase 3 CHAMPION-NMOSD clinical trial (NCT04201262), whose results supported…

Most documented safety issues reported during Enspryng (satralizumab-mwge) treatment for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in a real-world database have been consistent with the therapy’s reported safety profile in clinical trials, a study showed. Simultaneous use of corticosteroids, a common anti-inflammatory treatment in NMOSD, was associated with higher…

For a rare group of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients who test negative for two self-reactive antibodies, being older than 32 at disease onset may increase the risk of relapses, a study found. In contrast, spinal cord involvement, with or without optic nerve inflammation, at disease onset was…

Measuring the blood levels of natural killer (NK) cells, a type of immune cell, may serve as a diagnostic biomarker for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study showed. Blood tests consistently showed significantly lower NK cell proportions and counts in NMOSD patients than in healthy individuals and in…