News

Study finds altered gut bacteria in people with relapsing NMOSD

The composition of bacteria in the gut is altered in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients experiencing disease relapses compared with healthy people in the same household, a study reports. Following treatment, however, the gut bacterial profiles of NMOSD patients in remission resembled those of healthy people. “The…

Polyautoimmunity may raise relapse risk in NMOSD: Study

People with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) often have other co-occurring autoimmune diseases and those who do have a significantly higher risk of a relapse than people with NMOSD alone, a study in Portugal suggests. Long-term disability outcomes didn’t differ between the two groups, however, suggesting “appropriate treatment may…

Seaweed preparation GV-971 slows progression of NMOSD in mice

A seaweed-derived preparation named GV-971 (sodium oligomannate) that has anti-inflammatory effects through the gut-brain axis, delayed the onset and progression of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in mouse models of the disease, a study shows. The preparation developed by Green Valley Pharmaceuticals is approved in China as an…

NMOSD treatment HNSA-5487 found safe, effective in Phase 1 trial

HNSA-5487, Hansa Biopharma’s experimental treatment for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and other autoimmune diseases, safely and effectively reduced the levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies — ones involved in the abnormal immune attacks that drive these conditions — in a Phase 1 clinical trial involving healthy volunteers.

Nonspecific symptoms common in NMOSD before first disease attack

In the five years before their first disease attack, people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) required significantly more doctor’s office visits and hospitalizations than their peers in the general population, a new study from Canada found. The researchers believe these findings point to the presence of an NMOSD…

Spinal cord attacks predict worse disability in NMOSD, MOGAD

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…

Maintenance rituximab treatment lowers NMOSD relapse frequency

Maintenance treatment with rituximab significantly reduced the number of relapses per year in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and it remained effective after patients experienced relapses, according to a study from China. Relapses more frequently occurred within the first year after rituximab initiation, and their frequency decreased…