News

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients have significantly poorer nutritional status than healthy people which is associated with worse quality of life, a study found. Longer disease duration; poor sleep quality; being a woman; and higher levels of anxiety, depression, or fatigue were found to be significantly associated with…

The presence of certain self-reactive antibodies called antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) in the blood is associated with worse disability and more severe relapses in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), according to a study from China. “Our results suggest that ANA seems to be more associated with severe disease…

Long-term use of the approved therapy Soliris (eculizumab) safely and effectively prevents relapses in the real world in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and antibodies against the AQP4 protein. That’s according to two-year interim data from an observational study in Japan, where Soliris was approved in…

When the immune system launches an attack to fight off a cytomegalovirus infection, immune cells may accidentally target aquaporin-4 (AQP4), a protein found at the surface of neuron-supporting cells. That’s the hypothesis suggested by researchers who analyzed the immune cell receptors of people with and without neuromyelitis optica spectrum…

The presence of lesions in the brain’s middle medulla, a control center for breathing, increases the likelihood of acute respiratory failure in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study suggests. While middle medullary lesions on MRI were the key predictor of acute respiratory failure in patients with…

The rate of disease onset or relapse of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) after a SARS-CoV-2 infection — the virus that causes COVID-19 — is extremely low, at about 1 in 50 million, according to a worldwide review study. The occurrence of NMOSD was even lower, at 1 in…

Older age, a poor response to steroids, and the need for a blood-cleaning procedure known as plasma exchange all were found to increase the likelihood of a diagnosis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) among people experiencing a first optic neuritis attack, a small study shows. These findings led…

Having optic neuritis — inflammation of the nerves that relay information between the eyes and the brain — as a first symptom of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is one of the factors that predict visual disability in up to five years, according to a study in China. Other…

Achieving nine goals could help address inequities with access to properly diagnosing and treating neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a Massachusetts physician maintains. The goals were proposed by Farrah Mateen, MD, PhD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston as a personal viewpoint in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal under…

Uplizna (inebilizumab) reduces the number and size of subclinical lesions — those that cause no apparent symptoms — in the spinal cord of people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) about six months after the start of treatment. That’s according to a new analysis from the Phase…