AQP4

International research has uncovered a series of immune-related events that might contribute to the abnormal immune responses against the aquaporin-4 protein (AQP4), which drives neuroinflammation in cases of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Among the implicated immune cell types are natural killer T-cells (NKT), which seem to be first…

Eating more oily fish and raw vegetables may decrease a person’s risk of developing neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), according to a new study of the autoimmune disease that used genetic data. While most foods reviewed in the study — including beef, bread, cheese, wine, poultry, and also coffee…

High-efficacy treatments for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) are associated with significant reductions in hospitalizations, relapses, and MRI lesions relative to traditional therapies, according to a recent study. The findings, which were published in the Journal of Neurology, were discussed in an oral presentation at the American…

The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency has approved Uplizna (inebilizumab-cdon) for the treatment of adults with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who test positive for antibodies against aquaporin-4 (AQP4-IgG). The Horizon Therapeutics’ therapy is the first and only man-made antibody against CD19 — a cell surface protein present…

Neutrophils, a set of immune cells, from people with aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) are resistant to certain forms of cell death, a study found. NMOSD patients also had increased blood levels of molecules that might help neutrophils resist cell death pathways. Similar findings weren’t observed…

Rituximab worked better than other treatments at preventing relapses in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who have antibodies against aquaporin-4 (AQP-4), according to a recent Chinese report. As a first-line therapy for the autoimmune disease, Rituximab outperformed both azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in relapse prevention, the…

A case report has detailed the clinical journeys of two identical twin sisters’ simultaneous diagnosis with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a rare occurrence. NMOSD was last reported in identical twin sisters in 1938, but those girls’ symptoms started two years apart,  unlike the present case. The case report,…

Asymptomatic, or “silent,” MRI lesions are not common during disease remission in patients with aquaporin-4 antibody neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4-NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD), but are associated with imminent relapse when they do occur, according to a recent U.K. study. “Results of…

Aeterna Zentaris GmbH has acquired exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize highly-specific, autoimmune modifying proteins for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). The company, a subsidiary of Aeterna Zentaris, reached an agreement with Julius-Maximilians-University Wuerzburg (JMU), in Germany, which developed the technology, called AIM Biologicals.

In most people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), autoantibodies against aquaporin-4 (AQP4) coordinate a complex series of immune activities that drive the disease. Better understanding of these disease-causing mechanisms may help in efforts to find new treatments for NMOSD patients. These mechanisms were explained in the lecture, “…