diagnosis

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…

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…

Testing positive for self-reactive antibodies causing both neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD) — two related autoimmune disorders — is extremely rare, but it appears to manifest more as NMOSD, a study in India suggests. So-called double positivity was found in three of…

Committee-based assessments are reliable for identifying disease attacks in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in the N-MOmentum clinical trial, which tested the approved therapy Uplizna (inebilizumab-cdon), a new study shows. The study, “Attack adjudication in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: Substantiation of criteria by…

Brain and spinal cord lesions resolve less often in children with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) than with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD), a related disorder, according to a small study. No significant differences in resolving lesions were seen between children with NMOSD and those with multiple…

Out of four markers of nervous system cell injury, blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) were found to best predict disability worsening in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study showed. Measures of blood NfL levels at the time of an NMOSD attack were the only ones…

Antibodies against aquaporin-4 (AQP4) are detectable in the blood several years before symptoms occur in most people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), according to a U.S. study. Tammy Smith, MD, PhD, of the University of Utah, presented the findings at the recent American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual…

Experts in Germany have published recommendations to help clinicians diagnose neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and distinguish it from other disorders with similar symptoms. The guidelines were detailed in “Update on the diagnosis and treatment of [neuromyelitis] optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) – revised recommendations of the…

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) may begin to manifest as uncontrollable nausea, vomiting, or hiccups — a condition referred to as area postrema syndrome (APS) — as described in a report of four patients in China. Because these symptoms can overlap with those of other diseases, their occurrence…

Dear Past Self, I know you were blindsided by this diagnosis. You’re justified in feeling that it’s unfair, because it is. No one around you has heard of neuromyelitis optica (NMO), even the doctors treating you, but I promise that everything will be OK. This is the first…