Genetics

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…

A specific set of immune-related genes is significantly more active in the blood of people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), potentially offering a new diagnostic approach for the rare disease. A study in Iran found that seven genes involved in a major inflammatory pathway, called nuclear factor kappa…

Uplizna (inebilizumab) prevented disease attacks for people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) regardless of whether they had a genetic variant in the FCGR3A gene that’s associated with reduced efficacy of rituximab, a therapy commonly used off-label for NMOSD. That’s according to additional data analyses from the Phase…

People with a genetic makeup that causes them to be more susceptible to COVID-19 are nearly five times as likely to develop neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) associated with antibodies against aquaporin-4 (AQP4), a study finds. Evidence for a cause and effect, or causal, link between COVID-19 and NMOSD…

Genetic variations linked with cold sores and shingles infections have been associated with the development of AQP4 antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), according to genetic analysis. The findings suggest that the herpes simplex virus, which is the cause of cold sores, and the varicella-zoster virus, which leads to…

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…

Familial clustering of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) — having more cases within families than what would be expected — is more common than originally thought. That’s according to a new study whose findings highlight a complex genetic predisposition to the progressive autoimmune disease. Certain DNA variants were shared…

Certain variations in the ESR1 gene — a protein-coding gene for estrogen receptor-alpha — are significantly more common among women with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) or multiple sclerosis (MS) than among healthy women, a small study suggests. Such differences were not observed between men with these…

Uplizna (inebilizumab-cdon) works to treat people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) regardless of whether such patients carry genetic variants linked to poor responses to other B-cell depleting therapies, new trial data show. An analysis of N-MOmentum Phase 2/3 data found that the approved therapy was as effective…

At its first virtual investor event, biotech company Centogene set a bold mission: to cure 100 rare diseases within the next decade. A leader in the field of genetic diagnostics, Centogene used the June 22 event to present its strategic priorities, outlining its plans to speed the discovery…