rituximab

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…

Treatment with rituximab significantly reduces the risk of relapse and lessens disability in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients with antibodies against aquaporin-4 (AQP4), according to a long-term, retrospective Australian study. Most of the analyzed patients received an initial infusion of rituximab at 1,000 mg, given as two separate…

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…

In a racially diverse group of people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), rituximab worked better to prevent relapses than did oral immunosuppressive therapies, a single-center U.S. study showed. This result was particularly relevant for Black patients — who are usually underrepresented in NMOSD clinical trials but who, the…

A rare case of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in a patient positive for antibodies against both aquaporin-4 (AQP4) protein and the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) was successfully treated with ofatumumab, a B-cell depleting medication approved for multiple sclerosis (MS), a case study reported. According to its researchers, this case represents…

Rituximab may be effective for improving functionality in children with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) or other inflammatory neurological disorders, though more research is needed to identify optimal treatment regimens, a new study reports. “Efficacy of [rituximab] in specific indications and good tolerance are confirmed in pediatric neurology.

In rare cases, people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) can experience low blood levels of neutrophils, a type of immune cell, a few weeks after receiving anti-CD20 therapy. Researchers have reported the case of a NMOSD patient who developed the uncommon side effect, called late-onset neutropenia, four…

Self-reactive antibodies that cause most cases of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) are released directly from immune B-cells in lymph nodes as opposed to cells in the bloodstream, a study has discovered. These findings implicate ongoing lymph node activity as the main driver of disease-causing antibody production in NMOSD.

Longer-term treatment with immunosuppressants may halve the risk of relapse, or of symptoms returning, in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study in China found. When taken non-stop for up to five years, such treatment reduced the risk of relapse in NMOSD patients, with a mild rebound when immunosuppressants…

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…