treatment

As summer winds down, I’m eagerly awaiting the return of fall. I love fall fashion, and I can’t wait for a break from the intense sunlight. After more than a decade of remission, my rare disorder, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), reared its ugly head this summer, causing absolute…

Combining blood-cleaning therapies such as plasma exchange or immunoadsorption with standard steroid treatment can improve recovery outcomes in patients having an attack of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study that reported no significant safety concerns shows. The study, “Efficacy and safety of apheresis therapy in AQP4 antibody‐positive…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with preventive NMOSD medications. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. I’ve always been afraid of heights. When I’m looking over an edge, my palms get sweaty, my heart starts to race,…

Nearly all neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients who start taking Enspryng (satralizumab) are free of relapses after six months, according to interim data from an ongoing post-marketing surveillance study in Japan. With a relapse rate of only 5% over six months, the findings were “comparable or lower…

Immunosuppressive therapy significantly reduces relapses in elderly people with late-onset neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), with more than half of patients becoming relapse-free, a retrospective study in South Korea has found. Treatment also eased or stabilized disability for most patients, without a marked risk of severe infections, and was…

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…

Enspryng (satralizumab-mwge) promotes an anti-inflammatory profile in plasmablasts, the immune cells that produce large amounts of the self-reactive antibodies that drive most cases of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). That’s according to a study analyzing immune cells from NMOSD patients before and after treatment with Enspryng, as well…

Long-term treatment with Uplizna (inebilizumab) was well tolerated and led to sustained disease control for adults with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). That’s according to final data from the open-label extension period of the Phase 2/3 N-MOmentum clinical trial (NCT02200770), top-line data of which supported the therapy’s…

After six hours of sitting in the ER waiting room, I wondered if, instead of coming here, my optometrist could’ve recognized my optic neuritis attack and prescribed me Solu-Medrol (methylprednisolone) and oral steroids. An emergency appointment with my optometrist certainly would’ve taken less time than waiting for a…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Solu-Medrol (methylprednisolone) and the Homepump Eclipse. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Initially, I took a blasé approach to my most recent neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder…