NMO appears to be a heterogenous condition

Sato DK, Callegaro D, Lana-Peixoto MA, Waters PJ, de Haidar Jorge FM, Takahashi T, Nakashima I, Apostolos-Pereira SL, Talim N, Simm RF, Martins Lino AM, Misu T, Leite MI, Aoki M, Fujihara K. Distinction between MOG antibody-positive and AQP4 antibody-positive NMO spectrum disorders. Neurology. 2014 Jan 10. [Epub ahead of print]


OBJECTIVE: To evaluate clinical features among patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) who have myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies, aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibodies, or seronegativity for both antibodies.
METHODS: Sera from patients diagnosed with NMOSD in 1 of 3 centers (2 sites in Brazil and 1 site in Japan) were tested for MOG and AQP4 antibodies using cell-based assays with live transfected cells.
RESULTS: Among the 215 patients with NMOSD, 7.4% (16/215) were positive for MOG antibodies and 64.7% (139/215) were positive for AQP4 antibodies. No patients were positive for both antibodies. Patients with MOG antibodies represented 21.1% (16/76) of the patients negative for AQP4 antibodies. Compared with patients with AQP4 antibodies or patients who were seronegative, patients with MOG antibodies were more frequently male, had a more restricted phenotype (optic nerve more than spinal cord), more frequently had bilateral simultaneous optic neuritis, more often had a single attack, had spinal cord lesions distributed in the lower portion of the spinal cord, and usually demonstrated better functional recovery after an attack.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with NMOSD with MOG antibodies have distinct clinical features, fewer attacks, and better recovery than patients with AQP4 antibodies or patients seronegative for both antibodies.



Neuromyelitis optica (NMO)has been thought of a distinct subtype of CNS demyelinating disease distinguishable from the heterogeneous assortment of patients captured by the umbrella diagnosis of "multiple sclerosis (MS)." NMO had distinctive clinical, radiologic, and pathologic characteristics and, in most cases, a highly specific biomarker, aquaporin-4 (AQP4) autoantibodies, was detectable. However, 10%-30% of persons who are seronegative for the AQP4 autoantibody despite evaluation with the most sensitive cell-based assays available. This study suggests that those with MOG reactive antibodies may not be the same.

Labels: