The Complex Landscape of NMOSD and MOGAD-Associated Diseases: Erin Longbrake, MD, PhD

The Complex Landscape of NMOSD and MOGAD-Associated Diseases: Erin Longbrake, MD, PhD

WATCH TIME: 5 minutes

“MS, NMOSD, and MOG-associated disease are all distinct entities so you're not going to treat each disease the same way. They are different conditions that have different medications that are effective for each of them, even though clinically the phenotypes seem similar. In fact, treatment strategies and consulting patients may need to be different. In order to give your patients the best care, it's important to recognize these patterns and correctly make the diagnosis.”

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are both autoimmune diseases that impact the central nervous system. A diagnosis for NMOSD relies on detecting antibodies attacking aquaporin-4 (AQP-4) or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). Some patients with NMOSD even lack both antibodies and are seronegative. Since NMOSD and MS symptoms are similar, differentiating the 2 conditions is critical for appropriate treatment.¹

Erin Longbrake, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine, presented a talk session on updates in NMO and other demyelinating disorders at the 2023 International Congress on the Future of Neurology (IFN) annual meeting, held September 22-23, in Jersey City, New Jersey. In her presentation, she provided an overview of the recent advancements in demyelinating disorders such as NMOSD and MOGAD and the treatments and prevention approaches they utilize.

Following her talk, Longbrake sat down in an interview with NeurologyLive® to discuss the recent advancements in treating AQP4-positive NMOSD, and the reasons behind no approved treatments for seronegative NMOSD. She also talked about the emerging clinical presentations of MOGAD and why it is crucial to identify these patterns in patients. In addition, Longbrake spoke about how the heterogeneous nature of seronegative patients impacts the development of effective treatments, and why patient homogeneity is important in clinical trials.

Click here for more coverage on IFN 2023.

REFERENCES
1. El Khoury Y, Gebelin M, de Sèze J, et al. Rapid Discrimination of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder and Multiple Sclerosis Using Machine Learning on Infrared Spectra of Sera. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(5):2791. Published 2022 Mar 3. doi:10.3390/ijms23052791