NMO-IgG Predicts Outcome of Recurrent Optic Neuritis

Prognosis is worse for NMO-seropositive patients, who should be considered for prophylactic immunosuppression.

Presence of the autoantibody NMO-IgG is part of the diagnostic criteria for neuromyelitis optica and also portends a high likelihood of recurrence of longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM). In this retrospective chart review, the authors examined the prognostic significance of NMO seropositivity in patients with recurrent optic neuritis (RON). Of 34 patients with RON, 25 had follow-up data (mean follow-up, 8.5 years); 5 of these were NMO-seropositive.

During follow-up, 50% of NMO-seropositive patients developed full-blown NMO with LETM, compared with only 7% of the NMO-seronegative subjects. Moreover, the NMO-positive patients had worse outcomes on visual-acuity tests. Nonwhite ancestry was more common among seropositive subject…

Reviewing Author

Misha Pless, MD