Seronegative neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) could be 1 of the most common clinical presentations of patients with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein autoantibodies (MOG-Abs) positivity, according to a recently published study in Annals of Laboratory Medicine.
Disease-specific autoantibodies are vital in diagnosing central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory disorders such as NMOSD. MOG-Abs constitute an example of autoantibodies in many different neurological syndromes, such as myelitis, neuritis optica, seronegative NMOSD, and encephalitis.
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“Nevertheless, the clinical implications of MOG-Abs have yet to be thoroughly evaluated,” the authors wrote. “Thus, efforts to improve related assays and assess clinical associations with antibodies are essential, as such information could increase our understanding of the spectrum of MOGAD and change clinical practice.”
Therefore, the researchers aimed to use an in-house cell-based assay (CBA) capable of detecting MOG-Abs to analyze the clinical characteristics associated with MOG-Abs and compare them with those of seropositive NMOSD.
The study included 166 samples obtained from the Korean CNS inflammatory disorder registry, as well as data from patients with MOG-Ab-associated disease (MOGAD) from the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, Korea.
The most common diagnosis from the 166 collected samples was NMOSD, followed by transverse myelitis and multiple sclerosis. 10 patients tested positive for MOGADS with an in-house CBA. Of the 10 patients, 4 were diagnosed with optic neuritis, 1 with seronegative NMOSD, and 1 with transverse myelitis.
The investigators used 29 additional samples and compared 39 patients with MOGADS to patients with NMOSD. In the added patients with MOGAD, seronegative NMOSD was the common clinical presentation with 17 patients. The authors observed a shorter disease duration in those with MOGADS than those with seropositive NMOSD; however, the relapse rate between both groups was similar.
“Seronegative NMOSD (17/39, 43.6%) was the most frequent clinical syndrome found in the additionally recruited patients with MOG-Abs, whereas ON was the most common clinical syndrome at onset,” the authors concluded.
Reference
Seok JM, Waters P, Jeon MY, et al. Clinical usefulness of a cell-based assay for detecting myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies in central nervous system inflammatory disorders. Ann Lab Med. Published online August 2, 2023. doi:10.3343/alm.2024.44.1.56
