Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies (MOG-Ab) are related to several acquired demyelinating syndromes in adults, but the therapeutic approach is currently unclear. We aimed to describe the response to different therapeutic strategies in adult patients with relapsing MOG-Ab-associated disease. This is a retrospective study conducted in France and Spain including 125 relapsing MOG-Ab patients aged ≥ 18 years. First, we performed a survival analysis to investigate the relapse risk between treated and non-treated patients, performing a propensity score method based on the inverse probability of treatment weighting. Second, we assessed the annualised relapse rates (ARR), Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and visual acuity pre-treatment and on/end-treatment. Median age at onset was 34.1 years (range 18.0–67.1), the female to male ratio was 1.2:1, and 96% were Caucasian. At 5 years, 84% (95% confidence interval [CI], 77.1–89.8) patients relapsed. At the last follow-up, 66 (52.8%) received maintenance therapy. Patients initiating immunosuppressants (azathioprine, mycophenolate mophetil [MMF], rituximab) were at lower risk of new relapse in comparison to non-treated patients (HR, 0.41; 95CI%, 0.20–0.82; p = 0.011). Mean ARR (standard deviation) was reduced from 1.05(1.20) to 0.43(0.79) with azathioprine (n = 11; p = 0.041), from 1.20(1.11) to 0.23(0.60) with MMF (n = 11; p = 0.033), and from 1.08(0.98) to 0.43(0.89) with rituximab (n = 26; p = 0.012). Other immunosuppressants (methotrexate/mitoxantrone/cyclophosphamide; n = 5), or multiple sclerosis disease-modifying drugs (MS-DMD; n = 9), were not associated with significantly reduced ARR. Higher rates of freedom of EDSS progression were observed with azathioprine, MMF or rituximab. In adults with relapsing MOG-Ab-associated disease, immunosuppressant therapy (azathioprine, MMF and rituximab) is associated with reduced risk of relapse and better disability outcomes. Such an effect was not found in the few patients treated with MS-DMD.

Fingolimod was licensed in France in early 2012 for patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), with identical conditions of prescription compared with natalizumab. Therefore, fingolimod and natalizumab are supposed to be comparable in terms of prescription intent, efficacy, and safety.

Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) attacks require an urgent probabilistic anti-inflammatory therapeutic strategy. As inadequately treated attacks result in disability, there is a need to identify the optimal attack-treatment regimen. Our study aimed to identify predictors of outcome after a first attack in patients with an NMOSD presentation and propose the best treatment strategy. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study on the French national NMOSD registry (NOMADMUS), a nested cohort of the French multiple sclerosis observatory (OFSEP) recruiting patients with NMOSD presentations in France. We studied the first attack for any independent locations of clinical core characteristic of NMOSD, in treatment-naïve patients. The primary outcome was the evolution of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score at 6 months, stratified in two ways to account for recovery (return to baseline EDSS score) and treatment response (classified as “good” if the EDSS score decreased by ≥ 1 point after a nadir EDSS score ≤ 3, or by ≥ 2 points after a nadir EDSS score > 3). We used ordinal logistic regression to infer statistical associations with the outcome. Results: We included 211 attacks among 183 patients (104 with anti-AQP4 antibodies, 60 with anti-MOG antibodies, and 19 double seronegative). Attack treatment regimens comprised corticosteroids (n = 196), plasma exchanges (PE; n = 72) and intravenous immunoglobulins (n = 6). Complete recovery was reached in 40 attacks (19%) at 6 months. The treatment response was “good” in 134 attacks (63.5%). There was no improvement in EDSS score in 50 attacks (23.7%). MOG-antibody seropositivity and short delays to PE were significantly and independently associated with better recovery and treatment response. Conclusions: We identified two prognostic factors: serostatus (with better outcomes among MOG-Ab-positive patients) and the delay to PE. We, therefore, argue for a more aggressive anti-inflammatory management of the first attacks suggesting an NMOSD presentation, with the early combination of PE with corticosteroids.