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Background: Longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) is classically related to aquaporin (AQP4)-antibodies (Ab) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) or more recently to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-Ab associated disease. However, some patients remain negative for any diagnosis, despite a large work-up including AQP4-Ab and MOG-Ab. Data about natural history, disability outcome, and treatment are limited in this group of patients. We aimed to (1) describe clinical, biological, and radiological features of double seronegative LETM patients; (2) assess the clinical course and identify prognostic factors; and (3) assess the risk of recurrence, according to maintenance immunosuppressive therapy.Methods: Retrospective evaluation of patients with a first episode of LETM, tested negative for AQP-Ab and MOG-Ab, from the French nationwide observatory study NOMADMUS.Results: Fifty-three patients (median age 38 years (range 16-80)) with double seronegative LETM were included. Median nadir EDSS at onset was 6.0 (1-8.5), associated to a median EDSS at last follow-up of 4.0 (0-8). Recurrence was observed in 24.5% of patients in the 18 following months, with a median time to first relapse of 5.7 months. The risk of recurrence was lower in the group of patients treated early with an immunosuppressive drug (2/22, 9%), in comparison with untreated patients (10/31, 32%).Conclusions: A first episode of a double seronegative LETM is associated to a severe outcome and a high rate of relapse in the following 18 months, suggesting that an early immunosuppressive treatment may be beneficial in that condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G Neuro Myelitis Optica spectrum disorders attacks (NMOSD-AQP4-IgG+ attacks) can cause respiratory failure requiring orotracheal intubation (OTI), but the risk factors and outcomes of OTI during attacks remain unclear. Our primary objective was to identify the clinical and radiological risk factors for OTI in NMOSD-AQP4-IgG+ attacks. As a secondary objective, we aimed to evaluate the prognosis of OTI-attacks. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed NMOSD-AQP4-IgG+ attacks at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (Jan 2010–Jan 2021), excluding isolated optic neuritis. The primary outcome was the need for OTI due to neurological dysfunction an attack (OTI-attack). The secondary outcome was attack's poor recovery after 12 months, defined as a modified Rankin score (mRS) > 2 in patients with an initial mRS ≤ 2, or an increase ≥ 1 point in mRS in other patients. Analyses were performed using a binomial generalized linear mixed model, with a random intercept for the patient ID to account for within-patient correlations. Results: Seventy-three attacks in 44 patients NMOSD-AQP4-IgG+ were analyzed. Of 73 attacks, 8 (11%) required OTI during the attack, related to acute restrictive respiratory failure (n = 7) and/or severe swallowing disorder (n = 2). None of the OTI-attacks occurred in patients previously treated with active disease-modifying treatment (DMT), while 36 (55.4%) of the non-OTI-attacks occurred in patients who were already on active DMT. On admission, OTI-attacks were more likely to have upper limbs motor paresis of (75.0% versus 29.2%, p = 0.366) and dyspnea (3 [50.0%] versus 4 [6.6%], p = 0.002) compared to non-OTI-attacks. MRI analysis showed that OTI-attacks had edematous lesions in the cervical spinal cord, mainly at levels C1 (75% versus 0% in non-OTI-attacks), C2 (75% versus 1.9%), C3 (62.5% versus 1.9%), and C4 and C5 levels (50% versus to 3.9%). One OTI-attack resulted in the death of one patient. Five patients with OTI-attack had mRS ≤ 2 one year after OTI-attack. Two (25%) OTI-attacks had poor recovery compared to 15 (24.2%) non-OTI-attacks (p = 0.468). Conclusion: OTI-attacks occurred in untreated NMOSD-AQP4-IgG+ patients and were associated with edematous upper cervical lesions. The prognosis of these attacks may be favorable, and warrant maximal medical and supportive treatment. Trial registration This was a retrospective observational monocentric cohort study nested in the NOMADMUS cohort (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02850705) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We aim to (1) determine the frequency and distinctive features of short myelitis (SM) and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) in a cohort of adults with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-antibody (Ab)-associated myelitis and (2) determine baseline prognostic factors among MOG-Ab-positive patients whose disease started with myelitis. Material and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical and paraclinical variables from a multicentric French cohort of adults with MOG-Ab-associated myelitis. At last follow-up, patients were classified into two groups according to the severity of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) as ⩽2.5 or ⩾3.0. Results: Seventy-three patients with at least one episode of myelitis over disease course were included; among them, 28 (38.4%) presented with SM at the time of the first myelitis. Motor and sphincter involvement was less frequently observed in SM (51.9% and 48.2%, respectively) than in LETM patients (83.3% and 78.6%, respectively), p = 0.007 and p = 0.017; 61% of LETM patients displayed brain lesions compared to 28.6% in the SM group, p = 0.008, and the thoracic segment was more frequently involved in the LETM (82.2%) than in the SM group (39.3%), p < 0.001. EDSS at last follow-up was higher in LETM (median 3.0 (interquartile range: 2.0–4.0)) compared to SM patients (2.0, (1.0–3.0)), p = 0.042. Finally, a higher EDSS at onset was identified as the only independent risk factor for EDSS ⩾3.0 (odds ratio, 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01–1.95, p = 0.046). Conclusion: SM in MOG-Ab-associated disease is not rare. The severity at onset was the only independent factor related to the final prognosis in MOG-Ab-associated myelitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze whether myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody (MOG-Ab) titres at onset of the disease were different according to the clinical phenotype at presentation, and to investigate whether the titres were associated with risk of further relapses or predicted clinical outcome in adult patients. Finally, we assessed an alternative method to the classical measurement of MOG-Ab levels by serial dilutions.Methods: This is a retrospective study including 79 MOG-Ab-positive adult patients, whose samples were obtained at first episode. MOG-Ab were tested by cell-based assay. HEK293 cells were transfected (tHEK293) with human-MOG plasmid. Non-tHEK293 cells were used as negative controls. Assessment of antibody titres was performed by serial dilution, and delta mean fluorescence intensity ratio signal (MOG-ratio ΔMFI) by flow cytometry. MOG-ratio ΔMFI was calculated as follows: (MFI tHEK293cells- MFI non-tHEK293cells)/MFI non-tHEK293cells. MOG-ratio ΔMFI was calculated from the first serum dilution at 1:320. The association between MOG-Ab titres and risk of relapse was analyzed by Cox regression. The association between MOG-Ab titres and visual or motor disability at last follow-up was performed by binary logistic regression. Poor visual outcome was defined when patients displayed some degree of visual disability (visual acuity [VA] < 20/20) and poor motor outcome when patients displayed some degree of motor disability (Disability Status Scale [DSS] > 1). We also investigated correlations between MOG-Ab titres and MOG-ratio ΔMFI.Results: MOG-Ab titres were higher in Caucasians than in those with other ethnicities, and in patients with a more severe VA (VA ≤ 20/100) or motor disability (DSS ≥ 3.0) at onset (p = 0.006, 0.034, and 0.058, respectively). MOG-Ab titres were not associated with risk of relapses or with the final clinical outcome. MOG-ratio ΔMFI correlated with MOG-Ab titres in the whole cohort (ρ = 0.90; p < 0.001), and when stratified by initial clinical phenotype.Conclusion: High MOG-Ab titres at onset are associated with a more severe presentation, but do not predict the future disease course. MOG-ratio ΔMFI is an alternative and straightforward method to determine MOG-Ab levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]