Department of Neurology, The Catholic University of Korea School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Since the discovery of specific antibody against aquaporin-4 (AQP4-Ab), the concept of the neuromyelitis
optica (NMO) has been changed, and new findings about the disease have been exploded.
This review covers clinical, pathological, immunological, and imaging studies published between
2012 and early 2013 that presented new findings on NMO. New rolls of AQP4-Abs, natural killer
cells, cytotoxic T cells, eosinophils, and high-mobility group box 1 in the pathogenesis of NMO were
presented. Studies using various imaging techniques, including voxel-wise analysis, double inversion
recovery sequences, 7-tesla MRI, and MS spectroscopy, were published. The sensitivities
and specificities of various AQP4-Ab tests were assessed, and the clinical characteristics of NMO
patients who did not show seropositivity for AQP4-Ab were described. The efficacies of new therapeutics
including plasmapheresis, several monoclonal antibodies, and other various medicines
were also evaluated.
Journal of Multiple Sclerosis 5(1):7-13, 2014
