Eculizumab may Prevent Inflammation in Eye Nerves and Spinal Cord Among Neuromyelitis Optica Patients: Mayo Clinic Research

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have identified a new treatment for patients suffering from neuromyelitis optica, a central nervous system disorder.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic revealed that they have identified a new treatment for patients suffering from neuromyelitis optica, a central nervous system disorder. The new treatment can prevent inflammation in the eye nerves and spinal cord.

In the study, patients with severe symptoms of the disease, also known as NMO, were given eculizumab, a drug typically used to treat blood disorders.

Routine Eye Examination
A comprehensive eye exam can take an hour or more, depending on the doctor and the number and complexity of tests required to fully evaluate vision and the health of the patient’s eyes.

While not a cure, the therapy Mayo Clinic researchers used in the study to halt attacks could potentially lead to longer attack-free periods for the thousands of NMO patients worldwide. The research is being presented Oct. 9 at the American Neurological Association Annual Meeting in Boston.

NMO manifests itself in attacks that can cause blindness in one or both eyes, weakness or paralysis in the legs or arms, painful spasms, loss of sensation, and bladder or bowel dysfunction from spinal cord damage. Attacks may be reversible, but can be severe enough to cause permanent visual loss and problems with walking. NMO can affect children as young as 2 and adults as old as 90. It is more prevalent in females than males, but affects all racial and ethnic groups. Immunosuppressants are the first line of treatment for NMO.

Mayo Clinic researchers have been international leaders in NMO diagnosis and treatment. In 2004, Mayo Clinic researchers discovered the antibody NMO-IgG -- the first serum biomarker for any form of inflammatory demyelinating brain disease. A year later, they identified the target of the antibody as the water channel aquaporin 4. These discoveries helped physicians better understand the cause and potential treatments for NMO.

Eye Pain - Symptom Evaluation
Eye pain usually follows trauma, eye infection or inflammation of the eye and the surrounding structures. The cause of eye pain can be diagnosed based on the type of pain and associated symptoms.

Mayo researchers studied 14 NMO patients with active and severe disease symptoms, defined as two attacks in the previous six months, or three within the past year. When the NMO-IgG antibody binds to its target on brain cells, it activates complement, a substance that can kill or injure these brain cells. Patients were treated with eculizumab, an antibody that stops complement from being activated. All 14 study participants received the treatment intravenously every two weeks for one year.

"Disability in NMO is attack related and these attacks are usually severe. If untreated, they can have devastating, irreversible effects on function," says lead author Sean Pittock, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist. "If we can stop the attacks in NMO -- and it appears we can -- then we can hopefully prevent disability and allow patients to maintain function and a good quality of life."

Eye Redness
Redness of the eye occurs due to the dilation of the blood vessels of the eye. It can occur due to excessive straining or due to inflammation.

Twelve patients were symptom free throughout the year of treatment. Two patients had one attack each, but these were mild and considered by the investigators to be "possible, not definite" attacks. One experienced mild back pain but had no new findings on neurologic examination or MRI scan of the spinal cord. The other experienced mild visual blurring in the right eye but also was receiving antibiotic therapy for a presumed urinary tract.
Because NMO has only recently been identified as a syndrome distinct from MS, knowing how many people have it is difficult. Mayo is studying NMO’’s prevalence. Mayo Clinic’’s Neuroimmunology Laboratory so far has detected the antibody in roughly 3,500 U.S. patients.

"We’ve learned there are many people who fit within the NMO spectrum who, in the past, were believed to have MS," says co-author Dean Wingerchuk, M.D., a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "In addition, distinguishing NMO from MS is important for preserving the validity of therapeutic trials for MS by not enrolling patients with NMO."

About Conjunctivitis | Pink Eye
Conjunctivitis or Pink Eye causes redness and soreness of the conjunctiva and is responsible for 1% of all emergency visits to a hospital.

The study was funded by Alexion Pharmaceutical, which makes eculizumab.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.com and www.mayoclinic.org/news.

Source-Newswise