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Demyelinating disease

NMO spectrum disorders: clinical or molecular classification?

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 12, pages 129–130 (2016)Cite this article

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A recent study that applied new criteria for diagnosing neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders in the absence of serum aquaporin 4 antibodies highlights difficulties with clinical application of these criteria. Classification on the basis of molecular markers might offer a more practical alternative.

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Figure 1: Proposed classification of IDDs according to molecular target.

References

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Acknowledgements

The author receives research support from the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, and the NIH (NS065829).

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  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, 55905, Minnesota, USA

    Sean J. Pittock

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  1. Sean J. Pittock
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Correspondence to Sean J. Pittock.

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Competing interests

The author is a named inventor on patents (#12/678,350, filed 2010, and #12/573,942, filed 2008) that relate to functional AQP4/NMO-IgG assays and NMO-IgG as a cancer marker. He receives research support from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and has provided consultation to Alexion Pharmaceuticals, MedImmune and Chugai Pharma, but has received no personal fees or personal compensation for these consulting activities; all compensation for consulting activities is paid directly to the Mayo Clinic.

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Pittock, S. NMO spectrum disorders: clinical or molecular classification?. Nat Rev Neurol 12, 129–130 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.9

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