Frequency of new asymptomatic MRI lesions during attacks and follow-up of patients with NMOSD in a real-world setting

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	Frequency of new asymptomatic MRI lesions during attacks and follow-up of patients with NMOSD in a real-world setting
Creators Name:	Carnero Contentti, E., Lopez, P.A., Tkachuk, V., Vrech, C., Zarate, M.A., Correale, J., Deri, N., Luetic, G., Marrodan, M., Pagani Cassara, F., Tavolini, D., Ysrraelit, M.C., Balbuena, M.E., Hryb, J., Chiganer, E., Leguizamon, F., Knorre, E., Zanga, G., Pestchanker, C., Barboza, A., Nadur, D., Cristiano, E., Patrucco, L., Alonso, R., Alonso Serena, M., Paul, F. and Rojas, J.I.
Abstract:	BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess the frequency of new asymptomatic lesions on brain and spinal imaging (magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) and their association with subsequent relapses in a large cohort of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients in Argentina. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 675 MRI (225 performed during an attack and 450 during the relapse-free period (performed at least 3 months from the last attack)) of NMOSD patients who had at least 2 years of clinical and MRI follow-up since disease onset. Kaplan-Meier (KM) curves were used for depicting time from remission MRI to subsequent relapse. RESULTS: We included 135 NMOSD patients (64.4% were aquaporin-4-immunoglobulin G (AQP4-IgG)-positive). We found that 26 (19.26%) and 66 (48.88%) of patients experienced at least one new asymptomatic MRI lesion during both the relapse-free period and attacks, respectively. The most frequent asymptomatic MRI lesions were optic nerves followed by short-segment myelitis during the relapse-free period and attacks. KM curves did not show differences in the time taken to develop a new relapse. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that new asymptomatic lesions are relatively frequent. However, the presence of new asymptomatic MRI lesions during the relapse-free period and at relapses was not associated with a shorter time to developing subsequent relapses.
Keywords:	Aquaporin 4, Autoantibodies, Brain, Follow-Up Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Neuromyelitis Optica, Retrospective Studies
Source:	Multiple Sclerosis Journal
ISSN:	1352-4585
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Volume:	29
Number:	10
Page Range:	1240-1249
Date:	September 2023
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1177/13524585231187120
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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