Multiple sclerosis “top picks” from AAN 2018

April 18, 2018|Neurology

Improved disability outcome measures and predictors of disability in MS. Several abstracts assess novel disability outcome measures and neuroimaging techniques to better predict progression of clinical disability:

P4.380, Overall Response Score: A Novel Disability Endpoint That Allows for the Integrated Assessment of Improvement and Worsening over Time in Patients with MS.
S47.001, Longitudinal Changes in Quantitative Spinal Cord MRI in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Results of a 5-year Study.
P6.354, Effect of Fingolimod 0.5 mg/day versus Placebo on Two Newly Developed Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) Subscales for Patients with Relapsing Remitting MS: EDSS Factor Analysis.

Is treatment response in MS an age-dependent or relapse-driven phenomenon, and is it safe to discontinue MS therapies with advancing age? Several abstracts address this question:

S47.004, Meta-Analysis of the Age-Dependent Efficacy of Multiple Sclerosis Treatments.
S8.005, Uncoupling the Impact on Relapses and Disability Progression: Siponimod in Relapsing and Nonrelapsing Patients With Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis in the Phase 3 EXPAND Study.
S8.008, Discontinuation of Disease Modifying Therapies in Stable MS Patients is Associated with Disability Progression Regardless of Age.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and MS mimics. Multiple abstracts explore the differences between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder because of aquaporin-4 versus myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies; describe unique features of another recently described autoimmune disorder, autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy; and explore the differential diagnosis of idiopathic transverse myelitis:

S13.002, Clinical Characteristics of MOG and AQP associated Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) in Adults, through S13.008, It’s Not All Transverse Myelitis: The Differential Diagnosis of Spinal Cord Myelopathy.
P6.409, The Mayo Clinic Glial Autoimmunity Study: Glial autoantibody (AQP4/MOG/GFAP) serostatus in recurrent longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis.
P6.417, Evaluation of idiopathic transverse myelitis revealing specific myelopathy diagnoses.
S6.003, Brain and Spinal Cord Imaging Features in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders.