Table 1.
Baseline demographic and clinical findings of AQP4-IgG+ patients, MOG-IgG+ patients and healthy controls
| AQP4-IgG+ | MOG-IgG+a | Healthy Controls | SMD for AQP4-IgG+ vs. MOG-IgG+ | SMD for AQP4-IgG+ vs. HC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number, n | 33 | 16b | 38 | – | – |
| age, years, mean (SD) | 50 (14) | 46 (15) | 42 (13) | 0.27 | 0.60 |
| Female/male, n/n (% female) | 30/3 (91) | 10/6 (63) | 31/7 (82) | 0.71 | 0.27 |
| Time from disease onset to baseline visit, months, median (IQR) | 79 (52–108) | 50 (10–148) | n.a. | 0.04 | – |
| Time from last attack prior to baseline visit to baseline visit, months, median (IQR) | 26 (11–56) | 8 (4–24) | n.a. | 0.53 | – |
| ≥ 1 attack during previous year, n (%) | 11 (33) | 11 (69) | n.a. | 0.76 | – |
| Type of last attack, n (%)c | 0.65 | – | |||
| Optic neuritis | 12 (36) | 10 (63) | n.a. | ||
| Myelitis | 19 (58) | 6 (37) | n.a. | ||
| Brainstem encephalitis | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | n.a. | ||
| EDSS, median (IQR) | 4.0 (2.0–5.0) | 2.5 (2.0–3.0) | n.a. | 0.63 | – |
| MSFC, mean (SD) | − 0.03 (0.69) | 0.25 (0.58) | n.a. | 0.44 | – |
| 9-HPT score, mean (SD) | 0.0484 (0.0084) | 0.0483 (0.0084) | n.a. | 0.01 | – |
| T25-FW, s, median (IQR) | 5.3 (4.2– 6.2) | 4.1 (3.1– 4.9) | n.a. | 0.92 | – |
| PASAT, median (IQR) | 51 (33– 55) | 54 (42– 58) | n.a. | 0.31 | – |
| Immunotherapy, n (%) | No: 4 (12) Any: 29 (88) | No: 4 (25) Any: 12 (75) | n.a. | 0.34 | – |
| RTX: 20 (61) AZA: 6 (18) | RTX: 8 (50) AZA: 1 (6) | n.a. | – | – | |
| MMF: 1 (3) BEL: 1 (3) TCZ: 1 (3) | MMF: 1 (6) GLC: 2 (13) | n.a. | – | – | |
| sGFAP (pg/ml), median (IQR) | 109.2 (63.1– 154.8) | 81.1 (58.2–116.9) | 67.7 (56.6–90.7) | 0.03 | 0.86 |
| sNfL (pg/ml), median (IQR) | 21.9 (16.6–41.4) | 26.6 (15.9– 43.7) | 19.2 (13.7– 29.4) | 0.23 | 0.45 |
aIn all MOG-IgG+ patients, presence of MOG-IgG+ was confirmed in at least two different assays
bOf the 16 MOG-IgG+ patients, 4 met the Wingerchuk 2015 criteria for AQP4-IgG- NMOSD [7]
cOne AQP4-IgG+ patient had sudden-onset gait impairment as leading symptom at last attack, not clearly attributable to either a brainstem or a myelon lesion
9-HPT 9-Hole Peg Test, AQP4-IgG aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G, AZA azathioprine, BEL belimumab, EDSS Expanded Disability Status Scale, GLC glucocorticosteroids, IQR inter quartile range, MMF mycophenolate mofetil, MOG-IgG myelin oligodendrocyte protein immunoglobulin G, MSFC multiple sclerosis functional composite, n number, n.a. not applicable, NMOSD neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, PASAT paced auditory serial addition test, RTX rituximab, s seconds, SD standard deviation, sGFAP serum glial fibrillary acidic protein, SMD standardized mean difference, sNfL serum neurofilament light chain protein, T25-FW timed 25-foot walk, TCZ tocilizumab