Table 2.
Disease course and the type of attacks in AQP4-IgG-positive Japanese and German NMOSD patients.
| AQP4-IgG-positive NMOSD | German (Berlin) (n = 38) | Japanese (Chiba) (n = 54) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entire disease course | ||||
| Total number of attacks: median [IQR] | 3.00 [2.00, 5.00] | 5.00 [2.00, 9.75] | 0.115 | |
| Optic neuritis: n (%) | 24 (63.2%) | 40 (74.1%) | 0.373 | |
| Bilateral optic neuritis: n (%) | 11 (28.9%) | 22 (40.7%) | 0.347 | |
| Myelitis: n (%) | 34 (89.5%) | 43 (79.6%) | 0.331 | |
| Long spinal cord lesiona: n (%) | 31 (86.1%) | 36 (66.7%) | 0.068 | |
| Brain attack (including area postrema, brainstem and cerebral attacks): n (%) | 6 (15.8%) | 22 (40.7%) | 0.020 | |
| Brainstem attack: n (%) | 6 (15.8%) | 12 (22.2%) | 0.618 | |
| Area postrema attack: n (%) | 2 (5.3%) | 7 (13.0%) | 0.386 | |
| Cerebral attack: n (%) | 0 (0.0%) | 9 (16.7%) | 0.022 | |
| Annualized relapse rate: median [IQR] | 0.50 [0.38, 0.70] | 0.41 [0.31, 0.86] | 0.403 | |
| Presentation at onset | ||||
| Optic neuritis at onset: n (%) | 18 (47.4%) | 25 (46.3%) | >0.999 | |
| Myelitis at onset: n (%) | 18 (47.4%) | 22 (40.7%) | 0.676 | |
| Brain attack (including area postrema, brainstem and cerebral attacks) at onset: n (%) | 5 (13.2%) | 11 (20.4%) | 0.536 | |
| Area postrema attack at onset: n (%) | 0 (0.0%) | 5 (9.3%) | 0.144 | |
| Brainstem attack at onset: n (%) | 5 (13.2%) | 5 (9.3%) | 0.801 | |
| Cerebral attack at onset: n (%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (1.9%) | >0.999 | |
| Presentation at second attack | ||||
| Optic neuritis at second attack: n (%) | 16 (42.1%) | 22 (40.7%) | >0.999 | |
| Myelitis at second attack: n (%) | 20 (52.6%) | 21 (38.9%) | 0.274 | |
| Brain attack at second attack: n (%) | 1 (2.6%) | 4 (7.4%) | 0.598 | |
| Recovery | ||||
| First attack (any type) | Full: n (%) | 8 (25.8%) | 7 (14.3) | 0.229 |
| Partial: n (%) | 21 (67.7%) | 41 (83.7%) | ||
| None: n (%) | 2 (6.5%) | 1 (2.0%) | ||
| First myelitis | Full: n (%) | 8 (25.8%) | 9 (18.4%) | 0.541 |
| Partial: n (%) | 17 (54.8%) | 29 (59.2%) | ||
| None: n (%) | 2 (6.5%) | 1 (2.0%) | ||
| First optic neuritis | Full: n (%) | 6 (19.4%) | 7 (14.3%) | 0.497 |
| Partial: n (%) | 11 (35.5%) | 26 (53.1%) | ||
| None: n (%) | 2 (6.5%) | 2 (4.1%) | ||
AQP4-IgG: Aquaporin 4-immunoglobulin G; CSF: cerebro-spinal fluid; IQR: interquartile range; n: number; NMOSD: neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders; SD: standard deviation.
Note that these group comparisons were performed using Chi-Square test to compare categorial variables and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test for continuous variables. Please note, that Figure 3 provides details on the occurrence of combined syndromes during the first attack. a) Lesion extension of ≥3 contiguous vertebral segments. Significant p-values are indicated in bold.