ObjectiveMyelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein–immunoglobulin G (MOG-IgG) associated disorder (MOGAD) often manifests with recurrent CNS demyelinating attacks. The optimal treatment for reducing relapses is unknown. To help determine the efficacy of long-term immunotherapy in preventing relapse in patients with MOGAD, we conducted a multicenter retrospective study to determine the rate of relapses on various treatments.MethodsWe determined the frequency of relapses in patients receiving various forms of long-term immunotherapy for MOGAD. Inclusion criteria were history of ≥1 CNS demyelinating attacks, MOG-IgG seropositivity, and immunotherapy for ≥6 months. Patients were reviewed for CNS demyelinating attacks before and during long-term immunotherapy.ResultsSeventy patients were included. The median age at initial CNS demyelinating attack was 29 years (range 3–61 years; 33% <18 years), and 59% were female. The median annualized relapse rate (ARR) before treatment was 1.6. On maintenance immunotherapy, the proportion of patients with relapse was as follows: mycophenolate mofetil 74% (14 of 19; ARR 0.67), rituximab 61% (22 of 36; ARR 0.59), azathioprine 59% (13 of 22; ARR 0.2), and IV immunoglobulin (IVIG) 20% (2 of 10; ARR 0). The overall median ARR on these 4 treatments was 0.3. All 9 patients treated with multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying agents had a breakthrough relapse on treatment (ARR 1.5).ConclusionThis large retrospective multicenter study of patients with MOGAD suggests that maintenance immunotherapy reduces recurrent CNS demyelinating attacks, with the lowest ARR being associated with maintenance IVIG therapy. Traditional MS disease-modifying agents appear to be ineffective. Prospective randomized controlled studies are required to validate these conclusions.

Endovascular treatment of carotid cavernous aneurysms leads to a significantly higher rate of pain resolution compared with untreated patients, even after adjusting for initial pain severity. Diplopia may not resolve after treatment. The results of this study underscore our approach indicating treatment only in cases of debilitating pain, visual loss from compression, or diplopia in primary gaze or in patients with risk factors for major complications such as pre-existing coagulopathy or sphenoid sinus erosion.

Current evidence demonstrates the efficacy of iv corticosteroids in decreasing CAS in patients with moderate to severe GO. Intravenous pulse corticosteroids therapy has a small but statistically significant advantage oral therapy and causes significantly fewer adverse events. Somatostatin analogs have marginal clinical efficacy. The efficacy of orbital radiotherapy as single therapy remains unclear, whereas the combination of radiotherapy with corticosteroids has better efficacy than either radiotherapy or oral corticosteroids alone.

ObjectiveTo investigate whether visual disability which is known to accumulate by poor recovery from optic neuritis (ON) attacks can be lessened by early treatment, we investigated whether the time from symptom onset to high-dose IV methylprednisolone (IVMP) affected visual recovery.MethodsA retrospective study was performed in a consecutive cohort of patients following their first aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-IgG or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-IgG-ON. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in ON eyes at 3 months (BCVA3mo) was correlated with time to IVMP (days). In cases of bilateral ON, 1 eye was randomly selected.ResultsA total of 29 of 37 patients had ON (27 AQP4-seropositive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder [NMOSD] and 9 MOG-IgG-ON), 2 of whom refused treatment. Of the 27 patients included, 10 presented later than 7 days from onset. The median BCVA3mo of patients treated >7 days was 20/100 (interquartile range 20/100–20/200). Patients treated >7 days had an OR of 5.50 (95% CI 0.88–34.46, p = 0.051) of failure to regain 0.0 logMAR vision (20/20) and an OR of 10.0 (95% CI 1.39–71.9) of failure to regain 0.2 logMAR vision (20/30) (p = 0.01) compared with patients treated within 7 days. ROC analysis revealed that the optimal criterion of delay in IVMP initiation was ≤4 days, with a sensitivity and specificity of 71.4% and 76.9%, respectively.ConclusionsIn this retrospective study of ON with AQP4 and MOG-IgG, even a 7-day delay in IVMP initiation was detrimental to vision. These results highlight the importance of early treatment for the long-term visual recovery in this group of patients. A prospective, multicenter study of the effects of timing of IVMP is currently underway.Classification of evidenceThis study provides Class IV evidence that hyperacute treatment of AQP4 and MOG-ON with IVMP increases the chance for good visual recovery (20/20 vision) and that even a greater than 7-day delay in treatment is associated with a higher risk for poor visual recovery.

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Background and purpose Although the COVID‐19 vaccines are currently recommended for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), the fact that they were not specifically tested in people with MS raises uncertainty regarding their safety in this population. The purpose of this study was to report real‐life safety data of the BNT162b2 COVID‐19 vaccine in a cohort of MS patients. Methods An anonymous survey was distributed to 425 MS patients. Participants were asked general demographic and disease‐related questions and specific questions regarding the safety profile of the COVID‐19 vaccine. Results Of the 425 MS patients, 262 completed the questionnaire. The median (range) participant age was 42 (22–79) years, 199 participants were women (75.9%), and 66 participants (25.2%) had associated comorbidities. A total of 198 participants (75.6%) were treated with disease‐modifying therapies. In all, 239 participants (91.2% of the responders) had received the BNT162b2 COVID‐19 vaccine. Of these, 182 (76.1%) were aged <55 years, and 57 (23.9%) were aged >55 years. Adverse events were reported by 136 participants (56.9%; 52.5% of those aged <55 years and 40.3% of those aged >55 years; p = 0.1517) and 36 participants (15.1%) reported new or worsening neurological symptoms following the vaccination, the most frequent being sensory disturbances (21 participants, 58.3%). Most symptoms occurred within the first 24 h after vaccination and resolved within 3 days. A total of 28 participants (77.8%) did not require any medication to treat their symptoms. Conclusions This survey indicates an overall favorable safety profile of the BNT162b2 vaccine in people with MS. These data should be confirmed in further prospective, large‐scale studies.

Although mass effect remains after endovascular packing, oculomotor nerve dysfunction improves comparably to the recovery observed after surgical clipping. Contrary to previous reports, typical residual oculomotor nerve deficits persist. Older age and the presence of microvascular risk factors seem to be detrimental to ONP recovery.