Anti-neurofascin-155 (NF155) antibodies have been observed in two cases with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD). This study investigated the prevalence of anti-NF155 antibodies in patients with NMOSD and the clinical features of anti-NF155 antibody-positive patients. Sera from 129 patients with NMOSD were screened with anti-NF155 antibodies by cell-based assay (CBA) and re-examined using immunostaining of teased mouse sciatic nerve fibres. Fifty-six patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 50 healthy controls (HC) were also enrolled for detecting anti-NF155 antibodies. A total of 12.40% (16 of 129) of patients with NMOSD were positive for anti-NF155 antibodies confirmed by both CBA and immunostaining. Immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 was the predominant subclass. However, none of 56 MS patients or 50 HC were positive for anti-NF155 antibodies. Anti-NF155 antibody-positive NMOSD patients had a higher proportion of co-existing with autoimmune diseases (p < 0.001) and higher positive rates of serum nonorgan-specific autoantibodies, including anti-SSA antibodies (p < 0.001), anti-SSB antibodies (p = 0.008), anti-Ro-52 antibodies (p < 0.001) and rheumatoid factor (p < 0.001).Five anti-NF155 antibody-positive NMOSD patients who took part in the nerve conduction study showed mildly abnormal results. Differences in some nerve conduction study parameters were observed between anti-NF155 antibody-positive and negative patients.Anti-NF155 antibodies occurred in a small proportion of NMOSD patients. Anti-NF155 antibody-positive NMOSD patients tended to co-exist with autoimmune diseases.

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The interleukin 12 (IL-12) family plays important roles in autoimmune diseases. To explore the roles of the IL-12 family members IL-27 and IL-35 in the pathogenesis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), we determined their serum and cerebral spinal fluid levels and assessed potential correlations with clinical characteristics. Serum IL-27 levels were negatively correlated with disease severity and spinal cord lesion length, while serum IL-35 levels were negatively correlated with disease severity and annual relapse rate. Thus, IL-27 and IL-35 may be important biomarkers of NMOSD severity and these molecules might represent potential therapeutic cytokines for treating NMOSD.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of multidisciplinary rehabilitation for patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders who have moderate to severe disability. In 39 patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, disability was assessed after 4 weeks of rehabilitation and 3 months of follow-up. In the patients who underwent multidisciplinary rehabilitation, bowel and bladder and motor functions (pyramidal and walking function) were improved compared with those with usual care. These results confirm the shortterm effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders in terms of improving impairment. The results also suggest that multidisciplinary rehabilitation is a safe and feasible therapy for adults with neuromyelitis optica who have severe disability. Objective: To provide detailed data on the effects of multidisciplinary rehabilitation for patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder with moderate to severe disability. Design: A pilot randomized control study. Subjects/patients: A total of 39 patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder were randomized into intervention or control groups. Methods: The intervention group received multidisciplinary rehabilitation 5 times/week for 4 weeks in a hospital, and the patients were guided to continue community-or home-based rehabilitation for 3 months. The control group did not receive any specific rehabilitation intervention. Disability was assessed using the Extended Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and Functional Systems (FS) scores after 4 weeks of rehabilitation and 3 months of follow-up. Results: The mean EDSS score was 7.5 at admission for both groups. Improvements (p<0.05) in the EDSS score and domains of bowel, bladder and motor functions (pyramidal and walking function) were noted in the multidisciplinary rehabilitation group after 4 weeks. After 3 months, the patients in the usual care group showed improvement in EDSS score and walking ability score; however, no significant changes in other variables were noted. Conclusion: These results suggest that multidisciplinary rehabilitation potentially promotes motor functional recovery in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.