International consensus diagnostic criteria for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders
Journal: Neurology; July 14, 2015
Author(s): Dean M. Wingerchuk, Brenda Banwell, Jeffrey L. Bennett, Philippe Cabre, William Carroll, Tanuja Chitnis, Jérôme de Seze, Kazuo Fujihara, Benjamin Greenberg, Anu Jacob, Sven Jarius, Marco Lana-Peixoto, Michael Levy, Jack H. Simon, Silvia Tenembaum, Anthony L. Traboulsee, Patrick Waters, Kay E. Wellik and Brian G. Weinshenker
Diagnostic criteria for NMOSD
Patients with NMOSD often go several years without an accurate diagnosis. The International Panel for NMO Diagnosis (IPND) was convened to develop consensus diagnostic criteria for NMOSD. Most NMO patients test positive in a blood test for serum antibodies against a protein called aquaporin-4 (seropositive patients), but some do not (seronegative patients). This landmark paper puts forth the IPND diagnostic criteria, which provide a decision-making framework for diagnosis of both seropositive and seronegative patients.
The criteria include specific clinical features that can be determined on clinical examination; specific brain and spinal cord patterns detectable on an MRI; and specific results in blood tests; and red flags that are not typical in NMOSD (indicating a possible alternative diagnosis). Patients seeking a diagnosis may direct their neurologist to this paper and discuss their own case based on these criteria.
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