WCN 2021 | Symptomatic treatment of NMOSD

Kazuo Fujihara, MD, PhD, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan, talks on management strategies for symptomatic neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Patients with NMOSD suffer from extremely severe myelitis attacks and pain. Whilst two clinical trials failed to demonstrate a pain-relieving effect for satralizumab, tocilizumab, another anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody was shown to effectively reduce pain, suggesting IL-6 could be involved in the mechanism of persistent pain. Further research on this mechanism must be conducted in the future. Patients with NMOSD also frequently experience persistent tonic spams, which are managed with low-dose carbamazepine. Dr Fujihara explains that severe neurogenic bladder is also a common issue in NMOSD. This interview took place during the XXV World Congress of Neurology.