Ibtisam Abdulilah Al Thubaiti
King Fahd Specialist Hospital, Saudi Arabia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Neurol Neurophysiol
Neuromyelitisoptica (NMO) is an inflammatory disease that traditionally described to affect the spinal cord and the eyes causing severe transverse myelitis and optic neuritis. The discovery of disease specific NMO- IgG antibodies in 2004 has revolutionized the understanding of the disease pathology, widened its clinical spectrum, aided in earlier diagnosis, targeted therapy and consequently in a better outcome. Despite that, NMO-IgG antibody sensitivity is high reaching 73% with cell-based assays, there are cases that are seronegative and will be challenging to diagnose. Recently, the discovery of myelin oligodendrocytes glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies in seronegative NMO patients has delineated another spectrum of inflammatory CNS diseases that mimic NMO clinically but not pathologically. This presentation will highlight the clinical picture of NMO spectrum disorder, the diagnostic challenges, 2015 diagnostic criteria, and the differences between anti-NMO and anti-MOG antibody positive disorders.
Ibtisam Al-Thubaiti has finished his Saudi board in Neurology in 2008. He finished Neuroimmunology fellowship from University of British Colombia in 2011. He is currently a consultant neurologist in King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia, practicing neurology and neuroimmunology.
Email: dr.althubaiti@gmail.com
