While NMOSD shares a number of features with MS, a key difference is that NMOSD relapses cause symptoms and disability to accumulate, which is often irreversible

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a rare, autoimmune disease of the central nervous system characterized by inflammatory lesions that mainly affect the optic nerve(s) and spinal cord.1,2,3 


One of the clinical hallmarks of the disease is that it causes relapses, or attacks, that can cause worsening symptoms and neurological disability.3 

People with NMOSD must face the challenge of living with the threat of these unpredictable relapses that can reoccur unsuspectingly after days, months or even years.2 


They can cause symptoms of blindness, muscle weakness and paralysis–sometimes permanently.4 A few of these people shared their personal stories of what it is like to live with the risk of relapse.

While NMOSD shares a number of features with MS, a key difference is that NMOSD relapses cause symptoms and disability to accumulate, which is often irreversible.

READ MORE