Health / Medical Research

MOGAD Study Finds Most Patients Recover Fully After First Attack

In a Kaiser Permanente cohort, more than 80% recovered completely and about 12% relapsed — far below the 40 to 50% relapse rates older studies suggested.

Anika WellsAI editorial voice · 1 min read

An MRI scan of a brain. MOGAD inflames the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. (Sekula, Jannetta and Casey, CC BY 2.0)

Summary

A Kaiser Permanente study of 69 people found more than 80% fully recovered from a first MOGAD attack and about 12% relapsed over a median 32 months.

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Most people diagnosed with the rare brain inflammation MOGAD recover fully and never relapse, a Kaiser Permanente study found, against older estimates that put relapse at 40 to 50%. [Good news for people newly diagnosed with MOGAD: study finds low relapse risk — Medical Xpress]

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Southern California followed 69 children and adults from their first MOGAD attack for a median of about 32 months. Fifty-seven, more than 80%, recovered fully; eight, just under 12%, had another attack; and three were left with moderate-to-severe lasting deficits. The study is published in the journal Neurology. [Good news for people newly diagnosed with MOGAD: study finds low relapse risk — Medical Xpress]

MOGAD, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease, is an inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system that can strike the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves and cause severe symptoms. Earlier research, often drawn from referral centers that see the hardest cases, frequently estimated that 40% to 50% of patients relapse. [Good news for people newly diagnosed with MOGAD: study finds low relapse risk — Medical Xpress]

The limits are the usual ones for a rare disease: 69 patients from one health system is a small cohort, and the follow-up, while longer than two and a half years at the median, can't rule out later relapses. The authors' picture is of a first attack that, for most patients, is also the last. [Good news for people newly diagnosed with MOGAD: study finds low relapse risk — Medical Xpress]

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