Publications by authors named "T Kuempfel"
Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are chronic inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system, characterized by autoantibodies against aquaporin-4. The symptoms primarily involve severe optic neuritis and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. Although the disease progression is typically relapse-dependent, recent studies revealed retinal neuroaxonal degeneration unrelated to relapse activity, potentially due to anti-aquaporin-4-positive antibodies interacting with retinal glial cells such as Müller cells.
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- High levels of antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD-abs) are linked to various autoimmune neurological syndromes, while the significance of low serum levels is still debated.
- A study analyzed data from 101 patients suspected of having GAD-ab-associated neurological issues, revealing that most presented with conditions like epilepsy and cerebellar ataxia but had mixed outcomes with immunotherapy.
- The research found that low GAD-ab serum levels didn't significantly affect clinical characteristics or outcomes, suggesting that detecting unmatched oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid may be more important than GAD-ab levels.
Association of obesity with disease outcome in multiple sclerosis.
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
January 2023
Background: Obesity reportedly increases the risk for developing multiple sclerosis (MS), but little is known about its association with disability accumulation.
Methods: This nationwide longitudinal cohort study included 1066 individuals with newly diagnosed MS from the German National MS cohort. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores, relapse rates, MRI findings and choice of immunotherapy were compared at baseline and at years 2, 4 and 6 between obese (body mass index, BMI ≥30 kg/m) and non-obese (BMI <30 kg/m) patients and correlated with individual BMI values.
Objective: Patients with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody (MOG-IgG)-associated disease (MOGAD) suffer from severe optic neuritis (ON) leading to retinal neuro-axonal loss, which can be quantified by optical coherence tomography (OCT). We assessed whether ON-independent retinal atrophy can be detected in MOGAD.
Methods: Eighty patients with MOGAD and 139 healthy controls (HCs) were included.
Anti-MOG antibody-associated disorders: differences in clinical profiles and prognosis in Japan and Germany.
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
November 2020
Background: Neurological disorders with IgG antibodies against myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG-IgG) have been increasingly recognised as a new type of neuroinflammatory disorder.
Objective: The study aimed to identify regional and ethnic differences in clinical profiles of MOG-IgG-associated disorders between East Asian (Japanese) and Caucasian (German) patients.
Methods: Demographic, clinical and therapeutic data from 68 MOG-IgG-positive adults were collected (Japanese, n=44; German, n=24).