[Prospects for Treatment of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder].

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a disease related to anti-aquaporin-4 antibody. Since NMOSD was once considered a phenotype of multiple sclerosis, no approved drugs are available for its treatment. In Japan, the current standard treatment for preventing relapses in patients with NMOSD is low-dose prednisolone and/or oral immuno-suppressants. There is a critical unmet need for non-steroid treatments for patients with NMOSD. Four monoclonal antibodies have completed their clinical trials in Japan and are pending approval. In this review, we summarize the results of each of these clinical trials.