Recent advance in relation of neuromyelitis optica with anti-aquaporin-4 antibody

Neuromyelitis optica(NMO)is an inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system(CNS)that predominantly affects the optic nerve and spinal cord. It has long been controversial about the concept whether NMO is an independent disease, or a subtype of multiple sclerosis(MS). In 2004, anti-AQP4 antibody was found in the sera of NMO patients, which gradually indicates that NMO is an independent disease different from MS. The discovery of anti-AQP4 antibody will not only contribute to the clinical diagnosis, early treatment and prognosis of NMO, but also make us do further research on NMO. We mainly reviewed the role of anti-AQP4 antibody in pathogenesis of NMO, detection methods and clinical significance of NMO. Key words: Neuromyelitis optica; Anti-aquaporin-4 antibody; Demyelinating disease