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Neurosciences
When it’s not MS: Inside the discovery of MOGAD
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For years, some patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) weren't getting better despite receiving the right treatments. The problem wasn't the therapy. It was the diagnosis.
A new episode of "Tomorrow's Cure" podcast explores how the discovery of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease, or MOGAD, transformed the understanding of autoimmune neurologic disease. Once mistaken for MS, MOGAD is now recognized as a distinct condition with its own diagnostic criteria, treatment approaches and emerging therapies.
The episode features Eoin Flanagan, M.B., B.Ch., an autoimmune neurologist at Mayo Clinic whose research has helped shape how MOGAD is diagnosed and treated, and Brenda Banwell, M.D., a pediatric neurologist at Johns Hopkins Children's Center who led the international effort to develop the first diagnostic criteria for the disease. Together, they discuss how decades of collaboration among researchers, clinicians and patients helped redefine the disease and improve care for people who had spent years searching for answers.
"It was life-changing for them to have an actual diagnosis and an identity," says Dr. Flanagan, describing patients who spent decades seeking answers before MOGAD was recognized as a distinct disease.
The conversation also explains why distinguishing MOGAD from multiple sclerosis is critical. Although the conditions can present similar symptoms, including vision loss and spinal cord inflammation, they follow different disease courses and require different treatment strategies. Advances in antibody testing and internationally accepted diagnostic criteria help physicians identify MOGAD earlier and begin more targeted care.
Researchers are also making progress toward more precise therapies. Clinical trials targeting the immune pathway known as interleukin-6 have reported encouraging early results, although treatments for MOGAD are still emerging.
"Diagnosis matters," says Dr. Banwell. "Prompt treatment of an acute attack matters because your recovery from that first attack really dictates how you're doing."
Listen to the latest episode of "Tomorrow's Cure" to learn how one discovery reshaped the diagnosis of autoimmune neurologic disease and how ongoing research is opening the door to more personalized treatment for people with MOGAD. You can also explore the show's full library of episodes and guests on the show's playlist.
