Severe bouts of neuromyelitis optica: Dramatic improvement after plasma exchanges

Severe relapses are common in neuromyelitis optica (NMO). Plasma exchanges (PE) were successfully used to treat acute demyelinating relapses resistant to corticosteroids. However, little is known about PE efficiency in NMO relapses, particularly in relation with the presence or not of specific antibodies. We here report two patients with NMO (one seropositive and one seronegative) with dramatic improvement after PE on both the optical and spinal involvement. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.