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Editor’s note: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system that predominantly affects the spinal cord and optic nerve. It has been debated whether NMO constitutes a disease entity in its own right or is a subtype of multiple sclerosis. Evidence suggests that NMO is a primarily antibody-mediated disease and that the water channel aquaporin-4 expressed on astrocytes is a relevant target antigen. Antibodies against aquaporin-4 have been demonstrated in NMO patients, but the extent to which these antibodies exert a pathogenic role
in vivo remains the subject of debate.