What does nmo mean

You may also have a lumbar puncture , where a sample of the fluid surrounding your spine is removed using a thin needle and tested. There's no cure for NMO, but treatments can help to ease symptoms, prevent future relapses and slows down the condition's progression.

Rehabilitation techniques, such as physiotherapy , can also help if you have problems with your mobility. Find out more about social care and support. NMO is an autoimmune condition.

This means the body's immune system reacts abnormally and attacks healthy tissues, causing the symptoms of NMO. NMO is usually not inherited, but some people with NMO may have a history of autoimmune disorders in the family and may have another autoimmune condition themselves.

Optic neuritis may affect your ability to drive. See GOV. UK for more information about driving with a disability or health condition. NMO can have a significant impact, but support is available to help you have the best possible quality of life. You can opt out of the register at any time. NMO mainly affects the spinal cord and the optic nerves -- the nerves that carry signals from the eyes to the brain.

As a result, the disease can cause paralysis and blindness. Neuromyelitis optica most often strikes during childhood. It can also affect adults are in their 40s. Experts used to think that NMO was a type of multiple sclerosis. They now think it may be a different condition. The conditions do have some similar symptoms, but these are usually more severe in NMO. Vision problems with multiple sclerosis usually affect one eye at a time, while NMO may affect both eyes at the same time.

With NMO, your immune system attacks a substance in your body called myelin — the insulation around your nerves. Specifically, the myelin cells in the spinal cord and optic nerves are attacked. Usually, people with NMO have flare-ups of the disease that may strike months or years apart. Between these flare-ups, people may have some recovery.

Experts don't consider this condition curable. But your healthcare provider can prescribe medicines or other treatments to reduce the effects of the disease and relieve symptoms. These may include:. Disability from NMO may become worse over time. Most people with NMO develop weakness in their arms and legs. Others may have more severe symptoms. NMO usually affects only the optic nerve and spinal cord at the beginning of the disease, although there may be lesions present in other specific areas of the brain.

MS typically affects the brain as well as the spinal cord and optic nerve. In MS, individual episodes are usually mild; their cumulative effect over time may or not not cause progressive disability. In NMO, the opposite is true and therefore early diagnosis is critical; acute episodes are usually severe and — if untreated — can have devastating, irreversible effects on function.

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