Efficacy and safety of tacrolimus treatment for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a severe inflammatory autoimmune disease that mainly involves the optic nerves and spinal cord, causing blindness and paralysis. Although some immunosuppressants such as rituximab and azathioprine have proven to be effective in relapse prevention, the high costs or intolerable adverse events preclude their wide application. Thus, we have conducted a retrospective study in 25 NMOSD patients who were treated with tacrolimus, an immunosuppressant with high efficacy and good tolerance in other autoimmune diseases, to assess its efficacy and safety in NMOSD treatment during the last five years (2011–2016). The results revealed that tacrolimus could reduce the relapse rate by 86.2% and improve the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores (4.5 vs 2.3; P < 0.001) significantly. Relapses in tacrolimus treatment were associated with serum titers of aquaporin 4 antibody (AQP4-IgG) (P = 0.028). Further Cox proportional analysis demonstrated that patients with high titers of AQP4-IgG (≥1:64) had a significantly higher risk of relapse than those with low titers after tacrolimus therapy (HR:5.665; CI(95): 1.012–31.705; P = 0.048). Tacrolimus tended to be superior to azathioprine (29 patients) in terms of efficacy and safety during the same period. Our study suggests that tacrolimus may be another promising immunosuppressant for NMOSD.