Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33724534›Full record

Trial reportAnnals of neurology2021

Serum Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein: A Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder Biomarker.

Orhan Aktas, Michael A Smith, William A Rees, Jeffrey L Bennett, Dewei She, Eliezer Katz, Bruce A C Cree, N-MOmentum scientific group and the N-MOmentum study investigators

Open access · hybridAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Annals of neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
86citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
15.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

86 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 133 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Use of Fluid Biomarkers in NMOSD and MOGAD: Clinical and Research Applications.Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 2026
    Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Natalizumab exacerbates astrocytopathy in NMOSD via blockade of endothelial VCAM1-astrocytic integrin α4 interaction.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Neuroglial markers of damage in autoimmune neurology.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2026
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Orhan AktasMedical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2020-9210
Michael A SmithViela Bio, Gaithersburg, MD.ORCID 0000-0003-3464-3138
William A ReesViela Bio, Gaithersburg, MD.ORCID 0000-0003-1857-8364
Jeffrey L BennettSchool of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO.ORCID 0000-0002-3346-1394
Dewei SheViela Bio, Gaithersburg, MD.
Eliezer KatzViela Bio, Gaithersburg, MD.
Bruce A C CreeDepartment of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.ORCID 0000-0001-7689-2533
N-MOmentum scientific group and the N-MOmentum study investigators
Emergent BioSolutions (United States) · USHeinrich Heine University Düsseldorf · DEUniversity of California, San Francisco · USUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus · US

Funding

Humoral Immunity, Astrocyte Injury, and Demyelination in Neuromyelitis OpticaR01EY022936 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI BENNETT, JEFFREY L · 2013 to 2022
$3.8M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY022936
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveBlood tests to monitor disease activity, attack severity, or treatment impact in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) have not been developed. This study investigated the relationship between serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (sGFAP) concentration and NMOSD activity and assessed the impact of inebilizumab treatment.

methodsN-MOmentum was a prospective, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial in adults with NMOSD. sGFAP levels were measured by single-molecule arrays (SIMOA) in 1,260 serial and attack-related samples from 215 N-MOmentum participants (92% aquaporin 4-immunoglobulin G-seropositive) and in control samples (from healthy donors and patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis).

resultsAt baseline, 62 participants (29%) exhibited high sGFAP concentrations (≥170 pg/ml; ≥2 standard deviations above healthy donor mean concentration) and were more likely to experience an adjudicated attack than participants with lower baseline concentrations (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval], 3.09 [1.6-6.1], p = 0.001). Median (interquartile range [IQR]) concentrations increased within 1 week of an attack (baseline: 168.4, IQR = 128.9-449.7 pg/ml; attack: 2,160.1, IQR = 302.7-9,455.0 pg/ml, p = 0.0015) and correlated with attack severity (median fold change from baseline [FC], minor attacks: 1.06, IQR = 0.9-7.4; major attacks: 34.32, IQR = 8.7-107.5, p = 0.023). This attack-related increase in sGFAP occurred primarily in placebo-treated participants (FC: 20.2, IQR = 4.4-98.3, p = 0.001) and was not observed in inebilizumab-treated participants (FC: 1.1, IQR = 0.8-24.6, p > 0.05). Five participants (28%) with elevated baseline sGFAP reported neurological symptoms leading to nonadjudicated attack assessments.

interpretationSerum GFAP may serve as a biomarker of NMOSD activity, attack risk, and treatment effects. ANN NEUROL 2021;89:895-910.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedBiomarkersDouble-Blind MethodFemaleGlial Fibrillary Acidic ProteinHumansKaplan-Meier EstimateMaleMiddle AgedMultiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-RemittingNeuromyelitis OpticaProspective StudiesRisk AssessmentAntibodies, Monoclonal, HumanizedBiomarkersGFAP protein, humanGlial Fibrillary Acidic Proteininebilizumab

Identifiers

PMID33724534
PMCPMC8252046
OpenAlexW3139119642

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.