Patent ID: 7101679
Filing Date: 2006-09-05
Classification: A61P,C07K,G01N

Abstract:
1. A method of detecting the presence or absence of a neuromyelitis optica (NMO)-specific autoantibody in a biological sample from an individual, comprising the steps of: contacting said biological sample with a NMO antigenic polypeptide or fragment thereof, wherein said NMO antigenic polypeptide is human aquaporin-4, wherein said NMO antigenic polypeptide or fragment thereof is a polypeptide for which a NMO-specific autoantibody has specific binding affinity; and detecting the presence or absence of binding of said NMO antigenic polypeptide or fragment thereof to said NMO-specific autoantibody in said biological sample, wherein the presence of said binding of said NMO antigenic polypeptide or fragment thereof to said NMO-specific autoantibody is indicative of NMO in said individual.