MOGAD Is the Most Common Cause of Isolated Optic Neuritis in Children.

Cohort studyAnnals of clinical and translational neurology· May 2026

MOGAD Is the Most Common Cause of Isolated Optic Neuritis in Children.

Chaitanya Aduru, Akansha Chandrasekar, Kyla Blasingame … Alexander J Sandweiss

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Neuro-ophthalmologyCohort studyDiagnosisQ1IF 4.0

MOGAD was the cause in most children with isolated first-time optic neuritis

MOGAD Is the Most Common Cause of Isolated Optic Neuritis in Children.

Chaitanya Aduru … Alexander J Sandweiss

Annals of clinical and translational neurology · May 2026

Purpose

The study aimed to characterize the clinical features, etiologies, and outcomes of isolated, first-time pediatric ON in the post-MOG-IgG era.

Methods

This was a single-center retrospective cohort study at Texas Children's Hospital of patients diagnosed with first-time ON between 2018-2024, with follow-up data collected through 2025.

n = 73 children

Results

MOGAD (an antibody-driven immune condition) was found to be the cause

MOGAD

71.1%

Idiopathic/monophasic

23.7%

More results

Of 73 children with ON, 38 met criteria for isolated first-time ON.

MOGAD-ON was associated with less severe vision loss at presentation (p < 0.01) compared to idiopathic cases.

Linear regression revealed worse presenting LogMAR significantly correlated to thinner follow-up RNFL (F(1,18) = 8.467, R 2 = 0.32, p < 0.01).

More results

One (3.7%) MOGAD-ON patient relapsed during follow-up.

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

In isolated pediatric ON, no patients were diagnosed with MS, and MOGAD is the predominant etiology.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

The linear correlation between initial LogMAR and subsequent RNFL atrophy suggests a permanent reduction in neurological reserve dependent on the degree of functional severity at ON onset.

MOGAD Is the Most Common Cause of Isolated Optic Neuritis in Children.

MOGAD Is the Most Common Cause of Isolated Optic Neuritis in Children.

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