ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Precision Medicine
Retrospective analysis of the clinical features of 12 cases of MOG antibody-associated aseptic meningitis
Provisionally accepted
- Jinan Children's Hospital, Jinan, China
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Background: In recent years, MOG antibody-associated aseptic meningitis has gradually been reported, but its clinical features are not yet well defined. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 67 children diagnosed with MOG antibody-associated diseases and treated at the Affiliated Children's Hospital of Shandong University from January 2021 to June 2024. Out of these cases, 12 exhibited aseptic meningitis. The key features of their clinical manifestations, blood cell analysis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-related tests, and cranial MRI results were summarized for these 12 cases. Results: A total of 12 cases (100%) presented with prolonged fever as the main clinical feature. Routine blood tests revealed the following: white blood cell counts ranging from 15.92 to 34.0 × 10⁹/L; neutrophil ratios of 76.5% to 90.3%; ESR ranging from 48 to 105 mm/h; and CRP ranging from 21.6 to 116.0 mg/L. The CSF white blood cell counts ranged from 15 to 182 × 10⁶/L. Cranial MRI revealed inflammatory changes in 4 cases. The MOG antibody titer was 1:100 in 5 cases, 1:32 in 5 cases, and 1:320 in 2 cases. After glucocorticoid therapy, the body temperatures of these children normalized, and the follow-up routine blood test, CRP, and ESR results gradually returned to the respective normal ranges. Conclusion: These findings highlight that MOG antibody-associated aseptic meningitis primarily manifests as prolonged fever, with peripheral inflammatory markers that mimic a severe bacterial infection, while CSF profiles resemble those of viral encephalitis. Clinicians should consider MOG antibody-associated disorders in children with unexplained recurrent fever.
Keywords: Anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated diseases, demyelination, Meningitis, MOG, Unexplained fever
Received: 21 Oct 2025; Accepted: 29 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Ding, Cao, Jin, Liu, Li and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yanli Cao
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