Wei-Ti Chen v. HHS - Influenza, Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (“NMOSD”) (2019)

Wei-Ti Chen, a 42-year-old assistant professor, filed a claim alleging that she developed Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) as a result of an influenza vaccine received on November 1, 2013. Ms.

Chen had a history of lower back and buttock pain, and reported tingling in her thighs prior to vaccination. Following vaccination, her symptoms progressed to include numbness and paresthesias in her legs, ascending to her abdomen and right hand, and she experienced an unsteady gait.

She was hospitalized in Taiwan, where MRIs revealed demyelinating lesions. Diagnoses considered included multiple sclerosis (MS), acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), and NMOSD.

While some treaters leaned towards MS, others, including her expert Dr. Kon-Ping Lin, concluded NMOSD was the most likely diagnosis, supported by later MOG antibody testing.

Respondent's expert, Dr. Winfried Raabe, opined that MS was more likely and that the evidence did not support a vaccine link to NMOSD.

The court found that while Ms. Chen's condition was likely NMOSD, she failed to establish the three prongs of the Althen test for vaccine causation.

Specifically, the court found her proposed molecular mimicry theory insufficiently supported by evidence linking the flu vaccine to chronic demyelinating diseases like NMOSD, and that the scientific literature primarily supported a link to acute CNS conditions like ADEM. Furthermore, the court found that the evidence suggested her initial neurological symptoms likely preceded the vaccination, failing to establish a medically acceptable temporal relationship.

Consequently, Ms. Chen's petition for compensation was denied.