Provided herein is a method of treating neuromyelitis optica (NMO) in an animal or human subject comprising administering to the subject a composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of an Fc region modified anli-AQP4 antibody, thereby treating the NMO in the subject, in some embodiments, the Fc region modified anti-AQP4 antibody is an anti-AQP4 antibody deglycosylated at the amino acid position Asn297. In other embodiments, the Fc region modified anti-AQP4 antibody is an anii-AQP4 antibody F(ab′)2 fragment.