ArticleAnnals of clinical and translational neurology2020
Serious safety events in rituximab-treated multiple sclerosis and related disorders.
Article in Annals of clinical and translational neurology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 95 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rituximab for people with multiple sclerosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Hypogammaglobulinemia and infections in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with anti-CD20 treatments: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19,139 multiple sclerosis patients.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Rituximab for people with multiple sclerosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Characterisation of the safety profile of evobrutinib in over 1000 patients from phase II clinical trials in multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus: an integrated safety analysis.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2023Trial
- Optimizing the Use of Anti-CD20 Agents in Multiple Sclerosis and Other Autoimmune Central Nervous System Disorders: A Narrative Review.Neurology and therapy · 2026Review
- Ten Years of Ocrelizumab in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis: The OPERA I and II Randomized Clinical Trials.JAMA neurology · 2026Article
- The real-world effectiveness and safety of off-label rituximab in a large cohort of Middle Eastern multiple sclerosis patients.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026Observational
- The emerging role of B cells in immune-mediated demyelinating diseases: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Real-world comparison of anti-CD20 therapies: efficacy, infections, and immune profiles in a German cohort.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Immunological Monitoring During Anti-CD20 Therapies to Predict Infection Risk and Treatment Response in Multiple Sclerosis Patients.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Incidence and Risk Factors for Serious Infections in Patients with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder: A Claims Database Study in Japan.Neurology and therapy · 2025Article
- West Nile Virus Neuroinvasive Disease in Patients Treated With Anti-CD20 Therapies.Neurology. Clinical practice · 2025Article
- Real-world observational study of infections in people treated with ocrelizumab for multiple sclerosis.Journal of neurology · 2025Observational
- De-escalating and discontinuing disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2025Review
- Review
- Extended-interval dosing of rituximab/ocrelizumab is associated with a reduced decrease in IgG levels in multiple sclerosis.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025Article
- B-cell Depletion Therapy in Pediatric Neuroinflammatory Disease.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2024Review
- MS treatment de-escalation: review and commentary.Journal of neurology · 2024Review
- De-escalation and Discontinuation of Disease-Modifying Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2024Review
- Clinical and Immunological Impact of Ocrelizumab Extended Interval Dosing in Multiple Sclerosis: A Single-Center, Real-World Experience.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionStudies investigating rates and risk factors for serious safety events (SSEs) during rituximab treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), and related disorders are limited.
methodsRituximab-treated patients with MS, NMOSD, or related disorders at the Rocky Mountain and New York University MS Care Centers were included. The follow-up period was defined as the time from the initial dose of rituximab up to 12 months of last dose of rituximab or ocrelizumab (in patients who switched). Clinician-reported and laboratory data were retrospectively collected from electronic medical records.
resultsOne-thousand patients were included comprising 907 MS, 77 NMOSD, and 16 related disorders. Patients had a mean follow-up of 31.1 months and a mean cumulative rituximab dose of 4012 mg. Of the 169 patients who switched to ocrelizumab, the mean ocrelizumab dose was 1141 mg. Crude incidence rate per 1000 person-years (PY) for lymphopenia was 19.2, neutropenia 5.6, and hypogammaglobulinemia 17.8. Infections resulting in either hospitalization, IV antibiotics, or using antibiotics ≥14 days occurred at a rate of 38.6/1000 PY. Risk factors for infection were duration of therapy, male gender, increased disability, prior exposure to immunosuppression/chemotherapy, lymphopenia, and hypogammaglobulinemia. Particularly, wheelchair-bound patients had 8.56-fold increased odds of infections. Crude incidence rates of malignant cancer were 3.5, new autoimmune disease 2.3, thromboembolic event 3.1, and mortality of 5.4 per 1000 PY.
interpretationRates of SSEs in patients with MS, NMOSD, and related disorders were low. Through properly assessing risk:benefit of B-cell depleting therapy in neuroinflammatory disorders and continual monitoring, clinicians may decrease the risk of serious infections.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.