Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32769201›Full record

ArticleNeurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation2020

Mitigating alemtuzumab-associated autoimmunity in MS: A "whack-a-mole" B-cell depletion strategy.

Ethan Meltzer, Sarah Campbell, Benjamin Ehrenfeld, Roberto A Cruz, Lawrence Steinman, Matthew S Parsons, Scott S Zamvil, Elliot M Frohman, Teresa C Frohman

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Alemtuzumab and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: Analysis of an international surveillance database and systematic literature review.Transfusion and apheresis science : official journal of the World Apheresis Association : official journal of the European Society for Haemapheresis · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Ethan MeltzerFrom the Department of Neurology (E.M., S.C., B.E., R.A.C.), Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin; Department of Neurology (L.S.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; Division of Microbiology and Immunology (M.S.P.), Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Neurology and Program in Immunology (S.S.Z.), University of California San Francisco; and Departments of Neurology (E.M.F., T.C.F.), Ophthalmology & Neurosurgery, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Sarah CampbellFrom the Department of Neurology (E.M., S.C., B.E., R.A.C.), Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin; Department of Neurology (L.S.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; Division of Microbiology and Immunology (M.S.P.), Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Neurology and Program in Immunology (S.S.Z.), University of California San Francisco; and Departments of Neurology (E.M.F., T.C.F.), Ophthalmology & Neurosurgery, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Benjamin EhrenfeldFrom the Department of Neurology (E.M., S.C., B.E., R.A.C.), Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin; Department of Neurology (L.S.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; Division of Microbiology and Immunology (M.S.P.), Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Neurology and Program in Immunology (S.S.Z.), University of California San Francisco; and Departments of Neurology (E.M.F., T.C.F.), Ophthalmology & Neurosurgery, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Roberto A CruzFrom the Department of Neurology (E.M., S.C., B.E., R.A.C.), Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin; Department of Neurology (L.S.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; Division of Microbiology and Immunology (M.S.P.), Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Neurology and Program in Immunology (S.S.Z.), University of California San Francisco; and Departments of Neurology (E.M.F., T.C.F.), Ophthalmology & Neurosurgery, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Lawrence SteinmanFrom the Department of Neurology (E.M., S.C., B.E., R.A.C.), Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin; Department of Neurology (L.S.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; Division of Microbiology and Immunology (M.S.P.), Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Neurology and Program in Immunology (S.S.Z.), University of California San Francisco; and Departments of Neurology (E.M.F., T.C.F.), Ophthalmology & Neurosurgery, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Matthew S ParsonsFrom the Department of Neurology (E.M., S.C., B.E., R.A.C.), Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin; Department of Neurology (L.S.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; Division of Microbiology and Immunology (M.S.P.), Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Neurology and Program in Immunology (S.S.Z.), University of California San Francisco; and Departments of Neurology (E.M.F., T.C.F.), Ophthalmology & Neurosurgery, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Scott S ZamvilFrom the Department of Neurology (E.M., S.C., B.E., R.A.C.), Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin; Department of Neurology (L.S.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; Division of Microbiology and Immunology (M.S.P.), Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Neurology and Program in Immunology (S.S.Z.), University of California San Francisco; and Departments of Neurology (E.M.F., T.C.F.), Ophthalmology & Neurosurgery, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Elliot M FrohmanFrom the Department of Neurology (E.M., S.C., B.E., R.A.C.), Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin; Department of Neurology (L.S.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; Division of Microbiology and Immunology (M.S.P.), Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Neurology and Program in Immunology (S.S.Z.), University of California San Francisco; and Departments of Neurology (E.M.F., T.C.F.), Ophthalmology & Neurosurgery, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. Elliot.frohman@austin.utexas.edu.
Teresa C FrohmanFrom the Department of Neurology (E.M., S.C., B.E., R.A.C.), Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin; Department of Neurology (L.S.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; Division of Microbiology and Immunology (M.S.P.), Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Neurology and Program in Immunology (S.S.Z.), University of California San Francisco; and Departments of Neurology (E.M.F., T.C.F.), Ophthalmology & Neurosurgery, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. Elliot.frohman@austin.utexas.edu.
University of California, San Francisco · USStanford University · USThe University of Texas at Austin · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo determine whether the punctuated administration of low-dose rituximab, temporally linked to B-cell hyperrepopulation (defined when the return of CD19

methodsIn this hypothesis-driven pilot study, 10 patients received low-dose rituximab (50-150 mg/m

resultsFive patients received at least 1 IV infusion of low-dose rituximab, following alemtuzumab therapy, with a mean follow-up of 41 months. None of the 5 patients developed secondary autoimmune disorders. An additional 5 patients with follow-up over less than 24 months received at least 1 infusion of low-dose rituximab treatment following alemtuzumab treatment. No secondary autoimmune diseases were observed.

conclusionsAn anti-CD20 "whack-a-mole" B-cell depletion strategy may serve to mitigate alemtuzumab-associated secondary autoimmunity in MS by reducing the imbalance in B- and T-cell regulatory networks during immune reconstitution. We believe that these observations warrant further investigation. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class IV evidence that for people with MS, low-dose rituximab following alemtuzumab treatment decreases the risk of alemtuzumab-associated secondary autoimmune diseases.

Indexed as

AdultAlemtuzumabAutoimmune DiseasesB-LymphocytesDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansImmunologic FactorsMaleMiddle AgedMultiple SclerosisOutcome Assessment, Health CarePilot ProjectsRituximabAlemtuzumabImmunologic FactorsRituximab

Identifiers

PMID32769201
PMCPMC7643549
OpenAlexW3048121175

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.