Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33416999›Full record

ReviewJournal of neurology2022

Rituximab for the treatment of multiple sclerosis: a review.

Clara Grazia Chisari, Eleonora Sgarlata, Sebastiano Arena, Simona Toscano, Maria Luca, Francesco Patti

Open access · bronzeAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of neurology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 100 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
100citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
23.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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

100 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 200 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2026
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Observational
  15. 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 · 2026
    Observational
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Observational
  20. Article

40 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Clara Grazia Chisari *Department "GF Ingrassia", Section of Neurosciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Eleonora Sgarlata *Department "GF Ingrassia", Section of Neurosciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Sebastiano ArenaDepartment "GF Ingrassia", Section of Neurosciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Simona ToscanoDepartment "GF Ingrassia", Section of Neurosciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Maria LucaDepartment "GF Ingrassia", Section of Neurosciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Francesco PattiDepartment "GF Ingrassia", Section of Neurosciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy. patti@unict.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6923-0846
University of Catania · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In the last decades, evidence suggesting the direct or indirect involvement of B cells on multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis has accumulated. The increased amount of data on the efficacy and safety of B-cell-depleting therapies from several studies has suggested the addition of these drugs as treatment options to the current armamentarium of disease modifying therapies (DMTs) for MS. Particularly, rituximab (RTX), a chimeric monoclonal antibody directed at CD20 positive B lymphocytes resulting in cell-mediated apoptosis, has been demonstrated to reduce inflammatory activity, incidence of relapses and new brain lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). Additional evidence also demonstrated that patients with progressive MS (PMS) may benefit from RTX, which also showed to be well tolerated, with acceptable safety risks and favorable cost-effectiveness profile.Despite these encouraging results, RTX is currently approved for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, several forms of vasculitis and rheumatoid arthritis, while it can only be administered off-label for MS treatment. Between Northern European countries exist different rules for using not licensed drug for treating MS. The Sweden MS register reports a high rate (53.5%) of off-label RTX prescriptions in relation to other annually started DMTs to treat MS patients, while Danish and Norwegian neurologists have to use other anti-CD20 drugs, as ocrelizumab, in most of the cases.In this paper, we review the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, clinical efficacy, safety profile and cost effectiveness aspects of RTX for the treatment of MS. Particularly, with the approval of new anti-CD20 DMTs, the recent worldwide COVID-19 emergency and the possible increased risk of infection with this class of drugs, this review sheds light on the use of RTX as an alternative treatment option for MS management, while commenting the gaps of knowledge regarding this drug.

Indexed as

Immunologic FactorsMultiple SclerosisMultiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-RemittingRituximabHumansImmunologic FactorsRituximabEfficacyMultiple sclerosisRituximabSafety

Identifiers

PMID33416999
PMCPMC7790722
OpenAlexW3118412923

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.