ArticleMultiple sclerosis and related disorders2021
COVID-19 and the Risk of Relapse in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Fight with No Bystander Effect?
Article in Multiple sclerosis and related disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- COVID-19 and the risk of CNS demyelinating diseases: A systematic review.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Psychosocial Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Omanis with Multiple Sclerosis: Single Tertiary Center Experience.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on long-term outcomes in Parkinson's disease.European journal of neurology · 2025Article
- Incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse after COVID-19 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Caspian journal of internal medicine · 2025Review
- Long-Term Outcomes of Patients with Pre-Existing Essential Tremor After SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A Comprehensive Review of the Global Epidemiology, Clinical Management, Socio-Economic Impacts, and National Responses to Long COVID with Future Research Directions.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Review
- New-onset or relapse of uveitis after rapid spreading of COVID-19 infection in China and risk factor analysis for relapse.BMC ophthalmology · 2024Article
- Era of COVID-19 in Multiple Sclerosis Care.Neurologic clinics · 2024Review
- The impact of COVID-19 infection on multiple sclerosis disease course across 12 countries: a propensity-score-matched cohort study.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2024Article
- Review
- Occurrence and Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Are Associated With Clinical Disability Worsening in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis.Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation · 2023Article
- COVID-19 and Multiple Sclerosis: A Complex Relationship Possibly Aggravated by Low Vitamin D Levels.Cells · 2023Review
- Safety of the Fiocruz ChAdOx COVID-19 vaccine used in a mass vaccination campaign in Botucatu, Brazil.Vaccine · 2022Article
- To be or not to be vaccinated: The risk of MS or NMOSD relapse after COVID-19 vaccination and infection.Multiple sclerosis and related disorders · 2022Observational
- SARS-CoV-2 infection in multiple sclerosis patients: interaction with treatments, adjuvant therapies, and vaccines against COVID-19.Journal of neurology · 2022Review
- The Outcome of COVID-19 in Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis Patients.Pediatric neurology · 2022Article
- Multiple Sclerosis Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2022Review
- Quercetin potential effects against SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19-associated cancer progression by inhibiting mTOR and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α).Phytotherapy research : PTR · 2022Article
- COVID-19 severity is associated with worsened neurological outcomes in multiple sclerosis and related disorders.Multiple sclerosis and related disorders · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 is speculated to increase the likelihood of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) exacerbation.
objectiveTo investigate the association between contraction of COVID-19 and incidence of acute MS attacks in RRMS patients six months post-infection.
methodsThis retrospective cohort study compares the risk of relapse in RRMS patients with (n=56) and without COVID-19 (n=69). Incidence of relapse was recorded for six-month following contraction of COVID-19. Incidence of RRMS exacerbation in patients with COVID-19 was compared to patients without COVID-19 (the independent control group) and the same patients six months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
resultsA lower incidence rate of RRMS exacerbation was observed in patients that contracted COVID-19 than in patients who did not contract COVID-19 (incidence rate ratio: 0.275; p=0.026). Self-controlled analysis showed no significant difference in relapse rates before the COVID-19 pandemic and after contracting COVID-19 (p=0.222). The relapse risk was not different between patients who had been hospitalized due to COVID-19 severity and those who had not (p=0.710).
conclusionCOVID-19 contraction may not increase the risk of acute MS attacks shortly following contraction. We hypothesize that COVID-19-associated lymphopenia may partly preclude the autoreactive memory cells from expansion and initiating relapses through a so-called bystander effect of COVID-19 infection.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.