ArticleJAMA network open2023
Association Between Anti-CD20 Therapies and COVID-19 Severity Among Patients With Relapsing-Remitting and Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
Article in JAMA network open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of anti-CD20 treatments in patients with COVID-19: an assessment of severe illness and mortality outcomes.Inflammopharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of ofatumumab in participants with relapsing multiple sclerosis and breakthrough disease on oral fingolimod or fumarates: results from the ARTIOS study.Journal of neurology · 2026Trial
- Autoimmune diseases in the era of COVID-19: emerging mechanisms, clinical implications, vaccine considerations, and future directions.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2026Review
- Viral associations in multiple sclerosis: pathogenetic mechanisms and therapeutic implications.Virology journal · 2026Review
- Immunological Monitoring During Anti-CD20 Therapies to Predict Infection Risk and Treatment Response in Multiple Sclerosis Patients.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Alterations of the nasal and oral microbiota in multiple sclerosis.EBioMedicine · 2025Article
- Interferon-β treatment reverses the detrimental effect of B-cell depletion therapy on respiratory virus infection.Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) · 2025Article
- Association of vaccination status and immunosuppression with mortality of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease.BMJ open respiratory research · 2025Article
- De-escalating and discontinuing disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2025Review
- Early combined therapy for COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients: a promising approach against viral persistence and drug resistance.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Review
- 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
- MS treatment trends before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from the German MS Register.Journal of neurology · 2025Article
- Long-term impact of oral cladribine on humoral immunity in multiple sclerosis.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2025Article
- COVID-19 Vaccination Response in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Treated with Ofatumumab in the United States: A Medical Record Review.Neurology and therapy · 2024Article
- Challenges in Diagnosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia under Ocrelizumab and De-Risking Strategies in Multiple Sclerosis-The Elephant Is (Still) in the Room.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- COVID-19 and multiple sclerosis: challenges and lessons for patient care.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2024Review
- A multi-centre longitudinal study analysing multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapy prescribing patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of neurology · 2024Article
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- Article
- Early use of high-efficacy therapies in multiple sclerosis in the United States: benefits, barriers, and strategies for encouraging adoption.Journal of neurology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
28 authors at 16 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Importance: In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), factors associated with severe COVID-19 include anti-CD20 therapies and neurologic disability, but it is still unclear whether these 2 variables are independently associated with severe COVID-19 or whether the association depends on MS clinical course. Objective: To assess the association between anti-CD20 therapies and COVID-19 severity in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and progressive MS (PMS). Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study used data from the COVISEP study, which included patients with MS and COVID-19 from February 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022, at 46 French MS expert centers, general hospitals, and private neurology practices. Eligible patients with RRMS were those treated with high-efficacy MS therapy (ie, anti-CD20, fingolimod, or natalizumab), and eligible patients with PMS were those younger than 70 years with an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score of 8 or lower. Patients were monitored from COVID-19 symptom onset until recovery or death. Exposures: Current anti-CD20 therapy (ocrelizumab or rituximab). Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was severe COVID-19 (ie, hospitalization with any mode of oxygenation or death). All analyses were conducted separately in patients with RRMS and PMS using propensity score-weighted logistic regression. Subgroup analyses were performed according to COVID-19 vaccine status, sex, EDSS score, and age. Results: A total of 1400 patients, 971 with RRMS (median age, 39.14 years [IQR, 31.38-46.80 years]; 737 [76.1%] female) and 429 with PMS (median age, 54.21 years [IQR, 48.42-60.14 years]; 250 [58.3%] female) were included in the study. A total of 418 patients with RRMS (43.0%) and 226 with PMS (52.7%) were treated with anti-CD20 therapies. In weighted analysis, 13.4% and 2.9% of patients with RRMS treated and not treated with anti-CD20 had severe COVID-19, respectively, and anti-CD20 treatment was associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR], 5.20; 95% CI, 2.78-9.71); this association persisted among vaccinated patients (7.0% vs 0.9%; OR, 8.85; 95% CI, 1.26-62.12). Among patients with PMS, 19.0% and 15.5% of patients treated and not treated with anti-CD20 had severe COVID-19, respectively, and there was no association between anti-CD20 treatment and severe COVID-19 (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.76-2.16). In PMS subgroup analysis, anti-CD20 exposure interacted negatively with EDSS score (P = .009 for interaction) and age (P = .03 for interaction); anti-CD20 therapies were associated with risk of severe COVID-19 only in patients with less neurologic disability and younger patients with PMS. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, risk of severe COVID-19 was higher in patients with PMS than in those with RRMS. Use of anti-CD20 therapies was associated with an increased risk of severe COVID-19 among patients with RRMS. In patients with PMS, there was no association between anti-CD20 therapies and risk of severe COVID-19.
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