ArticleAnnals of clinical and translational neurology2026
Disease Course After Anti-CD20 Discontinuation in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis-A Multicenter Long-Term Longitudinal Study.
Article in Annals of clinical and translational neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo describe long-term outcomes after anti-CD20 discontinuation in selected patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who remained without subsequent disease-modifying therapy (DMT).
methodsWe retrospectively analyzed data from four centers in Austria and Switzerland. Inclusion criteria were SPMS, ≥ 2 anti-CD20 cycles, discontinuation without subsequent DMT, and ≥ 36 months follow-up. The primary endpoint was time to first confirmed Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) worsening, defined as a ≥ 0.5-point increase after discontinuation documented at a subsequent routine visit. Secondary endpoints were relapses, MRI activity, and severe infections. No continuation cohort was available.
resultsFifty-five patients were included (61% female). Mean age at anti-CD20 start was 53.5 ± 6.6 years, disease duration 19.3 ± 10.1 years, treatment duration 32.8 ± 16.1 months, and post-discontinuation follow-up 55.1 ± 14.1 months. Mean EDSS increased from 5.9 ± 1.3 before anti CD20, to 6.3 ± 1.3 at discontinuation and 6.9 ± 1.2 at last follow-up. Confirmed EDSS worsening occurred in 31 patients (56%). Hazard analysis suggested an exploratory late increase between 48 and 60 months (p = 0.043) based on small numbers at risk. Relapses occurred in 6 patients (10.9%), MRI activity in 4/35 (11%), and severe infections in 17 (31%).
conclusionsIn this selected SPMS cohort, focal inflammatory activity was uncommon, whereas confirmed EDSS worsening accumulated over long-term follow-up. Because inclusion required ≥ 36 months untreated follow-up, early disease activity may have been underestimated, and apparent stability may have been overestimated. Findings are descriptive and hypothesis-generating and do not establish safety or optimal timing of anti-CD20 discontinuation.
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.