tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
CNS Drugs
. 2021 Mar 20.
doi: 10.1007/s40263-021-00804-1. Online ahead of print.
COVID-19 in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Associations with Disease-Modifying Therapies
Anthony T Reder[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Diego Centonze[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Maria L Naylor[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Anjali Nagpal[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Rajani Rajbhandari[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Arman Altincatal[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Michelle Kim[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Aaron Berdofe[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Maha Radhakrishnan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Eunice Jung[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Alfred W Sandrock[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Karen Smirnakis[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Catrinel Popescu[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Carl de Moor[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) target immunity and have the potential to increase the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and alter its clinical course. We assessed these risks in patients with MS (PwMS).
Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the overall risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, severe disease course, and potential population-level predictors of COVID-19 infection in PwMS, and to provide a context using a cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In addition, the association of different MS DMTs with the incidence and clinical course of COVID-19 was evaluated. Safety data from the Biogen Global Safety Database are also presented on reported cases of COVID-19 in patients treated with Biogen MS therapies.
Methods: The IBM[SUP]?[/SUP] Explorys electronic health record database of > 72,000,000 patients from US healthcare networks identified patients with MS or SLE, with and without polymerase chain reaction-confirmed COVID-19. COVID-19 cumulative incidence, hospitalization, and deaths among DMT classes were compared using logistic regression (adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, comorbidities, and race/ethnicity). As a secondary data source to assess safety data, COVID-19 reports for Biogen MS therapies were extracted and described from Biogen's Global Safety Database.
Results: 30,478 PwMS with an open DMT prescription were identified within Explorys; 344 were COVID-19 positive. The most significant risk factors for acquiring COVID-19 were comorbidity score ? 1, body mass index ? 30, and Black/African ancestry. Similar risk factors were also identified for patients with SLE. Patients with MS were less likely to develop COVID-19 when treated with interferons (0.61%) and glatiramer acetate (0.51%), vs all other MS DMTs (both p < 0.001); anti-CD20 therapy was associated with the highest risk (3.45%; p < 0.0001). In the Biogen Global Safety Database, we identified 1217 patients who were COVID-19 positive treated with intramuscular interferon beta-1a, peginterferon beta-1a, natalizumab, dimethyl fumarate, diroximel fumarate, or fampridine.
Conclusions: Comorbidities, obesity, and Black/African ancestry, but not age, were associated with a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in PwMS. Interferons and glatiramer acetate were associated with a reduced COVID-19 risk, whereas anti-CD20 therapies were associated with an increased risk, within the treated MS cohort. COVID-19 safety reports for patients receiving Biogen MS therapies were consistent with the Explorys database and MS literature, illustrating the replicability and power of this approach.
. 2021 Mar 20.
doi: 10.1007/s40263-021-00804-1. Online ahead of print.
COVID-19 in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Associations with Disease-Modifying Therapies
Anthony T Reder[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Diego Centonze[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Maria L Naylor[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Anjali Nagpal[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Rajani Rajbhandari[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Arman Altincatal[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Michelle Kim[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Aaron Berdofe[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Maha Radhakrishnan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Eunice Jung[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Alfred W Sandrock[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Karen Smirnakis[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Catrinel Popescu[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Carl de Moor[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33743151
- DOI: 10.1007/s40263-021-00804-1
Abstract
Background: Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) target immunity and have the potential to increase the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and alter its clinical course. We assessed these risks in patients with MS (PwMS).
Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the overall risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, severe disease course, and potential population-level predictors of COVID-19 infection in PwMS, and to provide a context using a cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In addition, the association of different MS DMTs with the incidence and clinical course of COVID-19 was evaluated. Safety data from the Biogen Global Safety Database are also presented on reported cases of COVID-19 in patients treated with Biogen MS therapies.
Methods: The IBM[SUP]?[/SUP] Explorys electronic health record database of > 72,000,000 patients from US healthcare networks identified patients with MS or SLE, with and without polymerase chain reaction-confirmed COVID-19. COVID-19 cumulative incidence, hospitalization, and deaths among DMT classes were compared using logistic regression (adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, comorbidities, and race/ethnicity). As a secondary data source to assess safety data, COVID-19 reports for Biogen MS therapies were extracted and described from Biogen's Global Safety Database.
Results: 30,478 PwMS with an open DMT prescription were identified within Explorys; 344 were COVID-19 positive. The most significant risk factors for acquiring COVID-19 were comorbidity score ? 1, body mass index ? 30, and Black/African ancestry. Similar risk factors were also identified for patients with SLE. Patients with MS were less likely to develop COVID-19 when treated with interferons (0.61%) and glatiramer acetate (0.51%), vs all other MS DMTs (both p < 0.001); anti-CD20 therapy was associated with the highest risk (3.45%; p < 0.0001). In the Biogen Global Safety Database, we identified 1217 patients who were COVID-19 positive treated with intramuscular interferon beta-1a, peginterferon beta-1a, natalizumab, dimethyl fumarate, diroximel fumarate, or fampridine.
Conclusions: Comorbidities, obesity, and Black/African ancestry, but not age, were associated with a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in PwMS. Interferons and glatiramer acetate were associated with a reduced COVID-19 risk, whereas anti-CD20 therapies were associated with an increased risk, within the treated MS cohort. COVID-19 safety reports for patients receiving Biogen MS therapies were consistent with the Explorys database and MS literature, illustrating the replicability and power of this approach.