Publications by authors named "H J Hartung"
The development of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been highly successful in recent decades. It is now widely accepted that early initiation of DMTs after disease onset is associated with a better long-term prognosis. However, the question of when and how to de-escalate or discontinue DMTs remains open and critical.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Early treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) reduces disease activity and the risk of long-term disease progression. Effectiveness of ocrelizumab is established in relapsing MS (RMS); however, data in early RMS are lacking. We evaluated the 4-year effectiveness and safety of ocrelizumab as a first-line therapy in treatment-naive patients with recently diagnosed relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).
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- Advancements in molecular engineering have led to the development of CAR T-cell therapy, showing potential for treating various neurological disorders, including brain tumors and autoimmune conditions.
- Although initial human trials for treating glioblastoma have had limited success, animal studies show promise for other conditions like multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.
- Innovative strategies using modified CAR T cells targeting autoreactive B cells are showing potential for treating autoimmune encephalitis, suggesting a hopeful future for CAR T-cell applications in neurology.
Article Synopsis
- B-cell-depletion with CD20 antibodies, specifically ocrelizumab (OCR) and ofatumumab (OFA), is an effective treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS), but their comparative effectiveness in real-world settings was previously unknown.
- A cohort study involving 1,138 RMS patients was conducted in Germany, using propensity-score matching to compare the outcomes of OCR and OFA treatment, focusing on clinical relapses, MRI lesion changes, and disability progression.
- Results showed that OFA was non-inferior to OCR in overall effectiveness, but differences were noted in patients switching from other therapies, highlighting the need for more research on these specific cases.
Background: Ublituximab is a novel anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody glycoengineered for enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. The phase 3 ULTIMATE I and II studies showed significant improvements in annualized relapse rate, total number of gadolinium-enhancing (Gd+) T1 lesions, and total number of new or enlarging T2 at Week 96, as well as improvement in the proportion of participants with no evidence of disease activity (NEDA) from Weeks 24-96 with ublituximab vs. teriflunomide.
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