De-escalating and discontinuing disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis.

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.

Pregnancy and Infant Outcomes in Women With Multiple Sclerosis Treated With Ocrelizumab.

Background And Objectives: Ocrelizumab labeling advises contraception for women during treatment and for 6-12 months thereafter. Because pregnancies may occur during this time, it is critical to understand pregnancy and infant outcomes in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) after ocrelizumab exposure.

Methods: Pregnancy cases reported to Roche global pharmacovigilance until 12 July 2023 were analyzed.

Disease-modifying treatment and disability progression in subclasses of patients with primary progressive MS: results from the Big MS Data Network.

Background: Effectiveness of disease-modifying treatment (DMT) in people affected by primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) is limited. Whether specific subgroups may benefit more from DMT in a real-world setting remains unclear. Our aim was to investigate the potential effect of DMT on disability worsening among patients with PPMS stratified by different disability trajectories.

Association between education level and access to disease-modifying treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis in France.

Background: We hypothesized that differences in access to disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) could explain the association between socioeconomic status and disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the association between education level and DMT use in France.

Methods: All patients from OFSEP network with MS onset over 1996-2014 and aged ⩾ 25 years at onset were included.

Association between education level and disability progression in patients with multiple sclerosis in France.

Background: Studies have reported an association between socioeconomic status and disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), but findings using the pre-MS individual socioeconomic status are missing.

Objective: The objective was to investigate the association between education level and disability progression.

Methods: All Observatoire Français de la Sclérose en Plaques (OFSEP) patients with MS clinical onset over 1960-2014, and aged ⩾25 years at MS onset were included.

Risk of Relapse After COVID-19 Vaccination Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis in France: A Self-Controlled Case Series.

Background And Objectives: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have an increased risk of severe coronavirus infection due to their level of motor disability or exposure to certain immunosuppressive treatments. Thus, patients with MS have had priority access to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. However, relapses after vaccination have been reported, leading some patients to not seek the recommended booster doses.

Big Multiple Sclerosis Data network: an international registry research network.

Background: The Big Multiple Sclerosis Data (BMSD) network ( https://bigmsdata.org ) was initiated in 2014 and includes the national multiple sclerosis (MS) registries of the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, and Sweden as well as the international MSBase registry. BMSD has addressed the ethical, legal, technical, and governance-related challenges for data sharing and so far, published three scientific papers on pooled datasets as proof of concept for its collaborative design.

Priority setting: women's health topics in multiple sclerosis.

Background: A scoping review found that most studies on women's health in multiple sclerosis (MS) focused on pregnancy, fetal/neonatal outcomes and sexual dysfunction. Few studies addressed menopause, contraception, gynecologic cancers/cancer screening. However, the perceived relative importance of these knowledge gaps to people living with MS and other partners is unknown.

Impact of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors on the Course of Multiple Sclerosis.

Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly used in cancer treatment. Their mechanism of action raises the question of possible exacerbation of preexisting multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of our study was to assess the risk of increased MS activity, defined by the occurrence of a relapse and/or a new MRI lesion, after ICI initiation.

COVID-19 outcomes in patients with multiple sclerosis: Understanding changes from 2020 to 2022.

Background: Epidemiologic studies on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) have focused on the first waves of the pandemic until early 2021.

Objectives: We aimed to extend these data from the onset of the pandemic to the global coverage by vaccination in summer 2022.

Methods: This retrospective, multicenter observational study analyzed COVISEP registry data on reported COVID-19 cases in pwMS between January 2020 and July 2022.

The Response Study: A French registry on pregnancy in women with MS and related disorders and their children up to 6 years-Protocol, recruitment status, and baseline characteristics.

Background: Counseling on pregnancy is still challenging, particularly regarding the use of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs). We are lacking long-term outcomes in children exposed to DMTs.

Objectives: This study aimed to set up a French pregnancy registry for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) and related disorders nested within the Observatoire Français de la Sclérose en Plaques (OFSEP) cohort.

Vaccine response in people with multiple sclerosis treated with fumarates.

People with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) have an increased risk of infection. As disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and other treatments may interact with the immune system, there may be concerns about vaccine efficacy and safety. Therefore, it is important to evaluate possible interactions between DMTs and vaccines.

Habituation of auditory responses in young autistic and neurotypical children.

Prior studies suggest that habituation of sensory responses is reduced in autism and that diminished habituation could be related to atypical autistic sensory experiences, for example, by causing brain responses to aversive stimuli to remain strong over time instead of being suppressed. While many prior studies exploring habituation in autism have repeatedly presented identical stimuli, other studies suggest group differences can still be observed in habituation to intermittent stimuli. The present study explored habituation of electrophysiological responses to auditory complex tones of varying intensities (50-80 dB SPL), presented passively in an interleaved manner, in a well-characterized sample of 127 autistic (M  = 65.

Pseudocystic inflammatory demyelinating lesions in multiple sclerosis: A clinical, radiological, and pathological description.

Background: Pseudocystic inflammatory demyelinating lesions (PIDLs) are poorly described in MS and might represent a diagnostic challenge.

Objectives: We described the clinical, radiological, pathological, and follow-up characteristics of 13 PIDL in 9 MS patients.

Methods: We constituted a single-center retrospective case series of PIDLs in MS, defined on MRI as expansive cyst-like lesions, with a fluid-signal content, and a diameter of 1 cm or more.

The biological sample collection of the OFSEP French MS registry: An essential tool dedicated to researchers.

Today's medicine strives to be personalized, preventive, predictive and participatory. This implies to have access to multimodal data to better characterize patients groups and to combine clinical and imaging data with high-quality biological samples. Collecting such data is one of the objectives of the Observatoire français de la sclérose en plaques (OFSEP), the French MS registry.

Association Between Anti-CD20 Therapies and COVID-19 Severity Among Patients With Relapsing-Remitting and Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

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.

European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis and European Academy of Neurology consensus on vaccination in people with multiple sclerosis: Improving immunization strategies in the era of highly active immunotherapeutic drugs.

Background And Purpose: With the new highly active drugs available for people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS), vaccination becomes an essential part of the risk management strategy. We aimed to develop a European evidence-based consensus for the vaccination strategy of pwMS who are candidates for disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).

Methods: This work was conducted by a multidisciplinary working group using formal consensus methodology.

ECTRIMS/EAN consensus on vaccination in people with multiple sclerosis: Improving immunization strategies in the era of highly active immunotherapeutic drugs.

Background: With the new highly active drugs available for people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS), vaccination becomes an essential part of the risk management strategy.

Objective: To develop a European evidence-based consensus for the vaccination strategy of pwMS who are candidates for disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).

Methods: This work was conducted by a multidisciplinary working group using formal consensus methodology.

Family planning considerations in people with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is often diagnosed in patients who are planning on having children. Although multiple sclerosis does not negatively influence most pregnancy outcomes, less is known regarding the effects of fetal exposure to novel disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). The withdrawal of some DMTs during pregnancy can modify the natural history of multiple sclerosis, resulting in a substantial risk of pregnancy-related relapse and disability.