Open AccessRecovery from COVID-19 in a B-cell-depleted multiple sclerosis patient
Author(s) -
Hannah Wurm,
Kathrine E. Attfield,
Astrid K. N. Iversen,
Ralf Gold,
Lars Fugger,
Aiden Haghikia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
multiple sclerosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.729
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1477-0970
pISSN - 1352-4585
DOI - 10.1177/1352458520943791
Subject(s) - medicine , multiple sclerosis , rituximab , antibody , immunology , cd20 , covid-19 , coronavirus , immunotherapy , disease , immune system , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Approximately 200,000 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients worldwide receive B-cell-depleting immunotherapy with rituximab (anti-CD20), which eliminates the ability to generate an antibody response to new infections. As severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)–specific antibodies might help viral clearance, these patients could be at risk of severe complications if infected. Here, we report on an MS patient who had received rituximab for ~3 years. The patient was examined 5 days before the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms and was admitted to the hospital 2 days after. She recovered 14 days after symptom onset despite having a 0% B lymphocyte count and not developing SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies.