Objective This study was undertaken to assess the impact of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies on the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Methods We retrospectively collected data of PwMS with suspected or confirmed COVID‐19. All the patients had complete follow‐up to death or recovery. Severe COVID‐19 was defined by a 3‐level variable: mild disease not requiring hospitalization versus pneumonia or hospitalization versus intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death. We evaluated baseline characteristics and MS therapies associated with severe COVID‐19 by multivariate and propensity score (PS)‐weighted ordinal logistic models. Sensitivity analyses were run to confirm the results. Results Of 844 PwMS with suspected (n = 565) or confirmed (n = 279) COVID‐19, 13 (1.54%) died; 11 of them were in a progressive MS phase, and 8 were without any therapy. Thirty‐eight (4.5%) were admitted to an ICU; 99 (11.7%) had radiologically documented pneumonia; 96 (11.4%) were hospitalized. After adjusting for region, age, sex, progressive MS course, Expanded Disability Status Scale, disease duration, body mass index, comorbidities, and recent methylprednisolone use, therapy with an anti‐CD20 agent (ocrelizumab or rituximab) was significantly associated (odds ratio [OR] = 2.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18–4.74, p = 0.015) with increased risk of severe COVID‐19. Recent use (<1 month) of methylprednisolone was also associated with a worse outcome (OR = 5.24, 95% CI = 2.20–12.53, p = 0.001). Results were confirmed by the PS‐weighted analysis and by all the sensitivity analyses. Interpretation This study showed an acceptable level of safety of therapies with a broad array of mechanisms of action. However, some specific elements of risk emerged. These will need to be considered while the COVID‐19 pandemic persists. ANN NEUROL 2021;89:780–789

During IFNbeta therapy, the presence of NAb reduced or abolished bioavailability in a relevant percentage of patients. These data could be important for the early detection of patients with MS who are not responsive to IFNbeta therapy.

We evaluated the effect of DMTs on Covid‐19 severity in patients with MS, with a pooled‐analysis of two large cohorts from Italy and France. The association of baseline characteristics and DMTs with Covid‐19 severity was assessed by multivariate ordinal‐logistic models and pooled by a fixed‐effect meta‐analysis. 1066 patients with MS from Italy and 721 from France were included. In the multivariate model, anti‐CD20 therapies were significantly associated (OR = 2.05, 95%CI = 1.39–3.02, p < 0.001) with Covid‐19 severity, whereas interferon indicated a decreased risk (OR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.18–0.99, p = 0.047). This pooled‐analysis confirms an increased risk of severe Covid‐19 in patients on anti‐CD20 therapies and supports the protective role of interferon.

Glucocorticoid (GC)-induced osteoporosis is the leading form of secondary osteoporosis. Bone loss can be rapid. However, longitudinal studies at the very beginning of treatment are scarce. Patients relapsing from multiple sclerosis are treated with high-dose, short-term iv GCs. A number of them are young, without concomitant disease affecting bone and with no substantial impairment of mobility. Such patients were selected for the present study. Thirteen patients suffering from multiple sclerosis [11 females, two males; age 32 +/- 2 yr (mean +/- se)] and receiving iv methylprednisolone 15 mg/kg daily for 10 d completed the study. We measured serum osteocalcin (OC), aminoterminal propeptide of type I collagen (PINP), bone isoform of alkaline phosphatase (bALP), carboxyterminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), and urinary calcium/creatinine ratio (uCa/Cr) during the 10-d cycle and 3 months later. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and calcaneal quantitative ultrasonometry were performed before and 6 months after therapy. We found an immediate, impressive fall of OC and PINP (-80 +/- 3 and -54 +/- 5% at d 2, respectively), which persisted throughout the whole treatment period (P < 0.0001 for both markers). bALP levels showed only a modest decrease at d 6 (-19 +/- 7%, P < 0.05), with subsequent return to baseline in d 7-10. After 3 months, OC, PINP, and bALP levels rose to +51 +/- 22, +37 +/- 16 (not significant), and +61 +/- 17% (P < 0.01) with respect to baseline, respectively. uCa/Cr and CTX showed a progressive, marked increase during treatment, peaking at d 7-9 (+92 +/- 44 and +149 +/- 63%, respectively), with subsequent decrement at d 10 (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively) despite continuing GC administration. After 3 months, uCa/Cr and CTX levels were also higher than baseline. No change in quantitative ultrasonometry parameters and bone mineral density was observed 6 months after therapy. In conclusion, high-dose, short-term iv GC regimens cause an immediate and persistent decrease in bone formation and a rapid and transient increase of bone resorption. Our data also support the concept that discontinuation of such regimens is followed by a high bone turnover phase.

The proposed protocol allows the quantitative characterization of the motion pattern of ataxic subjects in a non-invasive way. We believe that this analysis could represent a good tool for ataxia evaluation in a clinical context such as neurorehabilitation.