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. 2024 Dec;124(6):1847-1854.
doi: 10.1007/s13760-024-02555-4. Epub 2024 Jun 11.

Rituximab maintenance treatment outcomes in patients with relapsing neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: a monocentric retrospective analysis

Lianchen Xiao  1   2 , Yanning Huang  3   4   5 , Hui Sun  2 , Sai Gao  2 , Dehui Huang  6 , Lei Wu  7
Affiliations

Rituximab maintenance treatment outcomes in patients with relapsing neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: a monocentric retrospective analysis

Lianchen Xiao et al. Acta Neurol Belg. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Some patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) experience relapse after rituximab (RTX) treatment. In this retrospective study, we analyzed the recurrence-related clinical features, laboratory investigation results, and dosing protocol of 30 female patients with relapsing NMOSD with immunoglobulin G autoantibodies against aquaporin-4 and relapses during repeated 0.5 g RTX infusions as maintenance treatment. The median follow-up period was 6.62 years. Thirty-five episodes were observed, with myelitis being the most frequent. The median expanded disability status scale change score was 0.50. The recurrence rate decreased by 44.23%/year with RTX infusion. Approximately 85.71% of the patients showed relapse without RTX infusion within 10 months. Overall, RTX may be effective for relapsing NMOSD cases.

Keywords: Maintenance treatment; Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder; Relapse; Relapsing NMOSD; Rituximab.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Data availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, L. W and D. H, on reasonable request.

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