Subcutaneous Alemtuzumab for Multiple Sclerosis
Perumal et al. have presented two patients, a 37-year-old male and an 18-year-old female, with a 1 year and a few months history, respectively, of aggressive multiple sclerosis (MS), who were treated with subcutaneous alemtuzumab and followed-up for 14 and 10 months, respectively, after treatment. Drugs received during the pre-alemtuzumab period were subcutaneous IFN-β-1a 44 (Rebif44®, Merck Serono Europe Limited, UK) and intravenous cyclophosphamide for patient 1, and intravenous solumedrol and plasmapheresis for patient 2. Thus, patient 2 had not received any disease-modifying drug before alemtuzumab treatment. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores before starting the alemtuzumab treatment were 8.5 and 7.5 for patients 1 and 2, respectively.
Treatment consisted of subcutaneous alemtuzumab 12 mg/day, for 5 days, and no treatment-related reactions were observed. After alemtuzumab treatment, both patients had no further relapses, and a sustained improvement in their disability scores was observed. At the end of the follow-up, EDSS scores were 6.0 and 2.5, respectively. MRI scans after alemtuzumab treatment reportedly showed a marked improvement (MRI data were not given).
Summary of Methods & Results
Perumal et al. have presented two patients, a 37-year-old male and an 18-year-old female, with a 1 year and a few months history, respectively, of aggressive multiple sclerosis (MS), who were treated with subcutaneous alemtuzumab and followed-up for 14 and 10 months, respectively, after treatment. Drugs received during the pre-alemtuzumab period were subcutaneous IFN-β-1a 44 (Rebif44®, Merck Serono Europe Limited, UK) and intravenous cyclophosphamide for patient 1, and intravenous solumedrol and plasmapheresis for patient 2. Thus, patient 2 had not received any disease-modifying drug before alemtuzumab treatment. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores before starting the alemtuzumab treatment were 8.5 and 7.5 for patients 1 and 2, respectively.
Treatment consisted of subcutaneous alemtuzumab 12 mg/day, for 5 days, and no treatment-related reactions were observed. After alemtuzumab treatment, both patients had no further relapses, and a sustained improvement in their disability scores was observed. At the end of the follow-up, EDSS scores were 6.0 and 2.5, respectively. MRI scans after alemtuzumab treatment reportedly showed a marked improvement (MRI data were not given).
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