Multiple sclerosis: B-cell depleting therapies hinder nAb response following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination

Key clinical point: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) show reduced neutralizing antibody (nAb) response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine, with B-cell depleting therapies having a significant effect on vaccine efficacy.

Major finding: Patients with MS treated with B-cell depleting therapies vs. other or no therapy showed a >9-fold decrease in the nAb response (P < .001), with 61.5% of patients showing no detectable levels of nAb. B-cell depleting therapy (P < .0001) was associated with significantly reduced neutralization titer 50% values.

Study details: This was a prospective longitudinal study including 51 patients with MS who completed the vaccination course of BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech), mRNA-1273 (Moderna), or Ad26.COV2 (Johnson and Johnson) SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

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Disclosures: No source of funding was declared. TV Gyang reported serving as consultant and BM Segal reported serving as a consultant, moderator, and speaker and on data safety monitoring boards for various sources. The other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Gyang TV et al. Neutralizing antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 in vaccinated people with multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin. 2022;8(1):1-9 (Mar 22). Doi: 10.1177/20552173221087357