Severity of COVID19 infection among patients with multiple sclerosis treated with interferon-β

Steve Simpson-Yap, Ashkan Pirmani, Edward De Brouwer, Liesbet M. Peeters, Lotte Geys, Tina Parciak, Anne Helme, Jan Hillert, Yves Moreau, Gilles Edan, Tim Spelman, Sifat Sharmin, Robert McBurney, Hollie Schmidt, Arnfin Bergmann, Stefan Braune, Alexander Stahmann, Rodden Middleton, Amber Salter, Bruce BeboAnneke van der Walt, Helmut Butzkueven, Serkan Ozakbas, Rana Karabudak, Cavit Boz, Raed Alroughani, Juan I. Rojas, Ingrid van der Mei, Guilherme Sciascia do Olival, Melinda Magyari, Ricardo Alonso, Richard Nicholas, Anibal Chertcoff, Ana Zabalza, Georgina Arrambide, Nupur Nag, Annabel Descamps, Lars Costers, Ruth Dobson, Aleisha Miller, Paulo Rodrigues, Vesna Prčkovska, Giancarlo Comi, Tomas Kalincik

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Interferon-β, a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for MS, may be associated with less severe COVID-19 in people with MS. Results: Among 5,568 patients (83.4% confirmed COVID-19), interferon-treated patients had lower risk of severe COVID-19 compared to untreated, but not to glatiramer-acetate, dimethyl-fumarate, or pooled other DMTs. Conclusions: In comparison to other DMTs, we did not find evidence of protective effects of interferon-β on the severity of COVID-19, though compared to the untreated, the course of COVID19 was milder among those on interferon-β. This study does not support the use of interferon-β as a treatment to reduce COVID-19 severity in MS.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number104072
JournalMultiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
Volume66
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2022
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Severity of COVID19 infection among patients with multiple sclerosis treated with interferon-β'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this