Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the disease course of carryover progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) after switching from natalizumab to ocrelizumab in 2 patients with relapsing-remitting MS.

METHODS: Two case reports with 1 year of follow-up and retrospective longitudinal measurements of serum neurofilament light (NfL) levels and B-cells.

RESULTS: PML was diagnosed 78 days (case 1) and 97 days (case 2) after discontinuation of natalizumab. Both patients developed mild immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) despite B-cell depletion caused by ocrelizumab. NfL levels increased in both patients during PML-IRIS. PML-IRIS lesions stabilized after treatment with mefloquine and mirtazapine, followed by methylprednisolone, and both patients continued therapy with ocrelizumab when B-cells started to repopulate.

CONCLUSIONS: The clinical course of carryover PML was mild in both patients, suggesting that B-cell depletion possibly did not aggravate PML-IRIS in these 2 patients.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNeurology neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2021

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