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Olaf Stüve, MD, PhD; Verena I. Leussink, MD; Ruth Fröhlich, MD; Bernhard Hemmer, MD; Hans-Peter Hartung, MD; Til Menge, MD; Bernd C. Kieseier, MD

Arch Neurol. 2009;66(2):259-261.

Objective  To describe 2 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) receiving long-term treatment with the monoclonal antibody rituximab. The clinical and paraclinical efficacy of rituximab was demonstrated recently in a phase 2 clinical trial in patients with RRMS.

Design  Case series.

Setting  Tertiary care university medical center.

Patients  Two young patients with highly active RRMS in whom standard therapy had failed before receiving rituximab for up to 48 months.

Main Outcome Measures  Relapse rate, clinical disability, and results of magnetic resonance imaging.

Results  Both patients tolerated rituximab treatment well and have been clinically stable throughout the study period.

Conclusion  Long-term therapy with rituximab appears safe and effective in some patients with RRMS. Our observation should be confirmed in controlled long-term trials.

Author Affiliations: Division of Neurology, Medicine Service, Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Dr Stüve), and Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dr Stüve), Dallas, Texas; Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany (Drs Leussink, Fröhlich, Hartung, Menge, and Kieseier); and Department of Neurology, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany (Dr Hemmer).

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