The effectiveness and safety of rituximab (anti-CD20) in neurologic autoimmune diseases

Sinclair A, Nicolau I, Xie X, Dendukuri N, McGregor M.
Record ID 32013000676
English
Authors' objectives: Myasthenia gravis (MG), neuromyelitis optica (NMO), dermatomyositis (DM), and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) are four rare autoimmune diseases with neurological and neuromuscular manifestations. Standard treatment options are corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), and plasmapheresis (PE). Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody to the leukocyte cell surface antigen CD20, is approved for the treatment of refractory rheumatoid arthritis and has been used off-label for treating patients with numerous other autoimmune diseases. The TAU was asked to review the efficacy and cost impact of the use of rituximab in the above-listed indications.
Authors' recommendations: To treat patients with rare diseases such as MG and NMO without collecting, coordinating, and publishing the results would constitute a serious waste of opportunity and resources. Accordingly, every effort should be made to enlist colleagues at associated institutions to share in a treatment and reporting protocol that would allow significant information concerning the benefits and indications for the use of rituximab to be accumulated and published.
Details
Project Status: Completed
Year Published: 2013
URL for published report: http://www.mcgill.ca/tau/files/tau/muhc_tau_2013_64_rituximab.pdf
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: Canada
MeSH Terms
  • Humans
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
  • Immunologic Factors
  • Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System
Contact
Organisation Name: Technology Assessment Unit of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
Contact Address: Technology Assessment Unit of the MUHC, 536-5100 Boul. Maisonneuve O, Montreal, H4A 3T2
Contact Name: eva.suarthana@mcgill.ca
Contact Email: nisha.almeida@muhc.mcgill.ca
Copyright: Technology Assessment Unit of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
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