Publications by authors named "Hélène Zephir"

72 Publications

Comparison of Simoa and Ella to assess serum neurofilament-light chain in multiple sclerosis.

Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Neurology, CHU Nîmes, Univ Montpellier, Nîmes, France.

We compared Simoa and Ella immunoassays to assess serum neurofilament-light chain levels in 203 multiple sclerosis patients from the OFSEP HD study. There was a strong correlation (ρ = 0.86, p < 0.0001) between both platforms. The Ella instrument overestimated values by 17%, but as the data were linear (p = 0.57), it was possible to apply a correction factor to Ella results. As for Simoa , serum neurofilament-light chain levels measured by Ella were correlated with age and EDSS and were significantly higher in active multiple sclerosis, suggesting that these assays are equivalent and can be used in routine clinical practice.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acn3.51355	DOI Listing

April 2021

Author Response: Evaluation of Efficacy and Tolerability of First-Line Therapies in NMOSD.

Authors:

Helene Zephir Julien Poupart Romain Deschamps Bertrand Audoin Jonathan Ciron Elisabeth Maillart Caroline Papeix Nicolas Collongues Bertrand Bourre Mickaël Cohen Sandrine Wiertlewski Olivier Outteryck David Laplaud Sandra Vukusic Romain Marignier Jonathan Giovannelli

Neurology 2021 02;96(6):295-296

(Lille, France).

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000011403	DOI Listing

February 2021

The long-term outcome of MOGAD: An observational national cohort study of 61 patients.

Eur J Neurol 2021 Feb 2. Epub 2021 Feb 2.

Department of Neurology, Centre de référence des maladies inflammatoires rares du cerveau et de la moelle (MIRCEM), AP-HP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.

Background And Objective: The prognosis in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is a matter of debate. Our aim was to assess the long-term outcomes of patients with MOGAD.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed the clinical and paraclinical data of patients from the French nationwide observatory study NOMADMUS who tested positive for MOG antibodies (MOG-IgG) and who had clinical follow-up of at least 8 years from their first episode.

Results: Sixty-one patients (median [range] age at onset 27 [3-69] years), with a median (mean; range) follow-up of 177 (212.8; 98-657) months, were included. Among 58 patients with a relapsing course, 26.3% relapsed in the first year after onset. Of the 61 patients, 90.2% experienced at least one episode of optic neuritis. At last visit, the median (mean; range) Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was 1 (2.12; 0-7.5), 12.5% had an EDSS score ≥6 and 37.5% had an EDSS score ≥3. Of 51 patients with final visual acuity (VA) data available, 15.7% had VA ≤0.1 in at least one eye and 25.5% had VA ≤0.5 in at least one eye. Bilateral blindness (VA ≤0.1) was present in 5.9% of patients. Finally, 12.5% of patients presented bladder dysfunction requiring long-term urinary catheterization. No factor associated significantly with a final EDSS score ≥3 or with final VA ≤0.1 was found.

Conclusion: Overall long-term favourable outcomes were achieved in a majority of our patients, but severe impairment, in particular visual damage, was not uncommon.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ene.14746	DOI Listing

February 2021

Determinants of therapeutic lag in multiple sclerosis.

Authors:

Izanne Roos Emmanuelle Leray Federico Frascoli Romain Casey J William L Brown Dana Horakova Eva Kubala Havrdova Marc Debouverie Maria Trojano Francesco Patti Guillermo Izquierdo Sara Eichau Gilles Edan Alexandre Prat Marc Girard Pierre Duquette Marco Onofrj Alessandra Lugaresi Pierre Grammond Jonathan Ciron Aurélie Ruet Serkan Ozakbas Jérôme De Seze Céline Louapre Hélène Zephir Maria José Sá Patrizia Sola Diana Ferraro Pierre Labauge Gilles Defer Roberto Bergamaschi Christine Lebrun-Frenay Cavit Boz Elisabetta Cartechini Thibault Moreau David Laplaud Jeannette Lechner-Scott Francois Grand'Maison Oliver Gerlach Murat Terzi Franco Granella Raed Alroughani Gerardo Iuliano Vincent Van Pesch Bart Van Wijmeersch Daniele LA Spitaleri Aysun Soysal Eric Berger Julie Prevost Eduardo Aguera-Morales Pamela McCombe Tamara Castillo Triviño Pierre Clavelou Jean Pelletier Recai Turkoglu Bruno Stankoff Olivier Gout Eric Thouvenot Olivier Heinzlef Youssef Sidhom Riadh Gouider Tunde Csepany Bertrand Bourre Abdullatif Al Khedr Olivier Casez Philippe Cabre Alexis Montcuquet Abir Wahab Jean-Philippe Camdessanche Aude Maurousset Ivania Patry Karolina Hankiewicz Corinne Pottier Nicolas Maubeuge Céline Labeyrie Chantal Nifle Alasdair Coles Charles B Malpas Sandra Vukusic Helmut Butzkueven Tomas Kalincik

Mult Scler 2021 Jan 11:1352458520981300. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

CORe, Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia/Melbourne MS Centre, Department of Neurology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Background: A delayed onset of treatment effect, termed therapeutic lag, may influence the assessment of treatment response in some patient subgroups.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to explore the associations of patient and disease characteristics with therapeutic lag on relapses and disability accumulation.

Methods: Data from MSBase, a multinational multiple sclerosis (MS) registry, and OFSEP, the French MS registry, were used. Patients diagnosed with MS, minimum 1 year of exposure to MS treatment and 3 years of pre-treatment follow-up, were included in the analysis. Studied outcomes were incidence of relapses and disability accumulation. Therapeutic lag was calculated using an objective, validated method in subgroups stratified by patient and disease characteristics. Therapeutic lag under specific circumstances was then estimated in subgroups defined by combinations of clinical and demographic determinants.

Results: High baseline disability scores, annualised relapse rate (ARR) ⩾ 1 and male sex were associated with longer therapeutic lag on disability progression in sufficiently populated groups: females with expanded disability status scale (EDSS) < 6 and ARR < 1 had mean lag of 26.6 weeks (95% CI = 18.2-34.9), males with EDSS < 6 and ARR < 1 31.0 weeks (95% CI = 25.3-36.8), females with EDSS < 6 and ARR ⩾ 1 44.8 weeks (95% CI = 24.5-65.1), and females with EDSS ⩾ 6 and ARR < 1 54.3 weeks (95% CI = 47.2-61.5).

Conclusions: Pre-treatment EDSS and ARR are the most important determinants of therapeutic lag.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1352458520981300	DOI Listing

January 2021

BEST-MS: A prospective head-to-head comparative study of natalizumab and fingolimod in active relapsing MS.

Mult Scler 2020 Oct 30:1352458520969145. Epub 2020 Oct 30.

Service de Neurologie, CRCSEP, Unité de Recherche Clinique Cote d'Azur (UR2CA), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pasteur 2, Nice, France.

Background: There are few head-to-head studies to compare highly active treatments in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness between natalizumab (NTZ) and fingolimod (FTY) in active relapsing-remitting MS.

Method: Best Escalation STrategy in Multiple Sclerosis (BEST-MS) is a multicentric, prospective study with a 12-month follow-up including patients with active MS. Treatment choice was at the discretion of physician. Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were collected at baseline and at 12 months. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients reaching no evidence of disease activity (NEDA) at 12 months. Secondary outcomes included annualized relapse rate and MRI activity.

Results: A total of 223 patients were included (NTZ: 109 and FTY: 114). Treatment groups were well balanced at baseline. Proportion of NEDA patients was 47.8% in NTZ group versus 30.4% in FTY group ( = 0.015). This superiority was driven by annualized relapse rate and MRI activity. In the multivariate analysis, treatment group was the only factor associated with NEDA at 12 months with a lower probability in FTY group (odds ratio (OR) = 0.49, = 0.029).

Conclusion: BEST-MS is a prospective study that compared head-to-head the effectiveness of NTZ and FTY in active relapsing-remitting MS. Our results suggest a superiority of NTZ over FTY.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1352458520969145	DOI Listing

October 2020

Clinical Features and Risk of Relapse in Children and Adults with Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease.

Ann Neurol 2021 01 15;89(1):30-41. Epub 2020 Oct 15.

Department of Neurology, Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroinflammation, Pierre Wertheimer Neurological Hospital, Lyon Civil Hospices, Lyon, France.

Objective: The main objective was to compare clinical features, disease course, and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody (Ab) dynamics between children and adults with MOG-Ab-associated disease (MOGAD).

Methods: This retrospective multicentric, national study included 98 children and 268 adults with MOGAD between January 2014 and September 2019. Cox regression model for recurrent time-to-event data and Kaplan-Meier curves for time to antibody negativity were performed for the objectives.

Results: Isolated optic neuritis was the most frequent clinical presentation in both children (40.8%) and adults (55.9%, p = 0.013), and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis syndrome was more frequent in children (36.7% vs 5.6%, p < 0.001). Compared to adults, children displayed better recovery (Expanded Disability Status Scale ≥ 3.0 at last follow-up reached only by 10 of 97 [10.3%] vs 66/247 [26.7%], p < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, adults were at higher risk of relapse than children (hazard ratio = 1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12-1.78, p = 0.003). At 2 years, 64.2% (95% CI = 40.9-86.5) of nonrelapsing children became MOG-Ab negative compared to 14.1% (95% CI = 4.7-38.3) of relapsing children (log-rank p < 0.001), with no differences observed in adults (log-rank p = 0.280).

Interpretation: MOGAD patients differ in the clinical presentation at onset, showing an age-related shift in the clinical features across age groups. Compared to children, adults have a higher risk of relapse and worse functional recovery. Finally, children with monophasic disease become MOG-Ab negative earlier than relapsing children, but this is not true in adults. Considering these differences, management and treatment guidelines should be considered independently in children and adults. ANN NEUROL 2021;89:30-41.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ana.25909	DOI Listing

January 2021

Optical coherence tomography for detection of asymptomatic optic nerve lesions in clinically isolated syndrome.

Authors:

Olivier Outteryck Renaud Lopes Élodie Drumez Julien Labreuche Julien Lannoy Nawal Hadhoum Julie Boucher Patrick Vermersch Mickaël Zedet Jean-Pierre Pruvo Hélène Zéphir Xavier Leclerc

Neurology 2020 08 28;95(6):e733-e744. Epub 2020 Jul 28.

From the Department of Neuroradiology, U1171-Degenerative and Vascular Cognitive Disorders, INSERM (O.O., R.L., J.-P.P., X.L.), Department of Biostatistics, EA 2694-Santé Publique: Épidémiologie et Qualité des Soins (É.D., J. Labreuche), and Department of Neurology, U995-Lille Inflammation Research International Center, INSERM (J. Lannoy, N.H., J.B., P.V., M.Z., H.Z.), CHU Lille, Université de Lille, France.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of intereye retinal thickness difference (IETD) measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect asymptomatic optic nerve involvement in clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients who recently presented a CIS (≤4.5 months). All patients underwent OCT and brain/optic nerve MRI. Optic nerve involvement was defined clinically (episode of optic neuritis [ON] or not) and radiologically (optic nerve hypersignal on 3D double inversion recovery [3D-DIR]). We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of previously published IETD thresholds and report the observed optimal thresholds for identifying symptomatic optic nerve involvement but also for identifying asymptomatic optic nerve involvement (optic nerve hypersignal without ON history). Primary outcomes were ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer IETD.

Results: The study group consisted of 130 patients. In the CIS with ON group, 3D-DIR showed a hypersignal in all 41 symptomatic optic nerves and in 11 asymptomatic optic nerves. In the CIS without ON group, 3D-DIR showed a unilateral optic nerve hypersignal in 22 patients and a bilateral optic nerve hypersignal in 7 patients. For the detection of symptomatic and asymptomatic optic nerve lesion, GC-IPL IETD had better performance. We found an optimal GC-IPL IETD threshold ≥2.83 µm (sensitivity 88.2, specificity 83.3%) for the detection of symptomatic lesions and an optimal GC-IPL IETD ≥1.42 µm (sensitivity 89.3%, specificity 72.6%) for the detection of asymptomatic lesions.

Conclusions: Detection of asymptomatic optic nerve lesions in CIS requires lower IETD thresholds than previously reported. GC-IPL IETD represents an alternative biomarker to MRI for the detection of asymptomatic optic nerve lesions.

Classification Of Evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that OCT accurately identifies asymptomatic optic nerve involvement in patients with CIS.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000009832	DOI Listing

August 2020

Long-term effect of natalizumab in patients with RRMS: TYSTEN cohort.

Authors:

Kévin Bigaut Thibaut Fabacher Laurent Kremer Jean-Claude Ongagna Arnaud Kwiatkowski François Sellal Didier Ferriby Sylvie Courtois Patrick Vermersch Nicolas Collongues Hélène Zéphir Jérôme De Seze Olivier Outteryck

Mult Scler 2021 Apr 9;27(5):729-741. Epub 2020 Jul 9.

Department of Neurology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, Lille, France/Department of Neuroradiology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, Lille, France.

Background: Data are needed on long-term effect of natalizumab (NTZ) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Objectives: To evaluate the time of onset of secondary progressive phase in patients with an RRMS treated with NTZ and to investigate predictive factors.

Methods: TYSTEN is an observational study. Patients starting NTZ between 2007 and 2012 were included and followed up until October 2018. Relapses, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores, and results of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were collected each year. Data were used to estimate the cumulative probability of several poor outcomes such as secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) conversion, EDSS worsening, EDSS 4.0, and EDSS 6.0.

Results: 770 patients were included. The mean follow-up duration was 97 months and the mean time exposure to NTZ was 66 months. At 10 years, the cumulative probability of SPMS was 27.7%. Predictive factors for poor outcomes were a ⩾1-point increase in EDSS score from baseline, new T2 lesion or T1 gadolinium-enhancing lesion, the occurrence of relapse at 1 or 2 years and No Evidence of Disease Activity (NEDA-3; no relapse, no new T2 or T1 gadolinium-enhancing lesions, no progression) was a protective factor.

Conclusion: In our cohort of patients treated with NTZ, poor outcomes were infrequent and are driven by disease activity.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1352458520936239	DOI Listing

April 2021

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Multiple Sclerosis.

Authors:

Céline Louapre Nicolas Collongues Bruno Stankoff Claire Giannesini Caroline Papeix Caroline Bensa Romain Deschamps Alain Créange Abir Wahab Jean Pelletier Olivier Heinzlef Pierre Labauge Laurent Guilloton Guido Ahle Mathilde Goudot Kevin Bigaut David-Axel Laplaud Sandra Vukusic Catherine Lubetzki Jérôme De Sèze Fayçal Derouiche Ayman Tourbah Guillaume Mathey Marie Théaudin François Sellal Marie-Hélène Dugay Helene Zéphir Patrick Vermersch Françoise Durand-Dubief Romain Françoise Géraldine Androdias-Condemine Julie Pique Pékès Codjia Caroline Tilikete Véronique Marcaud Christine Lebrun-Frenay Mikael Cohen Aurelian Ungureanu Elisabeth Maillart Ysoline Beigneux Thomas Roux Jean-Christophe Corvol Amandine Bordet Yanica Mathieu Frédérique Le Breton Dalia Dimitri Boulos Olivier Gout Antoine Guéguen Antoine Moulignier Marine Boudot Audrey Chardain Sarah Coulette Eric Manchon Samar S. Ayache Thibault Moreau Pierre-Yves Garcia Deiva Kumaran Giovanni Castelnovo Eric Thouvenot Frederic Taithe Julien Poupart Arnaud Kwiatkowski Gilles Defer Nathalie Derache Pierre Branger Damien Biotti Jonathan Ciron Christine Clerc Mathieu Vaillant Laurent Magy Alexis Montcuquet Philippe Kerschen Marc Coustans Anne-Marie Guennoc Bruno Brochet Jean-Christophe Ouallet Aurélie Ruet Cécile Dulau Sandrine Wiertlewski Eric Berger Dan Buch Bertrand Bourre Maud Pallix-Guiot Aude Maurousset Bertrand Audoin Audrey Rico Adil Maarouf Gilles Edan Jérémie Papassin Dorothée Videt

JAMA Neurol 2020 09;77(9):1079-1088

Service de Neurologie, Clinical Investigation Center Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale 1434, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.

Importance: Risk factors associated with the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are unknown. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may modify the risk of developing a severe COVID-19 infection, beside identified risk factors such as age and comorbidities.

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with MS and COVID-19 and identify factors associated with COVID-19 severity.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The Covisep registry is a multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study conducted in MS expert centers and general hospitals and with neurologists collaborating with MS expert centers and members of the Société Francophone de la Sclérose en Plaques. The study included patients with MS presenting with a confirmed or highly suspected diagnosis of COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and May 21, 2020.

Exposures: COVID-19 diagnosed with a polymerase chain reaction test on a nasopharyngeal swab, thoracic computed tomography, or typical symptoms.

Main Outcomes And Measures: The main outcome was COVID-19 severity assessed on a 7-point ordinal scale (ranging from 1 [not hospitalized with no limitations on activities] to 7 [death]) with a cutoff at 3 (hospitalized and not requiring supplemental oxygen). We collected demographics, neurological history, Expanded Disability Severity Scale score (EDSS; ranging from 0 to 10, with cutoffs at 3 and 6), comorbidities, COVID-19 characteristics, and outcomes. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the association of collected variables with COVID-19 outcomes.

Results: A total of 347 patients (mean [SD] age, 44.6 [12.8] years, 249 women; mean [SD] disease duration, 13.5 [10.0] years) were analyzed. Seventy-three patients (21.0%) had a COVID-19 severity score of 3 or more, and 12 patients (3.5%) died of COVID-19. The median EDSS was 2.0 (range, 0-9.5), and 284 patients (81.8%) were receiving DMT. There was a higher proportion of patients with a COVID-19 severity score of 3 or more among patients with no DMT relative to patients receiving DMTs (46.0% vs 15.5%; P < .001). Multivariate logistic regression models determined that age (odds ratio per 10 years: 1.9 [95% CI, 1.4-2.5]), EDSS (OR for EDSS ≥6, 6.3 [95% CI. 2.8-14.4]), and obesity (OR, 3.0 [95% CI, 1.0-8.7]) were independent risk factors for a COVID-19 severity score of 3 or more (indicating hospitalization or higher severity). The EDSS was associated with the highest variability of COVID-19 severe outcome (R2, 0.2), followed by age (R2, 0.06) and obesity (R2, 0.01).

Conclusions And Relevance: In this registry-based cohort study of patients with MS, age, EDSS, and obesity were independent risk factors for severe COVID-19; there was no association found between DMTs exposure and COVID-19 severity. The identification of these risk factors should provide the rationale for an individual strategy regarding clinical management of patients with MS during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.2581	DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7320356	PMC

September 2020

Asymptomatic optic nerve lesions: An underestimated cause of silent retinal atrophy in MS.

Authors:

Jean-Baptiste Davion Renaud Lopes Élodie Drumez Julien Labreuche Nawal Hadhoum Julien Lannoy Patrick Vermersch Jean-Pierre Pruvo Xavier Leclerc Hélène Zéphir Olivier Outteryck

Neurology 2020 06 20;94(23):e2468-e2478. Epub 2020 May 20.

From the Department of Neuroradiology, INSERM, U1171-Degenerative and Vascular Cognitive Disorders (J.-B.D., R.L., J.-P.P., X.L., O.O.), Department of Biostatistics, EA 2694-Santé Publique: Épidémiologie et Qualité des Soins (É.D., J.L.), and Department of Neurology, INSERM, U995-Lille Inflammation Research International Center (N.H., J.L., P.V., H.Z.), CHU Lille, Université de Lille, France.

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of asymptomatic optic nerve lesions and their role in the asymptomatic retinal neuroaxonal loss observed in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: We included patients with remitting-relapsing MS in the VWIMS study (Analysis of Neurodegenerative Process Within Visual Ways In Multiple Sclerosis) (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: 03656055). Included patients underwent optical coherence tomography (OCT), optic nerve and brain MRI, and low-contrast visual acuity measurement. In eyes of patients with MS without optic neuritis (MS-NON), an optic nerve lesion on MRI (3D double inversion recovery [DIR] sequence) was considered as an asymptomatic lesion. We considered the following OCT/MRI measures: peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, macular ganglion cell + inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL) volumes, optic nerve lesion length, T2 lesion burden, and fractional anisotropy within optic radiations.

Results: An optic nerve lesion was detected in half of MS-NON eyes. Compared to optic nerves without any lesion and independently of the optic radiation lesions, the asymptomatic lesions were associated with thinner inner retinal layers ( < 0.0001) and a lower contrast visual acuity ( ≤ 0.003). Within eyes with asymptomatic optic nerve lesions, optic nerve lesion length was the only MRI measure significantly associated with retinal neuroaxonal loss ( < 0.03). Intereye mGCIPL thickness difference (IETD) was lower in patients with bilateral optic nerve DIR hypersignal compared to patients with unilateral hypersignal ( = 0.0317). For the diagnosis of history of optic neuritis, sensitivity of 3D DIR and of mGCIPL IETD were 84.9% and 63.5%, respectively.

Conclusions: Asymptomatic optic nerve lesions are an underestimated and preponderant cause of retinal neuroaxonal loss in MS. 3D DIR sequence may be more sensitive than IETD measured by OCT for the detection of optic nerve lesions.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000009504	DOI Listing

June 2020

Double-blind, randomized controlled trial of therapeutic plasma exchanges vs sham exchanges in moderate-to-severe relapses of multiple sclerosis.

Authors:

Bruno Brochet Mathilde Deloire Christine Germain Jean-Christophe Ouallet Linda Wittkop Cécile Dulau Paul Perez Florian Thevenot Jérome De Sèze Hélène Zéphir Patrick Vermersch Sophie Pittion Marc Debouverie David-Axel Laplaud Pierre Clavelou Aurélie Ruet

J Clin Apher 2020 Aug 5;35(4):281-289. Epub 2020 May 5.

CHU de Bordeaux, Service de Neurologie, Bordeaux, France.

Introduction: No randomized controlled clinical trial of therapeutic plasma exchanges (TPE) has yet been performed for moderate-to-severe relapses of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objective: To compare TPE to sham-TPE in patients with a recent steroid-resistant moderate-to-severe MS relapse.

Methods: Patients presenting with an MS relapse of less than 2 months without improvement and 15 days after a course of steroids were randomized. Specific criteria were used for each relapse type to define moderate-to-severe disability. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with at least a moderate improvement based on objective and functional evaluation after 1 month.

Results: Thirty-eight patients were randomized. The intention-to-treat analysis included 14 patients in the TPE group and 17 in the Sham-TPE group. The proportion of patients with at least moderate improvement at 1 month did not differ between the groups (P = .72), although 57.1% of the TPE group had full recovery compared with 17.6% of the sham group. Considering optic neuritis (ON), a significant difference in the proportion of different levels of improvement was observed in favor of the TPE group (P = .04). The combined Kurtzke's functional systems scores were significantly more improved in the TPE group than in the sham-TPE group at months 1 (P < .01), 3 (P < .05), and 6 (P < .05). No major side effects were observed.

Conclusions: A significant difference between TPE and Sham-TPE at the primary endpoint was only observed in patients with ON. Neurological function improved significantly more often in the TPE group than in the sham-TPE group.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jca.21788	DOI Listing

August 2020

Outcome and risk of recurrence in a large cohort of idiopathic longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis without AQP4/MOG antibodies.

J Neuroinflammation 2020 Apr 23;17(1):128. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Service de neurologie, sclérose en plaques, pathologies de la myéline et neuro-inflammation, and Centre de Référence des Maladies Inflammatoires Rares du Cerveau et de la Moelle, Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 69677, Lyon/Bron, France.

Background: Longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) is classically related to aquaporin (AQP4)-antibodies (Ab) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) or more recently to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-Ab associated disease. However, some patients remain negative for any diagnosis, despite a large work-up including AQP4-Ab and MOG-Ab. Data about natural history, disability outcome, and treatment are limited in this group of patients. We aimed to (1) describe clinical, biological, and radiological features of double seronegative LETM patients; (2) assess the clinical course and identify prognostic factors; and (3) assess the risk of recurrence, according to maintenance immunosuppressive therapy.

Methods: Retrospective evaluation of patients with a first episode of LETM, tested negative for AQP-Ab and MOG-Ab, from the French nationwide observatory study NOMADMUS.

Results: Fifty-three patients (median age 38 years (range 16-80)) with double seronegative LETM were included. Median nadir EDSS at onset was 6.0 (1-8.5), associated to a median EDSS at last follow-up of 4.0 (0-8). Recurrence was observed in 24.5% of patients in the 18 following months, with a median time to first relapse of 5.7 months. The risk of recurrence was lower in the group of patients treated early with an immunosuppressive drug (2/22, 9%), in comparison with untreated patients (10/31, 32%).

Conclusions: A first episode of a double seronegative LETM is associated to a severe outcome and a high rate of relapse in the following 18 months, suggesting that an early immunosuppressive treatment may be beneficial in that condition.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12974-020-01773-w	DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7178729	PMC

April 2020

Evaluation of efficacy and tolerability of first-line therapies in NMOSD.

Authors:

Julien Poupart Jonathan Giovannelli Romain Deschamps Bertrand Audoin Jonathan Ciron Elisabeth Maillart Caroline Papeix Nicolas Collongues Bertrand Bourre Mickael Cohen Sandrine Wiertlewski Olivier Outteryck David Laplaud Sandra Vukusic Romain Marignier Hélène Zephir

Neurology 2020 04 13;94(15):e1645-e1656. Epub 2020 Mar 13.

From the Department of Neurology (J.P., J.G., O.O., H.Z.) and U995-LIRIC-Lille Inflammation Research International Center, Inserm, Univ Lille (J.G., H.Z.), CHU Lille; Department of Neurology (R.D.), Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild, Paris; CNRS, CRMBM UMR 7339 (B.A.), Aix-Marseille Université; Service de Neurologie (B.A.), Pôle de Neurosciences Cliniques, APHM, Hôpital de la Timone, Marseille; Department of Neurology (J.C.), Hôpital Purpan, CHU de Toulouse; Department of Neurology (E.M., C.P.), Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, AP-HP, Paris; Biopathologie de la Myéline, Neuroprotection et Stratégies Thérapeutiques (N.C.), INSERM U1119, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), Université de Strasbourg; Département de Neurologie (N.C.) and Centre d'Investigation Clinique, INSERM U1434 (N.C.), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Strasbourg; Department of Neurology (B.B.), Hôpital Charles Nicolle, CHU Rouen; Centre de Ressources et Compétences Sclérose en Plaques, Neurologie (M.S.), Université Nice Côte d'Azur, CHU Pasteur 2, Nice; Department of Neurology (S.W., D.L.), CHU Nantes; Service de Neurologie, Sclérose en Plaques, Pathologies de la Myéline et Neuro-inflammation (S.V., R.M.), Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer Hospices Civils de Lyon; Centre de Référence des Maladies Inflammatoires Rares du Cerveau et de la Moelle (R.M.), Lyon; and INSERM U1028 (R.M.), CNRS UMR 5292, Center for Research in Neuroscience of Lyon, Lyon1 University, France.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and the risk of severe infectious events of immunosuppressive agents used early as first-line therapy in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).

Methods: We retrospectively included patients with NMOSD and a seropositive status for aquaporin 4 or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies beginning first-line immunosuppressants within 3 years after the disease onset. The main outcome was occurrence of relapse after the initiation of immunosuppressants; the secondary outcome was the annual relapse rate (AAR).

Results: A total of 136 patients were included: 62 (45.6%) were treated with rituximab (RTX), 42 (30.9%) with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and 23 (16.9%) with azathioprine (AZA). Compared with RTX-treated patients, the risk of relapse was higher among MMF-treated patients (hazard ratio [HR], 2.74 [1.17-6.40]; = 0.020) after adjusting for age at disease onset, sex, antibody status, disease duration, ARR before treatment, corticosteroid intake, and relapse location. We did not observe any difference between RTX-treated and AZA-treated patients (HR, 2.13 [0.72-6.28]; = 0.17). No interaction was found between the antibody status and immunosuppressive treatments. ARR was lower with RTX than with MMF ( = 0.039), but no difference was observed with AZA. We observed 9 serious infectious events with MMF, 6 with RTX, and none with AZA.

Conclusions: The use of first-line RTX in NMOSD appears more effective than MMF in suppressing clinical activity, independent of the antibody status.

Classification Of Evidence: That study provides Class III evidence that for patients with NMOSD, first-line RTX is superior to MMF to reduce the risk of relapse.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000009245	DOI Listing

April 2020

Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy Incidence and Risk Stratification Among Natalizumab Users in France.

JAMA Neurol 2020 01;77(1):94-102

CHU de Nantes, Service de Neurologie, CIC015 INSERM, Nantes, France.

Importance: Risk of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is the major barrier to using natalizumab for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). To date, the association of risk stratification with PML incidence has not been evaluated.

Objective: To describe the temporal evolution of PML incidence in France before and after introduction of risk minimization recommendations in 2013.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This observational study used data in the MS registry OFSEP (Observatoire Français de la Sclérose en Plaques) collected between April 15, 2007, and December 31, 2016, by participating MS expert centers and MS-dedicated networks of neurologists in France. Patients with an MS diagnosis according to current criteria, regardless of age, were eligible, and those exposed to at least 1 natalizumab infusion (n = 6318) were included in the at-risk population. A questionnaire was sent to all centers, asking for a description of their practice regarding PML risk stratification. Data were analyzed in July 2018.

Exposures: Time from the first natalizumab infusion to the occurrence of PML, natalizumab discontinuation plus 6 months, or the last clinical evaluation.

Main Outcomes And Measures: Incidence was the number of PML cases reported relative to the person-years exposed to natalizumab. A Poisson regression model for the 2007 to 2016 period estimated the annual variation in incidence and incidence rate ratio (IRR), adjusted for sex and age at treatment initiation and stratified by period (2007-2013 and 2013-2016).

Results: In total, 6318 patients were exposed to natalizumab during the study period, of whom 4682 (74.1%) were female, with a mean (SD [range]) age at MS onset of 28.5 (9.1 [1.1-72.4]) years; 45 confirmed incident cases of PML were diagnosed in 22 414 person-years of exposure. The crude incidence rate for the whole 2007 to 2016 period was 2.00 (95% CI, 1.46-2.69) per 1000 patient-years. Incidence significantly increased by 45.3% (IRR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.15-1.83; P = .001) each year before 2013 and decreased by 23.0% (IRR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.61-0.97; P = .03) each year from 2013 to 2016.

Conclusions And Relevance: The results of this study suggest, for the first time, a decrease in natalizumab-associated PML incidence since 2013 in France that may be associated with a generalized use of John Cunningham virus serologic test results; this finding appears to support the continuation and reinforcement of educational activities and risk-minimization strategies in the management of disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.2670	DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6724170	PMC

January 2020

Evaluation of treatment response in adults with relapsing MOG-Ab-associated disease.

J Neuroinflammation 2019 Jul 2;16(1):134. Epub 2019 Jul 2.

Service de Neurologie, Sclérose en Plaques, Pathologies de la Myéline et Neuro-Inflammation, Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.

Background: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies (MOG-Ab) are related to several acquired demyelinating syndromes in adults, but the therapeutic approach is currently unclear. We aimed to describe the response to different therapeutic strategies in adult patients with relapsing MOG-Ab-associated disease.

Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted in France and Spain including 125 relapsing MOG-Ab patients aged ≥ 18 years. First, we performed a survival analysis to investigate the relapse risk between treated and non-treated patients, performing a propensity score method based on the inverse probability of treatment weighting. Second, we assessed the annualised relapse rates (ARR), Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and visual acuity pre-treatment and on/end-treatment.

Results: Median age at onset was 34.1 years (range 18.0-67.1), the female to male ratio was 1.2:1, and 96% were Caucasian. At 5 years, 84% (95% confidence interval [CI], 77.1-89.8) patients relapsed. At the last follow-up, 66 (52.8%) received maintenance therapy. Patients initiating immunosuppressants (azathioprine, mycophenolate mophetil [MMF], rituximab) were at lower risk of new relapse in comparison to non-treated patients (HR, 0.41; 95CI%, 0.20-0.82; p = 0.011). Mean ARR (standard deviation) was reduced from 1.05(1.20) to 0.43(0.79) with azathioprine (n = 11; p = 0.041), from 1.20(1.11) to 0.23(0.60) with MMF (n = 11; p = 0.033), and from 1.08(0.98) to 0.43(0.89) with rituximab (n = 26; p = 0.012). Other immunosuppressants (methotrexate/mitoxantrone/cyclophosphamide; n = 5), or multiple sclerosis disease-modifying drugs (MS-DMD; n = 9), were not associated with significantly reduced ARR. Higher rates of freedom of EDSS progression were observed with azathioprine, MMF or rituximab.

Conclusion: In adults with relapsing MOG-Ab-associated disease, immunosuppressant therapy (azathioprine, MMF and rituximab) is associated with reduced risk of relapse and better disability outcomes. Such an effect was not found in the few patients treated with MS-DMD.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12974-019-1525-1	DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6607517	PMC

July 2019

Switching for convenience from first-line injectable treatments to oral treatments in multiple sclerosis: Data from a retrospective cohort study.

Authors:

Géraldine Buard Jonathan Giovannelli Olivier Outteryck Nawal Hadhoum Julien Lannoy Patrick Vermersch Hélène Zéphir

Mult Scler Relat Disord 2019 08 25;33:39-43. Epub 2019 May 25.

CHU Lille, Service de Neurologie, F-59000 Lille, France; Univ. Lille, U995 - LIRIC - Lille Inflammation Research International Centre, F-59000 Lille, France; Inserm, U995, F-59000 Lille, France. Electronic address:

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2019.05.015	DOI Listing

August 2019

Frequency and characteristics of short versus longitudinally extensive myelitis in adults with MOG antibodies: A retrospective multicentric study.

Mult Scler 2020 07 31;26(8):936-944. Epub 2019 May 31.

Service de Neurologie, Sclérose en Plaques, Pathologies de la Myéline et Neuro-inflammation, Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer Hospices Civils de Lyon, Bron, France; Centre de Référence des Maladies Inflammatoires Rares du Cerveau et de la Moelle and INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, Lyon 1 University, Center for Research in Neuroscience of Lyon, Lyon, France.

Objectives: We aim to (1) determine the frequency and distinctive features of short myelitis (SM) and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) in a cohort of adults with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-antibody (Ab)-associated myelitis and (2) determine baseline prognostic factors among MOG-Ab-positive patients whose disease started with myelitis.

Material And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical and paraclinical variables from a multicentric French cohort of adults with MOG-Ab-associated myelitis. At last follow-up, patients were classified into two groups according to the severity of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) as ⩽2.5 or ⩾3.0.

Results: Seventy-three patients with at least one episode of myelitis over disease course were included; among them, 28 (38.4%) presented with SM at the time of the first myelitis. Motor and sphincter involvement was less frequently observed in SM (51.9% and 48.2%, respectively) than in LETM patients (83.3% and 78.6%, respectively), = 0.007 and = 0.017; 61% of LETM patients displayed brain lesions compared to 28.6% in the SM group, = 0.008, and the thoracic segment was more frequently involved in the LETM (82.2%) than in the SM group (39.3%), < 0.001. EDSS at last follow-up was higher in LETM (median 3.0 (interquartile range: 2.0-4.0)) compared to SM patients (2.0, (1.0-3.0)), = 0.042. Finally, a higher EDSS at onset was identified as the only independent risk factor for EDSS ⩾3.0 (odds ratio, 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.95, = 0.046).

Conclusion: SM in MOG-Ab-associated disease is not rare. The severity at onset was the only independent factor related to the final prognosis in MOG-Ab-associated myelitis.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1352458519849511	DOI Listing

July 2020

Optical coherence tomography: a window to the optic nerve in clinically isolated syndrome.

Authors:

Frédéric London Hélène Zéphir Elodie Drumez Julien Labreuche Nawal Hadhoum Julien Lannoy Jérôme Hodel Patrick Vermersch Jean-Pierre Pruvo Xavier Leclerc Olivier Outteryck

Brain 2019 04;142(4):903-915

University of Lille (UMR1171), Department of Neuroradiology, Roger Salengro Hospital, Lille, France.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association of asymptomatic optic nerve demyelinating lesion in patients presenting a clinically isolated syndrome with the asymptomatic retinal neuro-axonal loss previously reported at clinically isolated syndrome. We prospectively recruited 66 patients presenting a clinically isolated syndrome and 66 healthy control subjects matched according to age and gender. All patients underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging including 3D-double inversion recovery (DIR) sequence, optical coherence tomography examination and visual function evaluation, at 2.5-4.5 months after CIS. Evaluation criteria were presence and length of optic nerve DIR hypersignal, retinal layers (including ganglion cell inner plexiform layer and inner nuclear layer) thickness/volume, and low contrast monocular vision acuity (number of letters correctly identified). All clinically isolated syndrome eyes with past history of optic neuritis (CIS-ON) presented an optic nerve DIR hypersignal. We observed asymptomatic optic nerve DIR hypersignal in 22.2% of clinically isolated syndrome eyes without optic neuritis (CIS-NON). In comparison with healthy control, GCIPL volume (in mm3) was significantly lower in CIS-ON eyes [β (95% confidence interval, CI) = -0.121 (-0.168 to -0.074); P < 0.0001], and to a lesser extent in CIS-NON [β (95% CI) = -0.023 (-0.039 to -0.008); P = 0.004]. In comparison to healthy controls, eyes with asymptomatic optic nerve DIR hypersignal presented significantly lower macular ganglion cell inner plexiform layer volume [β (95% CI) = -0.043 (-0.068 to -0.019); P = 0.001], and eyes without did not [β (95% CI) = -0.016 (-0.034 to 0.003); P = 0.083]. Among CIS-NON, macular ganglion cell inner plexiform layer volume decrease was associated with asymptomatic optic nerve DIR hypersignal independently of optic radiations T2 lesions and primary visual cortex volumes (P = 0.012). Symptomatic optic nerve DIR hypersignal were significantly longer (13.8 ± 6.7 mm) than asymptomatic optic nerve hypersignal (10.0 ± 5.5 mm; P = 0.047). Length of optic nerve DIR hypersignal was significantly associated with thinner inner retinal layers (P ≤ 0.001), thicker inner nuclear layer (P = 0.017) and lower low contrast monocular vision acuity (P < 0.05). Compared to healthy control, low contrast monocular vision acuity was significantly lower in CIS-ON eyes (P < 0.0001) and CIS-NON eyes with (P = 0.03) or without asymptomatic optic nerve DIR hypersignal (P = 0.0005). Asymptomatic demyelinating optic nerve DIR hypersignal at the earliest clinical stage of multiple sclerosis is frequent and associated with asymptomatic retinal neuro-axonal loss reported at clinically isolated syndrome stage. Length of optic nerve DIR hypersignal is a biomarker of retinal neuro-axonal loss and visual disability at clinically isolated syndrome stage. Visual disability of clinically isolated syndrome eyes without clinical and subclinical optic nerve involvement might be due to missed optic nerve lesions on MRI. At the earliest clinical stage of multiple sclerosis, our results support considering optical coherence tomography as a window to the optic nerve rather than to the brain.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/awz038	DOI Listing

April 2019

Correction to: Usefulness of MOG-antibody titres at first episode to predict the future clinical course in adults.

J Neurol 2019 Apr;266(4):816

Service de neurologie, sclérose en plaques, pathologies de la myéline et neuro-inflammation and Centre de référence pour les maladies inflammatoires rares du cerveau et de la moelle (MIRCEM), Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer Hospices Civils de Lyon, 59 boulevard Pinel, BRON cedex, 69677, Lyon, France.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00415-019-09215-1	DOI Listing

April 2019

Neurological Involvement in Childhood Evans Syndrome.

J Clin Immunol 2019 02 22;39(2):171-181. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

Centre de Référence National des Cytopénies Autoimmunes de l'Enfant (CEREVANCE), University Hospital of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.

Purpose: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) are associated in the definition of Evans syndrome (ES). The occurrence of neurological involvement in this population is poorly described and suggests an underlying primary immunodeficiency (PID). We aimed to describe the clinical manifestations, evolution, and PID profiles of these patients.

Methods: OBS'CEREVANCE is a French, nationwide prospective cohort that includes children with chronic ITP, AIHA, and ES. Patients with a neurological involvement were described. Centralized radiological and pathological reviews and genetic analyses were performed.

Results: On October 2016, eight patients (7/181 ES, 1/371 AIHA, and 0/615 ITP) were identified, all male, with a median age (range) at cytopenia onset of 11.5 years (1.6-15.8). Neurological symptoms appeared with a median delay of 6 years (2.5-18) after cytopenia and were polymorphic: seizures (n = 4), cranial nerve palsy (n = 2), Brown-Sequard syndrome (n = 2), intracranial pressure (n = 2), vertigo (n = 1), and/or sensory neuropathy (n = 1). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed inflammatory lesions, confirmed by pathology for five patients with macrophagic or lymphoplasmocytic infiltrates. All patients had other relevant immunopathological manifestations: pulmonary nodules (n = 6), lymphoproliferation (n = 4), abnormal immunophenotype (n = 8), and hypogammaglobulinemia (n = 7). Treatment consisted of steroids that improved symptomatology and MRI. Five patients relapsed and three had an asymptomatic radiological progression. A PID was identified in 3/8 patients: 22q11.2 microdeletion (n = 1) and CTLA deficiency (n = 2).

Conclusion: Neurological involvement is a rare and severe late event in the course of childhood ES, which can reveal an underlying PID. Imaging and pathology examination highlight a causative immune dysregulation that may guide targeted therapeutic strategies.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10875-019-0594-3	DOI Listing

February 2019

Usefulness of MOG-antibody titres at first episode to predict the future clinical course in adults.

J Neurol 2019 Apr 3;266(4):806-815. Epub 2019 Jan 3.

Service de neurologie, sclérose en plaques, pathologies de la myéline et neuro-inflammation and Centre de référence pour les maladies inflammatoires rares du cerveau et de la moelle (MIRCEM), Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer Hospices Civils de Lyon, 59 boulevard Pinel, BRON cedex, 69677, Lyon, France.

Objective: To analyze whether myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody (MOG-Ab) titres at onset of the disease were different according to the clinical phenotype at presentation, and to investigate whether the titres were associated with risk of further relapses or predicted clinical outcome in adult patients. Finally, we assessed an alternative method to the classical measurement of MOG-Ab levels by serial dilutions.

Methods: This is a retrospective study including 79 MOG-Ab-positive adult patients, whose samples were obtained at first episode. MOG-Ab were tested by cell-based assay. HEK293 cells were transfected (tHEK293) with human-MOG plasmid. Non-tHEK293 cells were used as negative controls. Assessment of antibody titres was performed by serial dilution, and delta mean fluorescence intensity ratio signal (MOG-ratio ΔMFI) by flow cytometry. MOG-ratio ΔMFI was calculated as follows: (MFI tHEK293cells- MFI non-tHEK293cells)/MFI non-tHEK293cells. MOG-ratio ΔMFI was calculated from the first serum dilution at 1:320. The association between MOG-Ab titres and risk of relapse was analyzed by Cox regression. The association between MOG-Ab titres and visual or motor disability at last follow-up was performed by binary logistic regression. Poor visual outcome was defined when patients displayed some degree of visual disability (visual acuity [VA] < 20/20) and poor motor outcome when patients displayed some degree of motor disability (Disability Status Scale [DSS] > 1). We also investigated correlations between MOG-Ab titres and MOG-ratio ΔMFI.

Results: MOG-Ab titres were higher in Caucasians than in those with other ethnicities, and in patients with a more severe VA (VA ≤ 20/100) or motor disability (DSS ≥ 3.0) at onset (p = 0.006, 0.034, and 0.058, respectively). MOG-Ab titres were not associated with risk of relapses or with the final clinical outcome. MOG-ratio ΔMFI correlated with MOG-Ab titres in the whole cohort (ρ = 0.90; p < 0.001), and when stratified by initial clinical phenotype.

Conclusion: High MOG-Ab titres at onset are associated with a more severe presentation, but do not predict the future disease course. MOG-ratio ΔMFI is an alternative and straightforward method to determine MOG-Ab levels.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00415-018-9160-9	DOI Listing

April 2019

[Indications and follow-up for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis: Guidelines from the Francophone Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (SFGM-TC) in association with the Francophone Society of Multiple Sclerosis].

Authors:

Helène Zephir Mathieu Puyade Antoine Gueguen Laure Michel Louis Terriou Dominique Dive Guy Laureys Guillaume Mathey Pierre Labauge Zora Marjanovic Grégory Pugnet Manuela Badoglio Pauline Lansiaux Ibrahim Yakoub-Agha Yves Béguin Dominique Farge

Bull Cancer 2019 Jan 5;106(1S):S92-S101. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Hôpital Saint-Louis, centre de référence des maladies auto-immunes systémiques rares d'Île-de-France, filière FAI2R, IUH EA-3518, UF04, unité de médecine interne, maladies auto-immunes et pathologie vasculaire, 1, avenue Claude-Vellefaux, 75475 Paris, France. Electronic address:

The Francophone Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (SFGM-TC) organized the 8th allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation clinical practices harmonization workshop series in September 2017 in Lille, France. In this article we give the indications of autologous stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis as well as recommendations regarding post-transplant follow-up of patients under the hospice of the SFGM-TC and the Francophone Society of Multiple Sclerosis.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bulcan.2018.11.002	DOI Listing

January 2019

Optic nerve double inversion recovery hypersignal in patients with clinically isolated syndrome is associated with asymptomatic gadolinium-enhanced lesion.

Authors:

Frédéric London Hélène Zéphir Nawal Hadhoum Julien Lannoy Patrick Vermersch Jean-Pierre Pruvo Jérôme Hodel Xavier Leclerc Olivier Outteryck

Mult Scler 2019 12 3;25(14):1888-1895. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Department of Neurology, Roger Salengro Hospital, CHU Lille, University of Lille, Lille, France/Department of Neuroradiology, Roger Salengro Hospital, CHU Lille, University of Lille, Lille, France/UMR 1171, CHU Lille, University of Lille, Lille, France.

Background: Optic nerve involvement is not considered in dissemination in space (DIS) or time (DIT) of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions.

Objectives: To evaluate frequency of optic nerve involvement using three-dimensional (3D)-double inversion recovery (DIR) sequence in clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and to measure its relationship with DIS and DIT (2010 and 2017 McDonald criteria).

Methods: From November 2013 to August 2016, 57 CIS patients underwent 3T-magnetic resonance imaging (3T-MRI) including 3D-DIR sequence and optical coherence tomography (OCT) at 3 months after CIS. We assessed signal abnormalities of the optic nerves on DIR sequence and collected data for DIS and DIT criteria according to 2010 and 2017 McDonald criteria.

Results: Among the 57 recruited patients, the presence of ⩾1 DIR hypersignal in optic nerve was observed in 36 (63%; 48 optic nerves) including asymptomatic hypersignal in 22 (38.5%; 25 optic nerves). Optic nerve involvement was significantly associated with DIT ( = 0.006) and MS according to 2010 criteria ( = 0.01) but was not significantly associated with presence of DIS criteria according to 2010 and 2017 McDonald criteria. We identified a significant ( < 0.001) temporal peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thinning on eyes with optic nerve involvement versus healthy controls.

Conclusions: Optic nerve involvement is very frequent at the earliest clinical stage of MS. It is associated with the presence of asymptomatic gadolinium-enhancement and retinal axonal loss and may reflect the inflammatory disease activity level.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1352458518815797	DOI Listing

December 2019

[Post-transplant neurological complications: Guidelines from the francophone Society of bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy (SFGM-TC)].

Authors:

Yosr Hicheri Nimrod Buchbinder Leonardo Magro Bouamama Farah Helene Zephir Eolia Brissot Ibrahim Yakoub-Agha Patrice Chevallier

Bull Cancer 2019 Jan 2;106(1S):S18-S22. Epub 2018 Nov 2.

CHU Hôtel-dieu, service d'hématologie clinique, place A.-Ricordeau, 44093 Nantes, France. Electronic address:

Neurological complications post-allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are well-characterized; however, given their variable impact, they remain a significant cause of morbidity. The etiologies for these complications are vast. Causes may be linked to toxicity and infection or could be vascular or tumor-related. Regardless, these complications require early investigation, which is often multidisciplinary and hierarchical. Preventive measures may be considered in some situations. It is essential to respond early and quickly with a diagnosis and the appropriate therapeutic approach when faced with neurological complications. Focusing on the axes of etiology, diagnosis and treatment, this article offers a review of neurological complications post-allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bulcan.2018.08.015	DOI Listing

January 2019

Clinical spectrum and prognostic value of CNS MOG autoimmunity in adults: The MOGADOR study.

Neurology 2018 05 25;90(21):e1858-e1869. Epub 2018 Apr 25.

Objective: To describe clinical and radiologic features associated with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies (MOG-Ab) in a large French nationwide adult cohort, to assess baseline prognostic features of MOG-Ab-associated diseases after a first acute demyelinating syndrome, and to evaluate the clinical value of MOG-Ab longitudinal analysis.

Methods: Clinical data were obtained from 197 MOG-Ab-positive patients ≥18 years of age. Complete imaging data were available in 108, and 54 serum samples were eligible for longitudinal evaluation. For survival analysis comparison, 169 aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-Ab)-positive patients from the NOMADMUS database were included.

Results: Median age at onset was 36.46 (range 18.0-76.8) years, and patients were predominantly white (92.9%) with male:female ratio, 1.1. Clinical phenotype at onset included optic neuritis or myelitis in 90.86%, isolated brainstem or encephalopathy syndromes in 6.6%, and a combination of syndromes in 2.5%. Distinctive brain MRI findings in MOG-Ab-positive patients were thalamic and pontine lesions. Cortical and leptomeningeal lesions were found in 16.3% and 6.1%, respectively. The probability of reaching a first relapse after 2 and 5 years was 44.8% and 61.8%, respectively. MOG-Ab-positive patients were at lower risk at presentation of further clinical relapse (hazard ratio [HR] 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.26-0.79) compared to AQP4-Ab-positive individuals. MOG-Ab-positive individuals had a lower risk of reaching Disability Status Scale score of 3.0 (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.22-0.94) and visual acuity of 20/100 (HR 0.23, 95% CI 0.07-0.72). Finally, MOG-Ab titers were higher at relapse than in remission ( = 0.009).

Conclusion: In adults, MOG-Ab-associated disease extends beyond clinical and radiologic abnormalities in the optic nerve and spinal cord. Despite the relapsing course, the overall visual and motor outcome is better compared with AQP4-Ab-positive patients.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000005560	DOI Listing

May 2018

Altered B lymphocyte homeostasis and functions in systemic sclerosis.

Authors:

Alexandra Forestier Thomas Guerrier Mathieu Jouvray Jonathan Giovannelli Guillaume Lefèvre Vincent Sobanski Carine Hauspie Eric Hachulla Pierre-Yves Hatron Hélène Zéphir Patrick Vermersch Myriam Labalette David Launay Sylvain Dubucquoi

Autoimmun Rev 2018 Mar 16;17(3):244-255. Epub 2018 Jan 16.

Univ. Lille, U995, Lille Inflammation Research International Center (LIRIC), F-59000 Lille, France; Inserm, U995, F-59000 Lille, France; CHU Lille, Institut d'immunologie, F-59000 Lille, France.

Beyond the production of autoantibodies, B-cells are thought to play a role in systemic sclerosis (SSc) by secreting proinflammatory/profibrotic cytokines. B-cells are a heterogeneous population with different subsets distinguished by their phenotypes and cytokine production. Data about B-cell subsets, cytokine production and intracellular pathways leading to this production are scarce in SSc. The aim of our study was to describe B-cell homeostasis, activation, proliferation, cytokine production in B-cells and serum and B-cell intracellular signaling pathways in SSc. We hypothezided that B-cell homeostasis and cytokine production were altered in SSc and could be explained by serum cytokine as well as by intracellular signaling pathway abnormalities. Forty SSc patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) were prospectively included. B-cell subsets were determined by flow cytometry using CD19, CD21, CD24, CD38, CD27, IgM and IgD. CD25, CD80, CD95, HLA-DR were used to assess B-cell activation. Intracellular production of IL-10 and IL-6 were assessed by flow cytometry after TLR9 and CD40 stimulation. IL-6, IL-10, Ki67, Bcl2 mRNA were quantified in B-cells. Cytokine production was also assessed in sera and supernatants of B-cell culture, using a multiplex approach. Signaling pathways were studied through phosphorylation of mTOR, ERK, STAT3, STAT5 using a flow cytometry approach. We found that SSc patients exhibited an altered peripheral blood B-cell subset distribution, with decreased memory B-cells but increased proportion of naive and CD21CD38 B-cell subsets. We observed an increased expression of activation markers (CD80, CD95, HLA-DR) on some B-cell subsets, mainly the memory B-cells. Secretion of IL-6, BAFF and CXCL13 were increased in SSc sera. There was no correlation between the peripheral blood B-cell subsets and the serum concentrations of these cytokines. After stimulation, we observed a lower proportion of IL-10 and IL-6 producing B-cells in SSc. Finally, we observed a significant decrease of mTOR phosphorylation in SSc patient B-cells. In conclusion, we observed an altered B-cell homeostasis in SSc patients compared to HC. Memory B-cells were both decreased and activated in patients. IL-10 producing B-cells were decreased in SSc. This decrease was associated with an alteration of mTOR phosphorylation in B-cells. Conversely, there was no correlation between serum cytokine profile and B-cell homeostasis alterations.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.autrev.2017.10.015	DOI Listing

March 2018

Proinflammatory B-cell profile in the early phases of MS predicts an active disease.

Authors:

Thomas Guerrier Myriam Labalette David Launay Catalina Lee-Chang Olivier Outteryck Guillaume Lefèvre Patrick Vermersch Sylvain Dubucquoi Hélène Zéphir

Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm 2018 Mar 22;5(2):e431. Epub 2017 Dec 22.

Université de Lille, CHU Lille, LIRIC-INSERM U 995, FHU Imminent, France.

Objective: To assess whether any alteration of B-cell subset distribution and/or the cytokine production capacities of B cells could be associated with any stage of MS and could be predictive of MS evolution.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS), clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), naive patients with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) of any disease modifying drug, and healthy controls (HCs). Peripheral blood B-cell subset distributions and the interleukin (IL)-6/IL-10-producing B-cell ratio were assessed by flow cytometry to evaluate their proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory functional properties.

Results: Twelve RIS, 46 CIS, 31 RRMS patients, and 36 HCs were enrolled. We observed that a high IL-6/IL-10-producing B-cell ratio in patients with RIS/CIS was associated with the evolution of the disease in the short term (6 months). This imbalance in cytokine production was mainly explained by an alteration of the production of IL-10 by B cells, especially for the transitional B-cell subset. In addition, a significant increase in IgD/CD27 B cells was detected in patients with CIS and RRMS compared with HCs ( = 0.01). Apart from this increase in exhausted B cells, no other variation in B-cell subsets was observed.

Conclusions: The association between a high IL-6/IL-10-producing B-cell ratio and the evolution of patients with RIS/CIS suggest a skew of B cells toward proinflammatory properties that might be implicated in the early phases of MS disease.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000000431	DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5745361	PMC

March 2018

Treating asymptomatic bacteriuria before immunosuppressive therapy during multiple sclerosis: Should we do it?

Authors:

Claire Rouzaud Patrick Hautecoeur Cécile Donze Olivier Heinzlef Aurélien Dinh Alain Creange Alkhedr Abdullatif Bertrand Audouin Ayman Tourbah Eric Berger Bertrand Bourre Bruno Brochet Claude Mekies Philippe Cabre Caroline Papeix Olivier Casez David Brassat Gilles Defer Nathalie Derache Jérôme De Seze Dominique Dive Emmanuelle LePage Agnes Fromont Riadh Gouider Gilles Edan Jean Pelletier Jérôme Grimaud Anne-Marie Guennoc Jean-Philippe Camdessanché Arnaud Kwiatkowski David Laplaud Christine Lebrun Marc Debouverie Marc Coustans Olivier Gout Olivier Anne La Rochelle Olivier Heinzlef Jean-Christophe Ouallet Pierre Cavelou Patrick Hautecoeur Pierre Labauge Patrick Vermersch Sandrine Wiertlewski Sandra Vukusic Romain Marignier Myriam Schluep Pierrette Seeldrayers Ilham Slassi Bruno Stankoff Frederic Thaite Thibault Moreau Eric Thouvenot Hélène Zephir Jonhatan Ciron Nicolas Collongues Philippe Kerschen Mikael Cohen Antoine Gueguen Guillaume Mathey Clarisse Carra Patricia Bernady Jean Marc Faucheux Evelyne Planque Cecile Donze Aurélie Ruet Catherine Mouzawakh Sophie Pittion

Mult Scler Relat Disord 2017 11 24;18:161-163. Epub 2017 Aug 24.

Nancy, France. Electronic address:

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2017.08.009	DOI Listing

November 2017

Continuous hemifacial myokymia as the revealing symptom of demyelinating disease of the CNS.

Authors:

Frédéric London Nawal Hadhoum Hélène Zéphir Patrick Vermersch Olivier Outteryck

Mult Scler Relat Disord 2017 Jan 9;11:10-11. Epub 2016 Nov 9.

Department of Neurology, Roger Salengro Hospital, CHRU Lille, University of Lille, 59037 Lille, France; Univ. Lille, INSERM U1171, CHRU Lille, 59000 Lille, France. Electronic address:

Facial myokymia (FM) is an uncommon involuntary movement, disorder of the musculature supplied by the facial nerve and, characterized by spontaneous undulating, vermicular movements beneath the, skin. It has rarely been described as a form of presentation of multiple, sclerosis. We describe a 31-year-old man presenting with continuous, unilateral facial myokymia as the revealing symptom of a demyelinating, disorder of central nervous system. Brain magnetic resonance imaging, showed an ipsilateral pontine T2/FLAIR hyperintensity close to the, postgenu course of facial nerve, suggestive of a segmental demyelination, of facial nerve causing facial nuclear hyperactivity and resulting in FM., Facial myokymia must raise the possibility of MS in adults under the age, of 40.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2016.11.001	DOI Listing

January 2017

Double-Blind Controlled Randomized Trial of Cyclophosphamide versus Methylprednisolone in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

Authors:

Bruno Brochet Mathilde S A Deloire Paul Perez Timothé Loock Louise Baschet Marc Debouverie Sophie Pittion Jean-Christophe Ouallet Pierre Clavelou Jérôme de Sèze Nicolas Collongues Patrick Vermersch Hélène Zéphir Giovanni Castelnovo Pierre Labauge Christine Lebrun Mikael Cohen Aurélie Ruet

PLoS One 2017 3;12(1):e0168834. Epub 2017 Jan 3.

Service de Neurologie et INSERM-CHU CIC-P 0005, CHU de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.

Background: Therapeutic options are limited in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Open-label studies suggested efficacy of monthly IV cyclophosphamide (CPM) without induction for delaying progression but no randomized trial was conducted so far.

Objective: To compare CPM to methylprednisolone (MP) in SPMS.

Methods: Randomized, double-blind clinical trial on two parallel groups. Patient with SPMS, with a documented worsening of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score during the last year and an EDSS score between 4·0 and 6·5 were recruited and received one intravenous infusion of treatment (CPM: 750 mg /m2 body surface area-MP: 1g) every four weeks for one year, and every eight weeks for the second year. The primary endpoint was the time to EDSS deterioration, when confirmed sixteen weeks later, analyzed using a Cox model.

Results: Due to recruitment difficulties, the study was terminated prematurely after 138 patients were included (CPM, n = 72; MP, n = 66). In the CPM group, 33 patients stopped treatment prematurely, mainly due to tolerability, compared with 22 in the MP group. Primary endpoint: the hazard ratio for EDSS deterioration in the CPM in comparison with the MP group was 0.61 [95% CI: 0·31-1·22](p = 0·16). According to the secondary multistate model analysis, patients in the CPM group were 2.2 times more likely ([1·14-4.29]; p = 0.02) to discontinue treatment than those in the MP group and 2.7 times less likely (HR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.17-0.84; p = 0.02) to experience disability progression when they did not stop treatment prematurely. Safety profile was as expected.

Conclusion: Although the primary end-point was negative, secondary analysis suggested that CPM decreases the risk of progression in SPMS, but its use may be limited by low tolerability.

Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00241254.

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http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0168834	PLOS
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5207788	PMC

August 2017