Many years ago I was suggesting that B cell depleting agents (ocrelizumab and cladribine) were working similarly to the T and B cell depleting agents (alemtuzumab) to inhibit relapsing MS. But ProG then threw in the curve ball at you and suggested that you need T cell depletion to protect against atrophy and T and B cell depleters were best. Whilst this may be true, The questiuon is where is the...
Sphingosine-1-phosphate modulators and COVID-vaccine
What is the science behind fingolimod, siponimod, ozanimod and ponesimod migration inhibitors, what do they do to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and natural infection? Why are vaccine responses blunted but made after natural infections? Why does it seem that not all S1P1 were created equally? Yes it seems complicated but sit down with a cup of tea and read slowly and understand where and what each target...
Does COVID19 affect your brain?
COVID-19 is pretty much a gift that keeps on giving. Couple of facts about COVID19 – immune response, particularly antibody response is not sustained (out goes the idea of establishing herd immunity), the brain is involved (headache and lack of smell being the commonest presentations), and long COVID exists. We’ve faffed about whether it affects MS adversely or not, an increase in...
#MS COVID-19 Updated effects of disease modifying drugs on COVID-19.
There are now hundreds of papers on COVID-19 and multiple sclerosis and it has become boring for most people, but we need to keep an eye out for what the current information is showing, as it may help you or your neuro choose what you are going to do next. The World of MS got together to share their information because with larger numbers, clarity appeared. Early glimpses was based on about 2,000...
COVID vacccines are you ready for another go?
As you are aware the UK was the first place to approve COVID-19-related vaccinations in late 2020. Vaccines were made so fast because the virus was identified and the sequence was given to the World. This is known to some a Wuhan strain or the A strain or the Index Virus. The first major variant to surface in the UK was called the UK/Kent strain but was given an offical number B.1.1.7. It was...
Guest Post Dr Kister reports on the advantages of COVID infection
At this point in the pandemic (Summer, 2022) most people in countries such as US and the UK, have had COVID-19 infection at least once and were also vaccinated against COVID-19. Combination of prior infection and vaccination is referred to as ‘hybrid immunity’. Several large-scale population studies have shown that hybrid immunity is superior to infection or vaccination alone in protecting people...
BartsMS and #MSCOVID
We have teamed up with the guys and gals from Wales and elsewhere to do another instalment of Response to COVID-19 booster vaccinations in seronegative people with multiple sclerosis. Here is a free link to the paper. Thanks to all of you who participated or helped us get this off the ground including those supporting Kit and ProfG (Swim/Marathon/Rehab) Emma Tallantyre et al. Response to COVID...
#MSCOVID19 Antiv virals
Sadly the planned trip to Serbia to present on COVID and MS has been postponed, so I will have to cast my eye on the literature for a bit longer. In this paper they look at the use of anti-virals in people with infected with the COVID-19 virus. People on a few MS- DMT may be at extra risk from COVID-19 if they get infected so this info may be relevent. Here they conclude that the different anti...
#MSCOVID The Third Jab…The news doesn’t get better for the problem treatments
Longitudinal T-Cell Responses After a Third SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis on Ocrelizumab or Fingolimod.Palomares Cabeza V, Kummer LYL, Wieske L, Hagen RR, Duurland M, Konijn VAL, van Dam KPJ, Stalman EW, van de Sandt CE, Boekel L, Verstegen NJM, Steenhuis M, Rispens T, Tas SW, Wolbink G, Killestein J, Kuijpers TW, van Ham SM, Eftimov F, Brinke AT, van Kempen ZLE;...
MS COVID and B cell biology
I guess we have all had enough of COVID-19, but events have allowed us to uncovermore about biology of the disease modifying treatments. Anti-CD20 B cell depleting antibodies have come under the spotlight in terms of antibody response and B cell repopulation. We made the point years ago that anti-CD20 may be over-dosedand that many people may not require dosing every 6 months (with...