Common multiple sclerosis treatment linked to bowel disease risk
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are treated with rituximab have an increased risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease, particularly Crohn's disease, although the absolute risk remains low. This is according to the first large population-based study in the field, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in JAMA Neurology.
A new study published in JAMA Neurology has found that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with rituximab may have a higher risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease, particularly Crohn's disease. The research, led by Karolinska Institutet, is the first large population-based study to examine this association. Rituximab, an anti-CD20 therapy and the most commonly used disease-modifying treatment for MS in Sweden, was compared to three other MS treatments in nearly 14,000 treatment episodes.
The study found that those receiving rituximab had approximately 10 times the risk of inflammatory bowel disease compared to those on other treatments, even after accounting for differences in follow-up time. However, the absolute risk remained low, with fewer than 2% of patients developing the condition within 10 years of starting treatment.
Most cases were Crohn's disease. While the increased risk should be considered when choosing an MS treatment, the benefits of anti-CD20 drugs in preventing relapses must also be weighed.
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