Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

« Back to Farmacia Journal 4/2022

MECHANISM OF RITUXIMAB IN THE TREATMENT OF NEUROMYELITIS OPTICA

CHUNHUA YUAN 1, YING LIU 2, YANKUN HAO 3, LEI YAN 4, JUN LIANG 5, HUIPENG JIN 2*

1Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang city, 157000, China
2 Ophthalmic Function Room, Affiliated Hongqi Hospital of Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang city, 157000, China
3 Department of Medical Function, Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang city, 157000, China
4 Department of Histology and Embryology, Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang city, 157000, China
5 Stem Cell Institute, Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang city, 157000, China

Download Full Article PDF

Rituximab (RTX) is increasingly used in neuromyelitis optica (NMO). Due to the lack of data on its safety and efficacy, we set out to determine the performance of rituximab (RTX) versus cyclophosphamide (CPM) as maintenance therapy for NMO. In this randomized, prospective clinical trial, the primary objective was to determine the efficacy of RTX versus CPM, as assessed by the mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score and overall efficacy rate. Secondary objectives included assessment of mean Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score, treatment safety profile, serum AQP4-Ab, IL-6, IL-27 and MMP9 levels and recurrence rate after treatment. The results of our study showed that both RTX and CPM provided therapeutic benefits for the treatment of NMO. However, RTX was superior to CMP in terms of safety, efficacy and durability of remission. Further research is warranted to validate these results.