Background and Aims:The National Multiple Sclerosis Society and other expert organizations recommended that all patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) should be vaccinated against COVID-19. However,...

Humoral immune response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected millions worldwide, leaving a global burden for long-term care of COVID-19 survivors. It is thus imperative to study post-COVID (i.e., short-term) and long-COVID (i.e., long-term) effects, specifically as local and systemic pathophysiological outcomes of other coronavirus-related diseases (such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)) were well-cataloged. We conducted a comprehensive review of adverse post-COVID health outcomes and potential long-COVID effects. We observed that such adverse outcomes were not localized. Rather, they affected different human systems, including: (i) immune system (e.g., Guillain-Barre syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndromes such as Kawasaki disease), (ii) hematological system (vascular hemostasis, blood coagulation), (iii) pulmonary system (respiratory failure, pulmonary thromboembolism, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, pulmonary vascular damage, pulmonary fibrosis), (iv) cardiovascular system (myocardial hypertrophy, coronary artery atherosclerosis, focal myocardial fibrosis, acute myocardial infarction, cardiac hypertrophy), (v) gastrointestinal, hepatic, and renal systems (diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, anorexia, acid reflux, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, lack of appetite/constipation), (vi) skeletomuscular system (immune-mediated skin diseases, psoriasis, lupus), (vii) nervous system (loss of taste/smell/hearing, headaches, spasms, convulsions, confusion, visual impairment, nerve pain, dizziness, impaired consciousness, nausea/vomiting, hemiplegia, ataxia, stroke, cerebral hemorrhage), (viii) mental health (stress, depression and anxiety). We additionally hypothesized mechanisms of action by investigating possible molecular mechanisms associated with these disease outcomes/symptoms. Overall, the COVID-19 pathology is still characterized by cytokine storm that results to endothelial inflammation, microvascular thrombosis, and multiple organ failures.

https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/4/700/pdf

Long-COVID and Post-COVID Health Complications: An Up-to-Date Review on Clinical Conditions and Their Possible Molecular Mechanisms.

http://www.thelancet.com/article/S2665991321003258/pdf

Long-term use of immunosuppressive medicines and in-hospital COVID-19 outcomes: a retrospective cohort study using data from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases were considered to be at high risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19. Data collected over the past year, however, suggest that a diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis, psoriasis, or inflammatory bowel diseases does not increase risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection or severe COVID-19 compared with people without these diseases. Furthermore, substantial data suggest that certain medications frequently used in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, in particular cytokine inhibitors, might even lower the risk for severe COVID-19. Conversely, glucocorticoids and potentially B-cell-depleting treatments seem to worsen COVID-19 outcomes. Additionally, the first data on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with these diseases suggest that tolerability of vaccination in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases is good, although the immune response to vaccination can be somewhat reduced in this patient group, particularly those taking methotrexate or CD20-targeted treatment.

COVID-19 and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: effect of disease and treatment on COVID-19 outcomes and vaccine responses.

Less than a year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ten vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been approved for at least limited use, with over sixty others in clinical trials. This swift achievement has generated excitement and arrives at a time of great need, as the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide continues to rapidly increase. Two vaccines are currently approved for full use, both built on mRNA and lipid nanotechnology platforms, a success story of mRNA technology 20 years in the making. For patients with cancer, questions arise around the safety and efficacy of these vaccines in the setting of immune alterations engendered by their malignancy and/or therapies. We summarize the current data on leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates and vaccination of patients undergoing immunomodulatory cancer treatments. Most current cancer therapeutics should not prevent the generation of protective immunity. We call for more research in this area and recommend that the majority of patients with cancer receive COVID vaccinations when possible.

/pdf/covid-19-vaccines-for-patients-with-cancer-benefits-likely-15dedylxq9.pdf

COVID-19 vaccines for patients with cancer: benefits likely outweigh risks.

The objective of this study is to describe the characteristics and outcomes of rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (RMD) patients who were treated with rituximab and had suspected or confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In this descriptive study, RMD patients who were treated with rituximab in the last 12 months at the Rheumatology Department of our hospital were screened for SARS-CoV-2 infection via telephone interview and a comprehensive review of clinical health records (01/02/2020-26/05/2020). Those with probable or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were included. In total, 76 patients were screened. Of these, 13 (17.1%) had suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. With regard to these 13 patients, the median age at coronavirus disease (COVID-19) diagnosis was 68 years (range 28-76 years) and 8 (61.5%) were female. Five patients had rheumatoid arthritis, three had systemic vasculitis, two had Sjogren syndrome, and two had systemic lupus erythematosus. Additionally, seven patients (53.8%) had pulmonary involvement secondary to RMD. Eight patients (61.5%) developed severe disease leading to hospitalization, and seven developed bilateral pneumonia and respiratory insufficiency. Of the eight hospitalized patients, five (62.5%) fulfilled the acute respiratory distress syndrome criteria and three developed a critical disease and died. Our cohort had a high rate of severe disease requiring hospitalization (61.5%), with bilateral pneumonia and hyperinflammation leading to a high mortality rate (23.1%). Treatment with rituximab should be considered a possible risk factor for unfavorable outcomes in COVID-19 patients with RMD. However, further study is required to confirm this association.

/pdf/high-rates-of-severe-disease-and-death-due-to-sars-cov-2-2jismfakbb.pdf

Laura Calvo-Sanz

Papers

High rates of severe disease and death due to SARS-CoV-2 infection in rheumatic disease patients treated with rituximab: a descriptive study.

Evaluation of flare rate and reduction strategies for bDMARDs in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: real world data from a single-centre cohort