AUTHOR=Koska Valeria , Förster Moritz , Brouzou Katja , Hatami Maryam , Arat Ercan , Aytulun Ahmet , Albrecht Philipp , Aktas Orhan , Küry Patrick , Meuth Sven G. , Kremer David TITLE=Case Report: Successful Stabilization of Marburg Variant Multiple Sclerosis With Ocrelizumab Following High-Dose Cyclophosphamide Rescue JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2021.696807 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2021.696807 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=
The Marburg variant of multiple sclerosis (Marburg MS) is the most aggressive form of MS, often leading to death soon after onset. Here we describe the case of a 26-year-old Marburg MS patient presenting with severe neurological deficits requiring intensive care. In spite of more than 100 gadolinium-enhancing MRI lesions, the patient recovered almost completely upon high-dose cyclophosphamide (HiCy) rescue treatment (four consecutive days with 50 mg/kg/day, cumulative absolute dose of 14 g). Following the acute treatment, her disease was stabilized by B cell depletion using ocrelizumab. Clinical amelioration was reflected by a decrease of MRI activity and a marked decline of serum neurofilament light chain levels. HiCy rescue treatment followed by ocrelizumab as a maintenance therapy prevented permanent disability and achieved an almost complete clinical and drastic radiological improvement in this Marburg MS patient.