ALSUntangled #67: rituximab.
Xiaoyan LiCarmel ArmonPaul BarkhausBenjamin BarnesMichael BenatarTulio BertoriniMark BrombergGregory T CarterJesse CrayleMerit CudkowiczMazen DimachkieEva L FeldmanJonathan GlassJill GoslingaTerry Heiman-PattersonSartaj JhootyRachel LichtensteinIsaac LundChristopher J McDermottGary PatteeKaitlyn PierceDylan RatnerKristiana SalmonPaul WicksRichard BedlackPublished in: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration (2022)
ALSUntangled reviews alternative and off-label treatments on behalf of people with ALS who ask about them. Here we review rituximab, a drug which specifically depletes B lymphocytes. We show a current lack of evidence for a role of these cells in ALS progression. The one patient we found who described using Rituximab for their ALS found no benefit. Given all this, and the known serious risks of rituximab, we advise against its use as an ALS treatment.
Keyphrases
- diffuse large b cell lymphoma
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- hodgkin lymphoma
- induced apoptosis
- case report
- cell cycle arrest
- emergency department
- peripheral blood
- systematic review
- randomized controlled trial
- cell proliferation
- oxidative stress
- cell death
- risk assessment
- smoking cessation
- combination therapy