Anti-CD20 Therapies for African American Vs Caucasian Americans with Relapsing MS

We did a study to examine the efficacy of all B cell targeted therapies ( ocrelizumab, rituximab, ofatumumab) on African
American MS (AAMS) patients and Caucasian American MS (CAMS) patients.

I did this study under the mentorship of Dr Jai Perumal. 

The findings were preseted at the Consortium of MS Centers Meeting in Denver, CO, June 2023
The reason for conducting this study is that there have been reported differences in disease presentation, with AAMS patients having more severe disease, and B cells potentially playing a greater role in AAMS than CAMS
patients.
Our findings revealed that African American MS (AAMS) patients exhibited higher levels of baseline disability and an earlier onset of the disease.
The anti-CD20 treatments proved effective in reducing relapse rates and radiological progression on MRIs in both groups. 
Additionally, a comparable proportion of patients in both AAMS and CAMS groups demonstrated disability improvement or stability.
This demonstrated that B cell tageted therapies are a good treatment option for AAMS.
Studies like ours help to customize MS
treatment by providing vital information on the efficacy of anti-CD20 treatment in AAMS.

Svetlana Khanin
Student , Brooklyn College of CUNY

Weill Cornell Medicine Multiple Sclerosis Center 1305 York Ave., Second Floor New York, NY 10021