SARS-CoV-2 serology after COVID-19 in multiple sclerosis: An international cohort study
Maria Pia Sormani, Irene Schiavetti, Doriana Landi, Luca Carmisciano, Nicola De Rossi, Cinzia Cordioli, Lucia Moiola, Marta Radaelli, Paolo Immovilli, Marco Capobianco, Vincenzo Brescia Morra, María Trojano, Gioacchino Tedeschi, Gıancarlo Comı, Mario Alberto Battaglia, Francesco Patti, Yára Dadalti Fragoso, Sedat Şen, Aksel Sıva, Roberto Furlan, Marco Salvetti, Gianmarco Abbadessa, Umberto Aguglia, Lia Allegorico, R. Allegri, Maria Pia Amato, Pietro Annovazzi, Carlo Antozzi, Lucia Appendino, Sebastiano Arena, Viola Baione, Roberto Balgera, Valeria Barcella, Damiano Baroncini, Caterina Barrilà, Mario Alberto Battaglia, A. Bellacosa, Gianmarco Bellucci, Roberto Bergamaschi, Valeria Bergamaschi, Daiana Bezzini, Beatrice Biolzi, Alvino Bisecco, Simona Bonavita, Giovanna Borriello, Chiara Bosa, Antonio Bosco, Francesca Bovis, Marco Bozzali, Laura Brambilla, Morra Vincenzo Brescia, Giampaolo Brichetto, Maria Buccafusca, Elisabetta Bucciantini, Sebastiano Bucello, Maria Chiara Buscarinu, Maria Paola Cabboi, Massimiliano Calabrese, Francesca Calabria, Francesca Caleri, Federico Camilli, Luisa Caniatti, Roberto Cantello, Marco Capobianco, Ruggero Capra, Rocco Capuano, Luca Carmisciano, Patrizia Carta, Paola Cavalla, Maria Grazia Celani, Maria Cellerino, Raffaella Cerqua, Clara Grazia Chisari, Raffaella Clerici, Marinella Clerico, Eleonora Cocco, Gaia Cola, Gıancarlo Comı, Paolo Confalonieri, Antonella Conte, Marta Zaffira Conti, Christian Cordano, Susanna Cordera, Cinzia Cordioli, Francesco Corea, Claudio Correale, Salvatore Cottone, Francesco Crescenzo, Erica Curti, Alessandro d’Ambrosio, Emanuele D’Amico, Maura Danni, Alessia d’Arma, Vincenzo Dattola, Stefano de Biase, Giovanna De Luca, Stefania Federica De Mercanti, Paolo De Mitri, Nicola De Rossi, Nicola De Stefano
Abstract
Background: The MuSC-19 project is an Italian cohort study open to international partners that collects data on multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with COVID-19. During the second wave of the pandemic, serological tests became routinely available. Objective: To evaluate the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies according to the use of disease-modifying therapy (DMT) in a subset of patients included in the MuSC-19 data set who had undergone a serological test. Methods: We evaluated the association between positive serological test results and time elapsed since infection onset, age, sex, Expanded Disability Status Scale score, comorbidities and DMT exposure using a multivariable logistic model. Results: Data were collected from 423 patients (345 from Italy, 61 from Turkey and 17 from Brazil) with a serological test performed during follow-up. Overall, 325 out of 423 tested patients (76.8%) had a positive serological test. At multivariate analysis, therapy with anti-CD20 was significantly associated with a reduced probability of developing antibodies after COVID-19 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.20, p = 0.002). Conclusion: Patients with MS maintain the capacity to develop humoral immune response against SARS-COV-2, although to a lesser extent when treated with anti-CD20 drugs. Overall, our results are reassuring with respect to the possibility to achieve sufficient immunization with vaccination.