Merits and culprits of immunotherapies for neurological diseases in times of COVID-19
Marc Pawlitzki, Uwe K. Zettl, Tobias Ruck, Leoni Rolfes, Hans-Peter Hartung, Sven G. Meuth
Abstract
Immunosuppression and immunomodulation are valuable therapeutic approaches for managing neuroimmunological diseases. In times of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, clinicians must deal with the question of whether immunotherapy should currently be initiated or discontinued in neurological patients. Uncertainty exists especially because different national medical associations publish different recommendations on the extent to which immunotherapies must be continued, monitored, or possibly switched during the current pandemic. Based on the most recently available data both about the novel coronavirus and the approved immunotherapies for neurological diseases, we provide an updated overview that includes current treatment strategies and the associated COVID-19 risk, but also the potential of immunotherapies to treat COVID-19.