Background Efficacy of vaccines and disease activity linked to immunization are major concerns among people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Objective To assess antibody responses to seasonal influenza antigens and vaccine-associated neuroaxonal damage utilizing serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) in pwMS receiving dimethyl fumarate (DMF). Methods In this prospective study, the 2020/2021 seasonal tetravalent influenza vaccine was administered to 20 pwMS treated with DMF and 15 healthy controls (HCs). The primary endpoints were responder rate of strain-specific antibody production (seroconversion or significant (4-fold) increase in influenza-antibody titers for ≥2/4 strains) at 30 days post-vaccination and changes in sNfL levels. Results All patients treated with DMF fulfilled the responder criteria for immunization compared with 53% of the controls. However, higher proportions of HCs already had influenza-antibody titers ≥1:40 at baseline (53% vs. 41%, p = 0.174). sNfL levels were comparable among both groups at baseline and did not increase 34 days after vaccination. In addition, no clinical or radiological disease reactivation was found. Conclusion DMF-treated patients mount an adequate humoral immune response to influenza vaccines. Within the limits of the small cohort investigated, our data suggest that influenza immunization is not associated with clinical or subclinical disease reactivation.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, vaccination, Influenza, Antibody Response, immunization, NfL, titers, 【초록키워드】 Vaccine, multiple sclerosis, Prospective Study, Antigen, serum, Cohort, Seroconversion, Patient, humoral immune response, disease, Strains, Disease activity, primary endpoint, criteria, antibody production, influenza vaccines, fumarate, Seasonal influenza, healthy control, Administered, objective, controls, limit, radiological, Result, proportion, addition, investigated, receiving, treated, changes in, increase in, comparable, baseline, both group, HCs, patients treated, 【제목키워드】 damage, Multiple, sclerosis, tetravalent,