Universität zu Köln

Konitsioti, Agni-Maria ORCID: 0000-0002-7296-4349, Laurent, Sarah, Ellenberger, David, Stahmann, Alexander, Rommer, Paulus, Haas, Judith and Warnke, Clemens (2025). MS treatment trends before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from the German MS Register. Journal of Neurology, 272 (4). pp. 1-9. Springer Nature. ISSN 0340-5354

PDF s00415-025-13010-6.pdf Bereitstellung unter der CC-Lizenz: Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB)

Abstract

[Artikel-Nr. 294] Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected healthcare management for people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), leading to alterations in disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) due to concerns about COVID-19 outcomes and vaccine efficacy. Objectives: To compare DMT prescription patterns in PwMS before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: PwMS from the German MS Register, between 2019 and 2024, either newly diagnosed (Cohort A) or who discontinued or switched DMT (Cohort B), were analyzed over a follow-up period of 3 months. Data from the pre-pandemic period were compared to early-, late-, and post-pandemic periods. DMTs were categorized as medium efficacy (meDMT) or high efficacy (heDMT). Results: In Cohort A ( n = 1810), pre-pandemic 46% had no DMT within 3 months of diagnosis, 39% received meDMT, and 15% heDMT (7.5% B cell-depleting therapies (BCD)). heDMT use increased during later periods (“early” 19%, “late” 29%, “post” 41%), with a shift toward BCD. In cohort B ( n = 4246), pre-pandemic 47% paused DMT, 19% switched to meDMT, and 34% to heDMT (17% BCD). heDMT use also rose during the pandemic (“early” 37%, “late” 47%, “post” 48%), with increased BCD use. Conclusions: There were no delays in DMT initiation or resumption during the pandemic with a notable increase in heDMT and BCD use, reflecting growing confidence in these treatment options.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Konitsioti, Agni-Maria UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7296-4349 UNSPECIFIED Laurent, Sarah UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Ellenberger, David UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Stahmann, Alexander UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Rommer, Paulus UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Haas, Judith UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Warnke, Clemens UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-797870
Identification Number:	10.1007/s00415-025-13010-6
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Neurology
Volume:	272
Number:	4
Page Range:	pp. 1-9
Date:	26 April 2025
Publisher:	Springer Nature
ISSN:	0340-5354
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine
Divisions:	Faculty of Medicine > Neurologie > Klinik und Poliklinik für Neurologie
Subjects:	Medical sciences Medicine
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/79787