Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026
In Vitro Methods for Comparing Target Binding and CDC Induction Between Therapeutic Antibodies: Applications in Biosimilarity Analysis
Published on: May 4, 2017
Efficacy and safety of rituximab in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Fardin Nabizadeh1,2, Mona Asghari Ahmadabad3, Mobin Mohamadi4,5
1Neuroscience Research Group (NRG), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran. fardinnabizade1378@gmail.com.
Objective:
We aimed to synthesize all available observational studies and clinical trials of rituximab to estimate the safety and efficacy of this monoclonal antibody in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Methods:
The four databases including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science were comprehensively searched in April 2022. We defined PICO as follows. Problem or study population (P): patients with MS; intervention (I): Rituximab; comparison (C): none; outcome (O): efficacy and safety.
Results:
After two-step screening, a total of 27 studies entered into our qualitative and quantitative synthesis. Our analysis showed a significant decrease in EDSS score in all patients with MS after treatment (SMD: - 0.44, 95% CI - 0.85, - 0.03). In addition, the ARR was reduced after using rituximab compared to the pre-treatment period (SMD: - 0.65, 95% CI - 1.55, 0.24) but it was not significant. The most common side effect after rituximab with a pooled prevalence of 28.63% (95% CI 16.61%, 42.33%). Furthermore, the pooled prevalence of infection was 24% in patients with MS (95% CI 13%, 36%). In the end, the pooled prevalence of malignancies after rituximab treatment was 0.39% (95% CI 0.02%, 1.03%).
Conclusion:
Our findings illustrated an acceptable safety for this treatment. However, further studies with randomized design, long follow-up, and large sample sizes are needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of rituximab in patients with MS.
