title: Ocrelizumab for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Despite recent advances in pharmacological management, multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, remains a leading cause of disability. In relapsing-remitting (RR)MS, neurologists most commonly utilize immunomodulatory or immunosuppressive agents to benefit their patients. With the introduction of humanized monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) ablation of distinct immune populations has become possible. Depletion of B cells by anti-CD20 mAbs has repeatedly proven to be a very rapid and effective means to diminish disease activity in RRMS.
  
  
  
  We discuss the biological rationale, development, and recent clinical study results of the second generation anti-CD20 mAb ocrelizumab. Expert commentary: The topline results of two phase-III randomized clinical trials demonstrate superiority of ocrelizumab over interferon beta in RRMS patients with regards to clinical and paraclinical outcome parameters. The short term adverse events profile appears favorable. However, long-term effects of repeated B cell depletion are currently unknown.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology , Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf , Düsseldorf , Germany.|b Department of Neurology , LVR-Klinikum Düsseldorf , Düsseldorf , Germany.
authors.forename: Til
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Menge
authors.affiliation: c Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics , UT Southwestern Medical Center , Dallas , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Divyanshu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dubey
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology , Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf , Düsseldorf , Germany.
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Warnke
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology , Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf , Düsseldorf , Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Hartung
authors.affiliation: c Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics , UT Southwestern Medical Center , Dallas , TX , USA.|d Neurology Section , VA North Texas Health Care System, Medical Service , Dallas , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Stüve
mesh_terms: D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D016899:Interferon-beta; C533411:ocrelizumab
keywords: B cells; B lymphocytes; CD19; CD20; EAE; MS; autoimmunity; experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis; multiple sclerosis