Inflammatory vaginitis in four B-cell suppressed women with Multiple Sclerosis

Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2024 Feb:82:105387. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2023.105387. Epub 2023 Dec 16.

Abstract

B-cell depleting therapies are effective in multiple sclerosis (MS) and are widely used (Hauser et al., 2017). Inflammatory vaginitis (IV), characterized by unexplained vaginal symptoms including mucopurulent discharge, pain, irritation, and dyspareunia, has been reported in one MS patient on ocrelizumab (Filikci and Jensen, 2022), and to be present in 3.5 % of women on rituximab for autoimmune diseases (Yockey et al., 2021). We report here four cases of IV in B cell depleted women with MS. B-cell reconstitution was temporally associated with improvement of IV symptoms. Further investigation and vigilance for this potential treatment emergent adverse event affecting sexual and reproductive health of women with MS is needed.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Female
  • Humans
  • Multiple Sclerosis* / complications
  • Multiple Sclerosis* / drug therapy
  • Rituximab
  • Vaginitis* / diagnosis
  • Vaginitis* / drug therapy

Substances

  • Rituximab