Disease-modifying therapies and infectious risks in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease, and the main disease-modifying treatments rely on modulation or suppression of the immune systemCurrent results show that most drugs to treat MS are linked to an increased risk of infection to varying degrees, depending on their mode of actionContinuous assessment of infectious risks before, during and after disease-modifying therapy for MS, especially when using intravenous drugs, has increasing clinical relevanceExperience with the recently approved oral MS disease-modifying therapies illustrates that even after approval, new treatment-associated infectious risks must be taken into accountWith an increasing number of treatment-associated infections, accurate diagnostic work-up of patients with MS who present with new neurological symptoms becomes crucialOwing to the possibly serious or even fatal complications of modern MS treatment options, safety data on infections must be collected and evaluated in specific databases following drug approval