Background Notoriously the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) is based on the use of several different drugs, characterized by a diverse mechanism of action, efficacy and safety. Recently, progress has been made towards developing new oral immunotherapies, and dimethyl fumarate is the third oral agent approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting forms. Case A 24-year-old patient, affected by relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, started treatment in December 2014 with dimethyl fumarate. The common side effects (flushing and gastrointestinal events) of dimethyl fumarate occurred at the beginning of treatment, but resolved after 1 month. Six months later, the patient presented with serious recrudescence of the gastrointestinal event. In addition to this symptom, he had developed acute omphalitis-a very rare infection in adults. Conclusion The pathogenic role of dimethyl fumarate to induce this rare infection was probably related to changes in immunological surveillance as well as to the irritant effect of this agent on the gastrointestinal epithelium. Therefore, post-marketing studies in clinical practice are still needed to provide the necessary long-term safety data.

An unusual infection in MS patient treated with dimethyl fumarate: A case report of omphalitis

LOREFICE, LORENA;FENU, GIUSEPPE;CABRAS, FRANCESCO;FRAU, JESSICA;COGHE, GIANCARLO;MARROSU, MARIA GIOVANNA;COCCO, ELEONORA
2016-01-01

Abstract

Background Notoriously the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) is based on the use of several different drugs, characterized by a diverse mechanism of action, efficacy and safety. Recently, progress has been made towards developing new oral immunotherapies, and dimethyl fumarate is the third oral agent approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting forms. Case A 24-year-old patient, affected by relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, started treatment in December 2014 with dimethyl fumarate. The common side effects (flushing and gastrointestinal events) of dimethyl fumarate occurred at the beginning of treatment, but resolved after 1 month. Six months later, the patient presented with serious recrudescence of the gastrointestinal event. In addition to this symptom, he had developed acute omphalitis-a very rare infection in adults. Conclusion The pathogenic role of dimethyl fumarate to induce this rare infection was probably related to changes in immunological surveillance as well as to the irritant effect of this agent on the gastrointestinal epithelium. Therefore, post-marketing studies in clinical practice are still needed to provide the necessary long-term safety data.
2016
Acute omphalitis; Dimethyl fumarate; Gastrointestinal epithelium; Multiple sclerosis; Safety; Abdominal wall; Dimethyl fumarate; Follow-up studies; Humans; Immunosuppressive agents; Infection; Male; Multiple sclerosis, relapsing-remitting; Tomography; Young adult; Umbilicus; Neurology; Neurology (clinical)
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11584/178079
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