Life-threatening autoimmune warm hemolytic anemia following treatment for multiple sclerosis with alemtuzumab

Benoit Meunier (1) , Audrey Rico (2, 3, 4) , Julie Seguier (1) , Clemence Boutiere (2) , Mikael Ebbo (1) , Jean Robert Harle (1) , Nicolas Schleinitz (1) , Jean Pelletier (2, 3, 4)

1 Département de médecine interne, Hôpital de la Timone, APHM, Marseille France
2 Pôle de Neurosciences Cliniques, Service de Neurologie, APHM, Hôpital de la Timone, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
3 CRMBM - Centre de résonance magnétique biologique et médicale
4 CEMEREM - Centre d'Exploration Métabolique par Résonance Magnétique [Hôpital de la Timone - AP-HM]

Background: Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed at CD52 approved as a disease-modifying therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Objective: To describe a case of a life-threatening autoimmune anemia occurring after a first course of alemtuzumab for relapsing-remitting MS in a 28-year-old male. Methods: Case report. Results: A 28-year-old male developed a life-threatening autoimmune anemia occurring 11 months after first alemtuzumab course. Conclusion: We report the third case of autoimmune hemolytic anemia following treatment with alemtuzumab in a young MS patient. Due to the severity of this adverse event, neurologists using this treatment should be alert.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Immunology; Immunotherapy

Benoit Meunier, Audrey Rico, Julie Seguier, Clemence Boutiere, Mikael Ebbo, et al.. Life-threatening autoimmune warm hemolytic anemia following treatment for multiple sclerosis with alemtuzumab. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 2018, 24 (6), pp.811-813. ⟨10.1177/1352458517729766⟩. ⟨hal-03538546⟩