Impact of disease-modifying drugs on severity of COVID-19 infection in multiple sclerosis patients

Recent evidence suggested that neurological manifestations occur in patients with severe form of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Based on this issue, neurologists are very concerned about patients with neurological disorders, especially multiple sclerosis (MS) as consumers of immunosuppressive or immune-modulating drugs. Therefore, administration of proper disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in MS patients is critical in the pandemic status. In one side, both the autoimmune diseases and immunosuppressive drugs increase the risk of infection due to impairment in the immune system and on the other side, postponing of MS treatment has serious consequences on the central nervous system (CNS). In the present study, we discussed recent literature about the effect of DMTs administration on the severity of COVID-19 in the MS patients. Overall, it seems that DMTs do not provoke the COVID-19 infection in the MS patients by declining immune responses and cytokine storm. However, as a precaution, the supervision of a neurologist is highly recommended. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.