Bachmann H, Cambron M, Casselman JW, et al. - According to this retrospective study, alemtuzumab, a monoclonal CD52 antibody, treatment was not related to arterial hypertension, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) or occult microbleeds. Differences in administration regimen (ambulatory vs in-hospital-setting) and patient population (cardiovascular risk) could explain why some people are at a higher risk than others.

• Thirty relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients that received alemtuzumab treatment at Ghent University Hospital or Sint-Jan Bruges Hospital were included.

• During the first administration, the mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 120 mmHg in the morning, noon, and evening, and 114 mmHg in the afternoon and evening.

• There was no significant variation in daily mean SBP across successive administration days, nor was there a significant increase in SBP when comparing morning, noon, and evening per day.

• Thrombocyte counts varied from 107x10⁹/l to 398 x 10 ⁹/l over treatment cycles, with a mean absolute reduction of 59.3 x 10 ⁹/l and a mean relative reduction of 25.0%.

• No patients developed ICH, and susceptibility-weighted imaging revealed no cerebral microbleeds or other hemorrhagic lesions after treatment.