Safety of Obinutuzumab in Children With Autoimmune Encephalitis and Early B-Cell Repopulation on Rituximab.

BACKGROUND: Rituximab (RTX) resistance or early B-cells repopulation were observed in children but only few publications reported the use of Obinutuzumab and no recommendations were made concerning the dosage for children. METHODS: This study was a single-center retrospective cohort study of all the children followed-up in the Pediatric Neurology Department of Necker-Enfants malades Hospital in Paris, France, and treated with obinutuzumab, between November 1, 2019, and November 1, 2021. RESULTS: A total of eight children (three females, median age 4.5 years) were treated. Seven patients presented with autoimmune encephalitis and one with myeloradiculitis. The median delay of B-cell repopulation after a course of RTX was 87 days (range 41 to 160). A switch to obinutuzumab (anti-CD20) was performed for eight children. The median duration between the first RTX infusion and obinutuzumab administration was 6.6 months. The dosage regimen for obinutuzumab was one infusion of 1000 mg/1.73 m2, that is to say 580 mg/m2 (maximum 1000 mg/infusion), by extrapolation from the adult dosage. The median delay of B-cell repopulation after one course of obinutuzumab was 230 days (range 66 to 303 days) vs 87 days after one course of RTX (P < 0.01). None of the patients presented side effects with obinutuzumab treatment. All patients had a favorable evolution at the last-follow up. Median follow-up was 1.6 years. CONCLUSIONS: This study reports the use of obinutuzumab in neurological inflammatory diseases in a pediatric population. Obinutuzumab seems to have a better biological efficacy than RTX with a longer time of B-cell repopulation.

Paediatric non-infectious granulomatous uveitis: a retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Paediatric granulomatous uveitis (PGU) is rare. In addition, lack of awareness often leads to delayed diagnosis and poor visual outcome. Identifying the underlying cause and deciding how best to treat each patient is challenging. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the demographics, aetiologies, complications, treatments, and visual prognosis of paediatric non-infectious granulomatous uveitis. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of non-infectious PGU occurring in children before the age of 16 years recruited from the Paediatric Rheumatology Unit, Bicêtre Hospital, France, from 2001 to 2023. RESULTS: We included 50 patients with 90 affected eyes: 29 with idiopathic uveitis, 15 with sarcoidosis, 5 with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and one with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease. Median age at diagnosis was 9.8 years (range 7.2-12.5). The sex-ratio M/F was 0.52. The most common features of PGU were: panuveitis (56%), bilateral (84%), and chronic (84%). Sarcoidosis was the most frequent diagnosis after idiopathic disease, particularly in the presence of lymphopenia and hypergammaglobulinemia. Uveomeningitis was present in 12% of cases. Upon diagnosis, ocular complications were present in 68 of 90 eyes (76%) particularly in cases of panuveitis. The most commonly used treatments were systemic corticosteroids (72%) and methotrexate (80%). Twenty-three percent of eyes were in remission at last follow-up, 68% were inactive and 4% remained active. The median duration of follow-up was 5.8 years. CONCLUSION: We report the largest cohort of PGU. PGU were mostly idiopathic and had a high rate of complications. Sarcoid and idiopathic panuveitis are serious illnesses in which disease-modifying therapy should be initiated at diagnosis to improve management.

Diagnosis and Management of Non-Infectious Uveitis in Pediatric Patients.

Uveitis in children accounts for 5-10% of all cases. The causes vary considerably. Classically, uveitis is distinguished according to its infectious or inflammatory origin and whether it is part of a systemic disease or represents an isolated ocular disease. It is important to highlight the specificity of certain etiologies among children such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The development of visual function can potentially be hindered by amblyopia (children aged < 7 years), in addition to the usual complications (synechiae, macular edema) seen in adult patients. Moreover, the presentation of uveitis in children is often "silent" with few warning signs and few functional complaints from young children, which frequently leads to a substantial diagnostic delay. The diagnostic approach is guided by the presentation of the uveitis, which can be characterized by its location, and corresponds to the initial and main site of intraocular inflammation; its presentation, whether acute or chronic, granulomatous or not; and the response to treatment. Pediatricians have an important role to play and must be aware of the various presentations and etiologies of uveitis in children. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the most common etiology of pediatric non-infectious uveitis, but other causes must be recognized. Promptly initiated treatment before complications arise requires early diagnosis, recognition, and treatment. Any dependence on prolonged local corticosteroid therapy justifies discussing the introduction of a corticosteroid-sparing treatment considering the risk to develop corticoid-induced glaucoma and cataracts. Systemic corticosteroid therapy can be required for urgent control of inflammation in the case of severe uveitis. Long-lasting immunosuppressive treatment and biotherapies are most often prescribed at the same time to reinforce treatment efficacy and to prevent relapse and corticosteroid dependency. We review the different causes of uveitis, excluding infection, and the diagnostic and therapeutic management aimed at limiting the risk of irreversible sequelae.

Indications and Safety of Rituximab in Pediatric Neurology: A 10-Year Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: RTX is used off-label in several neurological inflammatory diseases in adults children patients. We conducted a study to assess indications and safety of rituximab (RTX) for children and to identify risk factors for early B-cell repopulation. METHODS: A single-center retrospective study of children treated with RTX for a neurological disease between May 31, 2010, and May 31, 2020, was performed. RESULTS: A total of 77 children (median age, 8.9 years) were included. RTX was mostly used as second-line therapy in all groups of diseases (68%). Median dose was 1500 mg/m2 for each patient. There were 13 clinical relapses (17%), 5 when B-cell depletion was complete. Adverse events were present in 6% of the cases. The factors influencing early B-cell repopulation were the recent infusion of intravenous Ig (P < 0.01) and the administration of less than 1500 mg/m2 during the first RTX treatment (P = 0.04). The median time to B-cell repopulation seemed to be shorter (160 vs 186 days) when patients had plasmapheresis even when a 48-hour delay was observed with RTX infusions. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the good tolerance of RTX in the treatment of specific neurological disorders in a pediatric population. It also highlights risk factors for early B-cell repopulation and underlines the importance of B-cell monitoring.