Ocrevus vs. Rituximab (Neurologist Explains Observational Data)

Thanks Dr. Beaber. Had been on Ocrevus for 3 years. Switched to Kesimpta in March for convenience. Wish I hadn’t. Felt like I was in “crap gap” continuously after 3 months. Switched back to Ocrevus last month. Doing much better! It would be interesting to see a comparison of Ocrevus to Kesimpta.

I’m at EDSS 3and will have been living with MS for 39 years. I’m waiting (patiently…) for the BTK inhibitors to be available so the smoldering MS is stopped. I agree with you that many of these CD20 drugs seem like wasteful duplication of effort and not actual progress toward a cure.

Thanks for comparing ocrevus and rituximab. My husband (who is himself a doctor) used ocrevus in the Feb 2023. He personally feels (subjective) that progression has increased at a higher rate than before ocrevus (though MRI showed significant improvement i-e no lesions in dorsal spine as compared with older MRIs which showed lesions in dorsal spine.) He feels improvement as time is passing away time of ocrevus dose. He doesn't want to use ocrevus again. (if he again goes for monoclonal antibodies he may use rituximab (being cost effective).) I think his opinion may be biased due to a group "did ocrevus fail you". Nowadays he is more inclined towards coimbra Protocol (I know u have already dismissed role of vitamin D after a Cochrane review).

I’ve been on Rituxan for 4years now. At first I wanted to be put on ocrevus but then I was switched to Rituxan via doctor’s choice. I have not seen progression in my MRIs recently, the disease progression plateaued. I am grateful.

Good morning Dr. Beaber! I so appreciate you showing us the studies, explaining them, and your expert (albeit biased) opinion! It can be so confusing for us. If we simply looked at the first study we would be convinced the Ocrevus is the way to go! Lol! One thing you said struck me, lag time. It might be interesting to have a video about lag time of DMTs.

I started on Rituxan and transitioned after 2 years I believe. I spent the first few cycles on Ocrevus wondering if it was a mistake to change - the wearing off effect happened more. But not long after sticking with Ocrevus a few more cycles, the gap towards the end of the six months (where some break through symptoms occured) closed. I now feel much better all of the time.

Love your education Weds. ❤

Thank you for your work.

Thanks for the video, Doc! Interesting and informative in many ways.

I've taken Ocrevus for about a year. And it's been great.

Thanks for the videos!

You sir - provide in a few minutes a hellofa lot of information well explained. That’s not common. You must have taken a few speech classes (me thinks) I knew something was wrong around 1974. I was a commercial fisherman, owned and operated a 36’ troller/gillnetter. I could not stay awake longer than an hour or two, yelling, screaming at myself. I was going to Juneau on my way up Lynn Canal to gillnet for cohoe and chum salmon. About an hour after I left the dock at Petersburg, Alaska, I fell asleep. It’s late fall, daylight hours are limited, the oil stove in the cabin kept the the area nice and toasty. I awoke, the waters were still visible from the waning cloud filled sky. Quickly I looked out the port cabin window. And there only one hundred feet away was an iceberg the visible part the size of a two story building and about as long. Scared the shit outta me. I said aloud, “I’ll never fall asleep again”. Within a few minutes I was asleep. You have no idea where you are when you awake, it’s dark, raining, rough seas… The chronic fatigue disappeared over time but reappeared with a myriad of other symptoms. Hellacious pain, the bending neck electric shock, the confusion, slurred speech, the dancing of both eyes, no real balance, hell there was a time (my wife and I moved to Colorado) I had a hellofa time finding my way home from my job as a teacher - the school was 15 minutes from our house. I’m 72. There was no MS specific drug. I took infusions of steroids to stop my lessen the attacks, eventually the five permitted infusions of Novantrone. Melinda and I live on Morrisania Mesa, outside of Parachute, Co. My very younger years were difficult, rowing to school, (a going into third grade kid from Washington State) a house with no insulation , no fresh water available in the house, (we flushed the only toilet with salt water scooped up at the beach, no electricity then my dad fixed the generator, a 32 volt dc generator. The light bulbs said Thomas Edison on them.. Anyway, I’m able to walk around on the property Mindy and I bought in 1978 - here on Morrisania Mesa. It’s kept me busy and that’s good. Again, I do enjoy your well done presentations. I got off on a tangent I know but - Damn - I wish there had been some disease modifying drugs back in the day.

Thank you for the great video. Im 42 yr male. Rrms diagnosed 3 years agoIve just had my first 2 (half) doses of Ocrevus after being in plegridy for 2 years. Treatment was changed due Ocrevus due to worsening symptoms amd another lesion. Since the first infusion 3 months ago, i honestly feel fantastic. More energy and im enjoying a better quality of life generally. No negative side effects.. Tbh though, i am starting to drop in terms of energy levels. Im starting to become clumsy again and the foggy noggin is coming back slightly . Roll on March for the next dose. Im happy to sacrifice two months of not feeling great for the four months of feeling 100%. I really appreciate you and your work Dr. Beaber. Cheers

DR. Beaber you for another fantastiv video

Good morning Dr Brandon, thank you for all the great information comparing the medications Head to Head

Great comparison video Doc. #Sharingiscaring

I would expect Ocrevus and Rituxan to have similar efficacy based on their particular function and CD-20 targets. I've been on Ocrevus since Sept 2022 after 5 months on Tysabri. It's been working well for me. In my opinion, the only benefit to Ocrevus would be that the immune system is less likely to develop antibodies against it for those on it for longer periods. I'm hoping the BTK blockers show similar efficacy to b-cell depleaters as well. I'd like to switch to a BTKI for longer term treatment due to the consequences of long term immunosuppression.

Please do a video comparing all B-cell depletors including Briumvi.

Awesome

52 y/o male with MS for 30 years, currently 6.5 EDSS. On Ocrevus for approx 4 years. Just had infusion 2 days ago. I usually feel quite a bit better in the days following the infusion. I think this could be due to the anti-inflammatory properties of both the solumedrol AND the drug itself. Of course the closer I get to my next infusion, the worse I feel (crap-gap). Luckily, I have not had increased infections during the time I have been on Ocrevus.