Is maraviroc useful in multiple sclerosis patients with natalizumab-related progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy?

Background Despite the recent advances in the understanding of natalizumab (NTZ) related progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) and its associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (PML-IRIS), the therapeutic options are still under investigated. In this context, the beneficial use of maraviroc is still an anecdotal observation. Objective To evaluate the impact of maraviroc in modifying the course of PML preventing IRIS or blunting IRIS manifestations. Methods Three patients with NTZ PML included in the Italian dataset of PML were treated with maraviroc. Their longitudinal clinical and radiological course was described in detail. Results The three patients were characterized by a steady clinical worsening not controlled by maraviroc. All the three patients manifested PML-IRIS, which emerged, respectively, at 62, 64 and 90 days post NTZ withdrawal. This is in accordance with the data of the Italian dataset. Clinical and radiological stabilization of PML-IRIS occurred only after corticosteroids administration. Conclusion In these three cases, maraviroc did not show any clear effect in modulating the clinical course of PML preventing IRIS. Moreover, once PML-IRIS emerged, the clinical stabilization was achieved only with the use of corticosteroids. Thus, the use of maraviroc should be regarded with extreme caution due the potential adverse events associated with its use.