CC BY 4.0 · Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet 2021; 43(03): 165-171
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1722157
Original Article
High Risk Pregnancy

Disease Progression and Obstetric Outcomes of Women with Multiple Sclerosis at a Reference Center in Northeastern Brazil

Progressão da doença e desfechos obstétricos em mulheres portadoras de esclerose múltipla em um centro de referência no Nordeste brasileiro
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centro de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
,
2   Centro de Referência em Esclerose Múltipla da Paraíba, Fundação Centro Integrado de Apoio ao Portador de Deficiência, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
,
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centro de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
,
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centro de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
,
3   Departamento de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
,
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centro de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Objective To describe the obstetric outcomes of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and the impact of pregnancy and the postpartum period on the progression of the disease.

Methods A case series study performed between December 2019 and February 2020, reporting pregnancies occurred between 1996 and 2019. The subjects included were women with MS undergoing follow-up at an MS referral center in Northeastern Brazil, and who had at least one pregnancy after the onset of MS symptoms, or who had their first relapse in the first year after delivery.

Results In total, 26 women and 38 pregnancies were analyzed – 32 of them resulted in delivery, and the remaining 6, in miscarriages. There was a significant increase in the prevalence of relapse during the postpartum period when compared with the gestational period. In 16 (42.1%) of the pregnancies, there was exposure to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) – 14 (36.8%), to interferon β, and 2 (5.3%), to fingolimod. Higher rates of abortion, prematurity and low birth weight were reported in the group was exposed to DMT when compared with the one who was not.

Conclusion In the sample of the present study, there was a significant increase in the rate of MS relapse during the postpartum period when compared with the gestational period. Additionally, it seems that exposure to DMTs during pregnancy may affect the obstetric outcomes of the patients.

Resumo

Objetivo Descrever os desfechos obstétricos de pacientes com esclerose múltipla (EM) e o impacto da gravidez e do período pós-parto na progressão da doença.

Métodos Uma série de casos realizada entre dezembro de 2019 e fevereiro de 2020, que retrata gestações ocorridas entre 1996 e 2019. As pacientes incluídas neste estudo foram mulheres com EM, que realizam acompanhamento em um centro de referência em EM no Nordeste do Brasil, e que tiveram ao menos uma gestação após o início dos sintomas da EM, ou tiveram o primeiro surto da doença no ano posterior ao parto.

Resultados No total, 26 mulheres e 38 gestações foram avaliadas – dentre as quais, 32 resultaram em partos, e 6, em abortamentos. Houve um aumento significativo na prevalência de surtos durante o pós-parto quando comparado com o período gestacional. Em 16 (42,1%) das gravidezes, houve exposição a terapias modificadoras da doença (TMDs) – 14 (36,8%) a β-interferona, e 2 (5,3%) a fingolimode. As taxas de abortamento, prematuridade e baixo peso ao nascer foram mais elevadas no grupo exposto às TMDs quando comparado com o não exposto.

Conclusão Na amostra deste estudo, houve um aumento significativo na taxa de surtos da EM durante o período pós-parto quando comparado com o período gestacional. Além disso, a exposição às TMDs durante a gestação pode afetar os desfechos obstétricos das pacientes.

Contributors

All authors contributed to the concept and design of the present study; analysis and interpretation of data; draft or revision of the manuscript; and they have approved the manuscript as submitted. All authors are responsible for the reported research.




Publication History

Received: 09 July 2020

Accepted: 06 October 2020

Article published online:
15 April 2021

© 2021. Federação Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil

 
  • References

  • 1 Dobson R, Giovannoni G. Multiple sclerosis - a review. Eur J Neurol 2019; 26 (01) 27-40
  • 2 Compston A, Coles A. Multiple sclerosis. Lancet 2008; 372 (9648): 1502-1517
  • 3 Martin R, Sospedra M, Rosito M, Engelhardt B. Current multiple sclerosis treatments have improved our understanding of MS autoimmune pathogenesis. Eur J Immunol 2016; 46 (09) 2078-2090
  • 4 Thompson AJ, Banwell BL, Barkhof F, Carroll WM, Coetzee T, Comi G. et al. Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: 2017 revisions of the McDonald criteria. Lancet Neurol 2018; 17 (02) 162-173
  • 5 Hellwig K, Correale J. Artificial reproductive techniques in multiple sclerosis. Clin Immunol 2013; 149 (02) 219-224
  • 6 Fragoso YD, Adoni T, Brooks JBB, Finkelsztejn A, da Gama PD, Grzesiuk AK. et al. Practical evidence-based recommendations for patients with multiple sclerosis who want to have children. Neurol Ther 2018; 7 (02) 207-232
  • 7 Gold SM, Voskuhl RR. Estrogen treatment in multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Sci 2009; 286 (1-2): 99-103
  • 8 Al-Shammri S, Rawoot P, Azizieh F, AbuQoora A, Hanna M, Saminathan TR, Raghupathy R. Th1/Th2 cytokine patterns and clinical profiles during and after pregnancy in women with multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Sci 2004; 222 (1-2): 21-27
  • 9 Confavreux C, Hutchinson M, Hours MM, Cortinovis-Tourniaire P, Moreau T. Pregnancy in Multiple Sclerosis Group. Rate of pregnancy-related relapse in multiple sclerosis. N Engl J Med 1998; 339 (05) 285-291
  • 10 Bsteh G, Algrang L, Hegen H, Auer M, Wurth S, Di Pauli F. et al. Pregnancy and multiple sclerosis in the DMT era: A cohort study in Western Austria. Mult Scler 2020; 26 (01) 69-78
  • 11 Fernández Liguori N, Klajn D, Acion L, Cáceres F, Calle A, Carrá A. et al. Epidemiological characteristics of pregnancy, delivery, and birth outcome in women with multiple sclerosis in Argentina (EMEMAR study). Mult Scler 2009; 15 (05) 555-562
  • 12 Hellwig K. Pregnancy in multiple sclerosis. Eur Neurol 2014; 72 (Suppl. 01) 39-42
  • 13 Jesus-Ribeiro J, Correia I, Martins AI, Fonseca M, Marques I, Batista S. et al. Pregnancy in multiple sclerosis: a Portuguese cohort study. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2017; 17: 63-68
  • 14 Finkelsztejn A, Fragoso YD, Ferreira MLB, Lana-Peixoto MA, Alves-Leon SV, Gomes S. et al. The Brazilian database on pregnancy in multiple sclerosis. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2011; 113 (04) 277-280
  • 15 Dahl J, Myhr KM, Daltveit AK, Gilhus NE. Pregnancy, delivery and birth outcome in different stages of maternal multiple sclerosis. J Neurol 2008; 255 (05) 623-627
  • 16 Chen YH, Lin HL, Lin HC. Does multiple sclerosis increase risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes? A population-based study. Mult Scler 2009; 15 (05) 606-612
  • 17 Nguyen AL, Havrdova EK, Horakova D, Izquierdo G, Kalincik T, van der Walt A. et al; MSBase Study Group. Incidence of pregnancy and disease-modifying therapy exposure trends in women with multiple sclerosis: A contemporary cohort study. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2019; 28: 235-243
  • 18 Viellas EF, Domingues RMSM, Dias MAB, da Gama SGN, Theme Filha MM, da Costa JV. et al. Prenatal care in Brazil. Cad Saude Publica 2014; 30 (Suppl. 01) S1-S15
  • 19 Fragoso YD, Finkelsztejn A, Comini-Frota ER, da Gama PD, Grzesiuk AK, Khouri JMN. et al. Pregnancy and multiple sclerosis: the initial results from a Brazilian database. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2009; 67 (3A): 657-660
  • 20 World Health Organization. Infant and young child feeding: model chapter for textbooks for medical students and allied health professionals. Geneva: WHO; 2009
  • 21 World Health Organization. International Classification of Diseases and Mortality and Morbidity Statistics. Geneva: WHO; 2019
  • 22 Hellwig K, Beste C, Brune N, Haghikia A, Muller T, Schimrigk S. et al. Increased MS relapse rate during assisted reproduction technique. J Neurol 2008; 255 (04) 592-593 . Doi: 10.1007/s00415-008-0607-2
  • 23 Hellwig K, Schimrigk S, Beste C, Muller T, Gold R. Increase in Relapse Rate during Assisted Reproduction Technique in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis. Eur Neurol 2009; 61: 65-68 . Doi: 10.1159/000177937
  • 24 Correale J, Farez MF, Ysrraelit MC. Increase in multiple sclerosis activity after assisted reproduction technology. Ann Neurol 2012; 72 (05) 682-694 . Doi: 10.1002/ana.23745
  • 25 Marrodan M, Alessandro L, Farez MF, Correale J. The role of infections in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler 2019; 25 (07) 891-901
  • 26 Benjamin LA. A tale of two demyelinating diseases and Zika virus. Mult Scler 2019; 25 (03) 430-431
  • 27 Alves-Leon SV, Lima MDR, Nunes PCG, Chimelli LMC, Rabelo K, Nogueira RMR. et al. Zika virus found in brain tissue of a multiple sclerosis patient undergoing an acute disseminated encephalomyelitis-like episode. Mult Scler 2019; 25 (03) 427-430
  • 28 Hellwig K, Haghikia A, Rockhoff M, Gold R. Multiple sclerosis and pregnancy: experience from a nationwide database in Germany. Ther Adv Neurol Disorder 2012; 5 (05) 247-253
  • 29 Dobson R, Dassan P, Roberts M, Giovannoni G, Nelson-Piercy C, Brex PA. UK consensus on pregnancy in multiple sclerosis: ‘Association of British Neurologists’ guidelines. Pract Neurol 2019; 19 (02) 106-114
  • 30 Karlsson G, Francis G, Koren G, Heining P, Zhang X, Cohen JA. et al. Pregnancy outcomes in the clinical development program of fingolimod in multiple sclerosis. Neurology 2014; 82: 674-680 . Doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000137
  • 31 Lu E, Wang BW, Alwan S, Synnes A, Dahlgren L, Sadovnick AD. et al. A Review of Safety-Related Pregnancy Data Surrounding the Oral Disease-Modifying Drugs for Multiple Sclerosis. CNS Drugs 2014; 28 (02) 89-94 . Doi:10.1007/s40263-013-0131-5
  • 32 Finkelsztejn A, Brooks JBB, Paschoal Jr FM, Fragoso YD. What can we really tell women with multiple sclerosis regarding pregnancy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. BJOG 2011; 118 (07) 790-797
  • 33 Ministério da Saúde. DATASUS [Internet]. Estatísticas vitais. 2018 [cited 2020 Jun 6]. Available from: http://www2.datasus.gov.br/DATASUS/index.php?area=0205
  • 34 Hellwig K, Rockhoff M, Herbstritt S, Borisow N, Haghikia A, Elias-Hamp B. et al. Exclusive breastfeeding and the effect on postpartum multiple sclerosis relapses. JAMA Neurol 2015; 72 (10) 1132-1138
  • 35 Pakpoor J, Disanto G, Lacey MV, Hellwig K, Giovannoni G, Ramagopalan SV. Breastfeeding and multiple sclerosis relapses: a meta-analysis. J Neurol 2012; 259 (10) 2246-2248