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Intrathecal administration of rituximab—an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody—is emerging as a promising therapeutic strategy for B cell lymphomas of the central nervous system (CNS).1 2 The rationale for administering rituximab directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) stems from the need to achieve optimal therapeutic concentrations within the intrathecal compartment. Rituximab, in fact, has a high molecular weight and only 0.1%–0.5% of its plasmatic concentrations crosses the ‘blood-brain barrier’ (BBB) after intravenous infusion.1 In addition, despite inducing prolonged depletion of circulating B lymphocytes, systemic rituximab does not affect malignant B cells in CNS lymphomas.2 Hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP) is the most frequently encountered CNS manifestation of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), a fibroinflammatory condition of unclear aetiology.3 The intrathecal synthesis of IgG4 in patients with IgG4-related hypertrophic pachymeningitis(RHP) and the clinical improvement after rituximab in patients with systemic involvement, support a pathogenic role of B lymphocytes.4–6 Among IgG4-RD manifestations, however, IgG4-RHP stands out for a certain resistance to intravenous rituximab raising the possibility that systemic administration might not be as effective on putative pathogenic B cells residing in inflammatory niches within the CNS.4 Here, we report the first case of IgG4-RHP treated with intrathecal rituximab. A young adult patient was admitted in April 2015 for rapidly progressive frontal headache and complete visual loss on the right eye. Imaging studies of the head and neck revealed diffuse pachymeningitis with bone erosions, thickening of the nasal septum, hard palate tumefaction, and bilateral optic neuritis; neuro-ophthalmological examination reported asymmetrical signs of optic nerve fibre atrophy (right >left) with loss of colour vision and complete depression of the visual field on the right eye (figure 1 and see online supplementary figure e1). Laboratory and CSF analyses at the time of admission are reported in online …

ObjectivesTo assess the safety and efficacy of interleukin (IL)−6 blockade with sarilumab in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and systemic hyperinflammation.MethodsWe conducted an open-label study of sarilumab in severe COVID-19 pneumonia (PaO2/FiO2 ResultsTwenty-eight patients were treated with sarilumab and 28 contemporary patients receiving standard of care alone were used as controls. At day 28 of follow-up, 61% of patients treated with sarilumab experienced clinical improvement and 7% died. These findings were not significantly different from the comparison group (clinical improvement 64%, mortality 18%; p=NS). Baseline PaO2/FiO2 ratio >100 mm Hg and lung consolidation ConclusionsAt day 28, overall clinical improvement and mortality in patients with severe COVID-19 were not significantly different between sarilumab and standard of care. Sarilumab was associated with faster recovery in a subset of patients showing minor lung consolidation at baseline.