Cryptococcal meningitis after fingolimod discontinuation in a patient with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Fingolimod (Gilenya, Novartis) is an oral sphingosine-1-phosphate analogue used in the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Fingolimod treatment is associated with relative lymphopenia and was associated with an increased risk of herpes infection in clinical trials. In the post-marketing setting, fingolimod has been associated with several cases of cryptococcal meningitis, recently prompting an update to its prescribing information. To date, all cases have been associated with active treatment with fingolimod. In this report, we describe the first case of cryptococcal meningitis diagnosed after fingolimod discontinuation.

Keywords: Cryptococcus; Fingolimod; Lymphopenia; Multiple sclerosis.