Children with MS show signs of accelerated biological aging: Study
Researchers calculated epigenetic age, found it tended to be higher with POMS
Children with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) experience biological aging at a faster rate than children without the disease, a study shows.
“We found evidence that children living with MS experience accelerated biological aging,” Jennifer Graves, MD, PhD, senior author of the study at the University of California, San Diego, said in a university news story. The study, “Epigenetic Aging in Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis,” was published in Neurology.
As a person ages, cells in the body undergo molecular changes that can be used to track so-called biological age, which doesn’t always line up with a person’s actual age. Some people may see faster or slower biological aging, based on a variety of factors.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) most often affects adults, but POMS is a rare subtype of the disease that develops during childhood or adolescence. Studies in adults suggest that biological aging is accelerated in people with MS, but adult studies have to be interpreted cautiously because other co-occurring health problems and experiences may also contribute to the rate of biological aging.
Biological age in POMS
Here, researchers at the University of California, San Diego examined biological aging in children with POMS — who have fewer confounding variables — to get a better idea about whether MS itself affects biological aging. “By focusing on the age extreme of childhood, we sought to reduce the confounding effects of natural biological aging and age-related comorbidities observed in adulthood,” the researchers wrote.
For their analyses, they assessed a type of biological aging called epigenetic aging. Epigenetics refers to certain chemical modifications in the DNA that influence how specific regions are packaged and how genes in those regions are read. As a person ages, there are usually characteristic changes in patterns of epigenetic DNA modifications.
The study included 125 children with POMS and 145 children without any major health disorders. The researchers used four different models to calculate epigenetic age and, with all four models, epigenetic age tended to be higher in children with POMS. After accounting for factors such as actual age, sex, body mass index (a measure of body fat), tobacco exposure, and socioeconomic status, two models showed a statistically significant difference.
“We measured epigenetic age using both lifespan and health span epigenetic clocks and demonstrated greater point estimates of epigenetic age in participants with POMS compared with age-matched controls across all clocks. The point estimate differences remained statistically significant in [two of the models for epigenetic aging] after multivariable modeling,” the researchers wrote.
Understanding how MS affects aging
The data suggest children with POMS experience accelerated biological aging relative to their peers and the researchers think this may help scientists and clinicians better understand how the disease develops over time.
Virtually all children with POMS have relapsing-remitting disease, which is marked by relapses where symptoms suddenly worsen and periods of remission where they ease or disappear entirely. But as patients get older, their condition may shift to a progressive course, where symptoms become gradually worse over time independent of relapse activity.
Progressive MS is usually much harder to treat effectively than the relapsing-remitting form. The researchers hope that understanding better how disease affects aging in POMS may help develop strategies for stopping the transition into progressive MS.
“We know that aging is related to the development of a less treatable form of MS, and that adults with MS face both normal aging and accelerated aging from the disease,” Graves said. “Aging isn’t something we think of affecting teenagers. But these kids are accumulating cellular damage that may not show up clinically until years later, when they suddenly transition from doing fine to disease progression in their 30s. If we can understand the interplay between the immune system, the brain and aging — and break that open — we might be able to put MS into full remission in the future.”
The study did have some limitations. It only looked at epigenetic age at one point in time, so the researchers said further studies are needed to track how epigenetic age changes over time. Also, it mostly included non-Hispanic white patients, so further research must see if the findings also apply in other ethnic groups.
About the Author
