August 3, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister As my kids head back to school, I must prepare for inevitable illnesses This morning, at an unholy hour, our family awoke to the sound of alarm bells. Well, not bells, but rather the gentle yet insistent sound of one of Alexa’s alarms. Actually, we changed the name of our bedroom device to Ziggy, so we can’t simply roll over, still…
August 18, 2022 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Eye Scans May Help to Diagnose MS in Children A machine learning approach based on eye scans was employed by researchers to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) in children with up to 80% accuracy. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans also provided enough data to diagnose other demyelinating diseases with 75% accuracy. OCT is an imaging tool that uses…
July 12, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Aubagio May Significantly Lower Relapse Risk in Children With MS Treatment with Aubagio (teriflunomide) may significantly reduce the risk of relapse in children with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new analysis of the TERIKIDS clinical trial that took into account data from adult trials. Results wereĀ in the paper “Reinterpreting Clinical Trials in Children With…
May 9, 2022 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Past Childhood Abuse Linked to Increased MS Risk in Norwegian Study Women who were exposed toĀ sexual or emotional abuse as children may be at an increased risk of developingĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life, according to a large study in Norway. The risk was even higher among patients who experienced a combination of two or more types of abuse in…
February 4, 2022 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Researcher Will Use Award to Find Biomarkers of RIS in Children This yearās Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar Award, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, has gone to a Yale University researcher who is searching for biomarkers of radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) in children. RIS occurs when imaging findings on MRI scans are similar to those seen in people…
July 1, 2021 News by Somi Igbene, PhD Familial MS Most Common in Children, Women, Warmer Climates Inherited or familialĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) occurs most frequently in children, women, and people living in warmer climates, a new study suggests. Prevalence rates also differ according to geographical areas, with Canada exhibiting the highest rates and Hungary the lowest. The study, āThe global prevalence of familial multiple sclerosis:…
June 15, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS FDA Rejects Expansion of Aubagio for Pediatric MS The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected an application requesting the expansion of Aubagio (teriflunomide) for the treatment of children and adolescents, ages 10 to 17, with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). “The FDA deemed the data submitted were not sufficient to obtain approval of…
March 25, 2021 News by Vanda Pinto, PhD Early MRI Findings May Predict Disease Worsening in Children with MS Abnormalities detected on MRI scans at the onset and within the first two years of disease may predict disability worsening in children with multiple sclerosis (MS), a nine-year study reports. Specifically, damage in the spinal cord, brain, and optic nerve plays a major role in predicting outcomes in these…
February 5, 2021 News by Teresa Carvalho, MS MS Society of Canada Grant Supports Trial of Metformin in Young Patients Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada have given CA$400,000 (about $312,500) to support a pilot clinical trial investigating the potential of metformin, a common diabetes therapy, to treat children and young adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Phase 1/2 feasibility trial (NCT04121468) is recruiting up to 30…
January 29, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Tecfidera Safe and Effective Over Long Term in Children With RRMS, Trial Shows Long-term treatment with TecfideraĀ (dimethyl fumarate)Ā safely and effectively reduces the frequency of relapses in children with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to 2.5 years of data from the FOCUS Phase 2 trial and its extension study. These findings are consistent with those previously reported for adult patients, supporting…
December 31, 2020 News by Diana Campelo Delgado MS Risk May Be Higher for Children of Diabetic Mothers, Study Suggests Children of diabetic mothers may be at more risk of developing multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), a Danish national study suggests. The study, āMaternal diabetes and risk of multiple sclerosis in the offspring: A Danish nationwide register-based cohort study,ā was published in theĀ Multiple Sclerosis Journal. Previous studies have suggested a…
December 10, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Children With MS Recover Better From Relapses Than Adults, Study Suggests Despite having more severe first and second relapses, children with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) tend to recover better than adults with the disease, according to a study. Better recovery in children may be linked to the activation of genes that, in turn, impair the activation of immune cells driving…
January 29, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Mental Health of Women Affected by Caring for Children with MS, Study Suggests Caring for children with multiple sclerosis (MS) can affect the mental health of their mothers over the long term, a study has found. The study, “Increased mental health care use by mothers of children with multiple sclerosis,” was published in the journal Neurology. People with…
December 12, 2019 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Pediatric MS Affects More Girls Than Boys in US, Analysis of KID Data Shows Records from theĀ Kid’s Inpatient DatabaseĀ (KID) ā the largest database of pediatric patients admitted to hospitals in the U.S. ā show that more than twice as many girls as boys were diagnosed withĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) in 2016. The data shows that 259 boys and 610 girls younger than age 18…
August 1, 2019 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Rutgers Health Leading Program to Support MS Children Rutgers Health is leading the Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Diseases Program, the only program in the state of New Jersey designed specifically to support children with multiple sclerosis (MS). The support program seeks to promote children’s access to cutting-edge therapies and clinical trials, and to educate…
July 19, 2019 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Obesity May Prevent First-line MS Therapies from Working in Youngsters, Study Suggests Obesity may increase the risk for the development and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in children and teens, and it may prevent first-line MS therapies from working. Those findings were reported in the study āAssociation of Obesity With Multiple Sclerosis Risk and Response to First-line Disease…
June 25, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD FDA Approves Botox to Treat Upper Limb Spasticity in Children Aged 2 to 17 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA), marketed by Allergan, for the treatment of children ages 2 to 17 with upper limb muscle stiffness or spasticity, a common symptom inĀ children with…
May 28, 2019 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD IPMSSG Issues Guidelines on Participation of MS Youngsters in Clinical Trials The International Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Study Group (IPMSSG) has updated its guidelines regarding the participation of children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) in clinical trials. The new series of guidelines were published recently inĀ Neurology, the journal of theĀ American Academy of NeurologyĀ (AAN), in an article titled…
November 30, 2018 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Gilenya Now Approved in Europe to Treat Children, Adolescents with RRMS Gilenya (fingolimod) was approved by the European Commission as a treatment for children and adolescents, ages 10 to 17, with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), Novartis announced. The therapy is already approved in Europe to treat RRMS patients 18 and older. With this newest decision, Gilenya has become…
September 10, 2018 News by Janet Stewart, MSc MS in Child Considerably Affects Quality of Life for Family, Study Reports Parents of children withĀ pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) report a lower overall quality of life than those whose kids have a condition marked by demyelination but is not a chronic disease, a study reports. The lifelong nature of MS makes all the difference, it said. MonoADS, like MS, is caused by…
December 20, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc FDA Gives Fingolimod a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Relapsing MS in Children The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has givenĀ fingolimodĀ a Breakthrough Therapy designation as a treatment for children 10 years and older and adolescents with relapsing multiple sclerosis. NovartisĀ is marketing it in the United States under the brand name GilenyaĀ for adults with relapsing MS. It has yet to approved…
November 9, 2017 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Survey Helps Improve Communication Between Women with MS and Healthcare Providers A national survey in the U.S. revealed that 98% of women newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis struggle to discuss important personal concerns with their healthcare team.
October 13, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MRI Scans Could Identify Children at High Risk for MS, Yale Study Finds Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans of children could reveal changes associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) before any symptoms are developed, according to a study byĀ scientists at Yale University School of Medicine. The findingsĀ suggest that brain and spinal cord scans can identify children at high risk for developing MS.
October 12, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Fat Intake Increases Risk of Children with MS Having a Relapse, Study Suggests Diet can play an important role in whether children with relapsing multiple sclerosis have a relapse, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco argue. Their study demonstrated that a diet with a lot of fat increases the risk of a youngster having a relapse by 56 percent, with saturated fat tripling the risk. Eating a lot of vegetables, on the other hand, cuts the risk in half, the team said. Since children with MS tend to have relapses more often than adults, the researchers figured they would be a suitable group to study diet's impact on relapse. They recruited 219 children with relapsing-remitting MS or clinically isolated syndrome from 11 centers across the U.S. Clinically isolated syndrome is a condition that can evolve in MS. The research team use a questionnaire known as theĀ Block Kids Food ScreenerĀ to analyze what the youngsters ate. They tracked the children an average of almost two years, which was plenty of time for relapses to occur. And, in fact, they did occur in 42.5 percent of the group. It turned out that fat had a particularly devastating effect on the youngsters' relapse rate. For every 10 percent increase in energy intake that came from fat, there was a 56 percent increase in the children's risk of having a relapse. Saturated fats were the biggest driver of risk. When researchers look only at these fats, they discovered that the risk more than tripled. Examples of saturated fats include processed meats such as sausages, ham, and burgers, butter,Ā hard cheeses, and whole milk. Vegetables had the opposite effect on risk, the researchers observed. Using a cup equivalent as a standardized measure, they learned that for every additional cup of vegetables the children ate, the risk of a relapse dropped in half. To exclude the possibility that other factors influenced the results, the team included information about age, sex, ethnicity, duration of disease, body mass index, treatment, and D-vitamin levels in their analyses. This did not influence the results. The team also looked at whether other food components, such as sugar, iron, fruit and fiber, would affect the risk of relapse. They did not find any links. Although the risk associations were strong, the researchers cautioned that the study's observational design meant that it was not able to prove that fat causes relapses. But there are several ways that fat could play a role in disease processes, they argued. For instance, high fat intake triggers the release of inflammation-promoting molecules. It also affectsf gut bacteria that are linked to immune processes. Vegetables lower the risk of inflammation and immune problems, the team said. In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Kathryn Fitzgerald of theĀ Johns Hopkins School of MedicineĀ said the study had important limitations. Researchers gathered information on the children's diet only in the week before they enrolled in the study. This might not adequately capture more long-term dietary patterns, she said. And fat is not simply fat, she pointed out, arguing that fish oil is believed to help MS patients. Although the California research offers insight, she called for long-term studies to define diet's role in MS.
September 7, 2017 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #MSParis2017 – Gilenya Reduces Relapses in Children and Adolescents with MS, Novartis Trial Shows Gilenya decreased relapses in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis in the phase 3 PARADIGMS trial, according to the therapy's developer, Novartis. The Swiss company will present the trial's results at the 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS meeting, set for Oct. 25-28 in Paris. The study addressed the safety and efficacy of an oral, once-daily dose of Gilenya in 215 MS patients aged 10 to 17. Participants received 0.5 mg or 0.25 mg of Gilenya, according to their body weight, and results were compared with those of intramuscular Avonex (interferon beta-1a given once weekly). The trial ā conducted at 87 sites in 25 countries ā was designed in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the International Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Study Group. Gilenya led to a "clinically meaningful decrease in the number of relapses" over a period of up to two years, compared to Avonex, according to the trial. The safety results of Gilenya matched those observed in previous trials, with adverse events more likely among the Avonex group. Importantly, the PARADIGMS trial is the first-ever randomized, controlled Phase 3 study of a disease-modifying therapy in pediatric MS. No treatment is currently available for children and adolescents with MS. Novartis will now complete a thorough evaluation of the results and later submit Gilenya for approval by regulatory agencies. It will also extend the study to a five-year period.
August 11, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Children and Teens with Multiple Sclerosis Consume Less Iron, Study Reports Children with multiple sclerosis consume less iron, which may affect their immune and nervous systems, according to a study. Most MS cases occur between the ages of 20 and 40, but sometimes children under 18 develop it. Pediatric-onset MS, as it is called, is believed to account for 3 to 5 percent of cases that adults have now. Despite their low frequency, they are important because "the study of factors early in life which could affect their disease may provide important insight into the disease more generally," the researchers from the Network of Pediatric MS Centers wrote. One of the factors that could be important in the onset of MS is diet. But little has been known about how diet influences the risk and progression of the disease, particularly in pediatric MS. In a study funded by the National MS Society, researchers decided to investigate the association between diet and MS in children, according to a press release. The team recruited 312 MS patients 18 and younger from 16 children's hospitals in the United States, and 456 controls without MS. The participants, or their parents, answered a questionnaire dealing with the participants' medical history, their physical development, and whether they were exposed to potentially harmful environmental factors. The questionnaire also covered demographic information and race. Researchers used the Block Kids Food Screener questionnaire to obtain information about the participants' diets, including their intake of fiber, fat, carbohydrates, proteins, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and iron. The analysis showed no meaningful link between the consumption of fiber, fat, carbohydrates, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products and children's development of MS. Children with the disease did have lower iron intake than the controls, however. Although in this exploratory study researchers didnāt look at whether there was a cause-and-effect relationship between iron and MS, the results suggested that children with the disease may be less likely to consume iron, a fact that warrants further investigation. Iron is a vital mineral for our body to function properly, and low iron intake may affect the immune and nervous systems. Future studies on the risk of children developing MS should "investigate the role of specific vitamins and minerals," the team said. They should also "investigate the influence of dietary factors on disease outcomes in already established" cases of MS.
June 13, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Life Lessons from Children: Fall Down, Get Up and Don’t Stop Trying I have had the privilege of watching several children grow into adulthood, and witnessing their transformation has been priceless. I haveĀ experienced extreme joy, sorrow, pride, and disappointment; all of the many emotions associated with life itself. However, what I find truly amazing is the innocence and determination of…
February 21, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias I Have MS. Do I Tell the Kids? It’s a question that nearly every MS patient faces. When do I tell my children about my multiple sclerosis, and what’s the best way to do it? In early January I wrote a column about sharing an MS diagnosis. It was prompted by a reader who had told…
September 14, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – Danish Children of MS Parents Perform Better Than Average in School Danish children of parents with multiple sclerosis (MS) are not hampered in their educational efforts by illness in the home,Ā according to a study findingĀ these children earned higher grades than their peersĀ through elementary and into their high school years. The study, āChildren of parents with multiple sclerosis attain higher…
September 6, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Parents of Youngsters with MS Voice Needs and Frustrations in Study A study exploring the difficulties parents experience when their childĀ develops multiple sclerosis (MS) foundĀ that more support and education ā from healthcare and school staff, as well as by parents themselves ā is key to easing the burden of a child or teenager with this disease. The study, āParentsā…