POMS

Rituximab for MS may safely control disease in children, teens

Treatment with rituximab, an approved CD20 inhibitor that’s sometimes used off-label for multiple sclerosis (MS), was found to adequately control the neurodegenerative disease in patients diagnosed during childhood or adolescence, a new study showed. The therapy, given byĀ  infusion into the bloodstream, was generally safe and significantly reduced…

Meaningful Cognitive Gains in Pediatric MS Captured Using Pencil-Paper Test

A computer-based training program that exercises distinct components of attention and working memory can improve cognition in young people with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS), a new study indicates. Findings also support a common pencil-and-paper measure of cognition, called the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), in detecting clinically meaningful changes…

#MSVirtual2020 – Pediatric MS Patients May Do Best on Intravenous DMTs, Study Finds

Most children and adolescents with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS), especially those treated intravenously with a disease-modifying therapyĀ (DMT), achieve no evidence of disease activity within two years of diagnosis, according to a real-life study from the U.S. Patients whose DMTs are infused into a vein (intravenous treatment) areĀ more likely…

Tysabri Treatment Leads to Disease Activity-free Status in Patients with Pediatric-onset MS

Early treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) of patients with aggressive pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis is highly effective at achieving disease activity-free status and preventing cognitive decline, a new study shows. The study, ā€œNo evidence of disease activity including cognition (NEDA-3 plus) in naĆÆve pediatric multiple sclerosis patients treated with natalizumab,ā€…

Pediatric MS Can Be ā€˜Diagnostic Odyssey’

A post in one of the MS social media groups I follow recently asked whether kids can have MS. The writer was worried about her 3-year-old. One commenter replied that her son was diagnosed when he was 9. But, she wrote, his symptoms actually began to appear when he…

#ACTRIMS2019 – No Evidence of Disease Activity Seen in POMS Adolescents Taking Rituximab, Small Study Shows

Data supporting the off-label use of rituximab in adolescents with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) was presented atĀ the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2019. The session, titledĀ ā€œNo Evidence of Disease Activity in the Majority of Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis Patients Receiving Rituximab,ā€…

A Pediatric MS Medication Gets the OK

Until about a week ago, no medication was approved in the U.S. to treat patients with pediatric-onset MS (POMS). Now there is one. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given its OK to use Gilenya (fingolimod) to treat relapsing MS in children and adolescents starting at…

MS Can Be a Kids’ Disease, Too (Part 2)

After I wrote about pediatric MS earlier this month, a reader commented: “I think it would behoove your editorship to follow up to address to audiences…symptoms that typify the early-age demographic.” That’s a good point. So, I drilled deeper into how MS is handled in people younger than…

#MSParis2017 ā€“ Intellectual Enrichment Strategies May Improve Cognitive, Socio-Professional Outcomes of Pediatric-Onset MS

Using strategies to promote intellectual enrichment among patients with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis could be essential to achieving better cognitive, social, and professional performances during adult life, according to researchers at theĀ University of FlorenceĀ in Italy. The finding was theĀ subject of an oral presentation titled, ā€œCognitive reserve is…

#ECTRIMS2016 – Poor Medication Adherence in Pediatric MS Patients Linked to Fatigue, Lack of Routine

Children with multiple sclerosis (MS) inĀ North America identified a number ofĀ challenges inĀ adhering to disease-modifying therapies ā€” a potential first step to devising Ā therapeutic approaches that mightĀ improve adherence to MS medications among young patients and, subsequently, disease outcomes in these children. The results were presented in the talk, ā€œMedication adherence in…