Paediatric multiple sclerosis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in Germany: results of a nationwide survey.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of paediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) in Germany. In a prospective nationwide survey carried out between 1997 and 1999, all registered new cases of paediatric MS and ADEM with an onset before the age of 16 years were evaluated using a standardised questionnaire. A total of 132 patients with suspected or definite MS and 28 patients with an assumed diagnosis of ADEM were reported. Among these, 82% of the MS patients were 10 years of age or older, as opposed to 18% in the ADEM-cohort. The female-to-male ratio was 1.2:1 in the MS-cohort and 0.8:1 in the ADEM-cohort. Manifestation was polysymptomatic in 67% of the MS patients compared to 86% of the ADEM patients. The most frequent primary symptoms in the MS-cohort were cerebellar (44%), sensory (39%) or visual (36%), followed by brainstem (30%), pyramidal (29%) and cerebromental (22%) complaints.


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of paediatric MS in Germany is more than fourfold higher than that of paediatric ADEM; in addition, it shows a strikingly different age-distribution. With an estimated minimum of 50 new cases per year, the incidence of paediatric MS in Germany is much more frequent than previously believed.
Pohl
Daniela
D
Department of Paediatrics and Paediatric Neurology, Georg-August-University, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.
Hennemuth
Isabell
I
von Kries
Rüdiger
R
Hanefeld
Folker
F
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D004673:Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires