Pediatric multiple sclerosis.
Pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) accounts for up to 5% of all MS cases. Work conducted over the past 5 years has provided new information about the treatment, pathogenesis, demographics, and natural history of this disorder. Genetic and environmental factors seem to exert critical influences on its development. Clinical, MRI and laboratory data from prepubertal and postpubertal children suggest differences between the immune response and/or CNS environment in younger compared with older children and adults with MS. Randomized, controlled treatment trials for pediatric MS have not yet been performed, but therapies used in adult MS have been evaluated in this population, and their use seems to be safe. This article provides a comprehensive review of current knowledge regarding pediatric MS, highlighting new advances in the field.
Yeh
E Ann
EA
Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center of the Jacobs Neurological Institute, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA. ayeh@thejni.org
Chitnis
Tanuja
T
Krupp
Lauren
L
Ness
Jayne
J
Chabas
Dorothée
D
Kuntz
Nancy
N
Waubant
Emmanuelle
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D009656:North America / Q000453:epidemiology; D010372:Pediatrics; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012737:Sex Factors