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Jakimovski D, Awan S, Eckert SP, Farooq O, Weinstock-Guttman B. Multiple Sclerosis in Children: Differential Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Disease-Modifying Treatment. CNS Drugs 2022; 36:45-59. [PMID: 34940954 PMCID: PMC8697541 DOI: 10.1007/s40263-021-00887-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) is a rare neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease that has a significant impact on long-term physical and cognitive patient outcomes. A small percentage of multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnoses occur before the age of 18 years. Before treatment initiation, a careful differential diagnosis and exclusion of other similar acquired demyelinating syndromes such as anti-aquaporin-4-associated neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4-NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody spectrum disorder (MOGSD) is warranted. The recent 2017 changes to the McDonald criteria can successfully predict up to 71% of MS diagnoses and have good specificity of 95% and sensitivity of 71%. Additional measures such as the presence of T1-weighted hypointense lesions and/or contrast-enhancing lesions significantly increase the accuracy of diagnosis. In adults, early use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) is instrumental to a better long-term prognosis, including lower rates of relapse and disability worsening, and numerous FDA-approved therapies for adult-onset MS are available. However, unlike their adult counterparts, the development, testing, and regulatory approval of POMS treatments have been significantly slower and hindered by logistic and/or ethical considerations. Currently, only two MS DMTs (fingolimod and teriflunomide) have been tested in large phase III trials and approved by regulatory agencies for use in POMS. First-line therapies not approved by the FDA for use in children (interferon-β and glatiramer acetate) are also commonly used and result in a significant reduction in inflammatory activity when compared with non-treated POMS patients. An increasing number of POMS patients are now treated with moderate efficacy therapies such as dimethyl fumarate and high-efficacy therapies such as natalizumab, anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies, anti-CD52 monoclonal antibodies, and/or autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These high-efficacy DMTs generally provide additional reduction in inflammatory activity when compared with the first-line medications (up to 62% of relapse-rate reduction). Therefore, a number of phase II and III trials are currently investigating their efficacy and safety in POMS patients. In this review, we discuss potential changes in the regulatory approval process for POMS patients that are recommended for DMTs already approved for the adult MS population, including smaller sample size for pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies, MRI-centered primary outcomes, and/or inclusion of teenagers in the adult trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dejan Jakimovski
- Department of Neurology, Jacobs Comprehensive MS Treatment and Research Center, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Buffalo, 1010 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 USA ,Department of Neurology, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY USA
| | - Samreen Awan
- Department of Neurology, Jacobs Comprehensive MS Treatment and Research Center, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Buffalo, 1010 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 USA
| | - Svetlana P. Eckert
- Department of Neurology, Jacobs Comprehensive MS Treatment and Research Center, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Buffalo, 1010 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 USA
| | - Osman Farooq
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Oishei Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY USA ,Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY USA
| | - Bianca Weinstock-Guttman
- Department of Neurology, Jacobs Comprehensive MS Treatment and Research Center, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Buffalo, 1010 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, 14202, USA.
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Abrams AW, March A, Porat D, Bhayana K, Rensel M. Treatment Updates in Paediatric-onset Multiple Sclerosis. Neurology 2022. [DOI: 10.17925/usn.2022.18.1.42] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A number of new disease-modifying therapies have recently been developed and approved for use in adult-onset multiple sclerosis. However, few treatment options are approved for patients with paediatric-onset multiple sclerosis. There are an increasing number of clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of disease-modifying therapies in children and teens living with multiple sclerosis. Clinical trials are difficult to complete in rare diseases like paediatric-onset multiple sclerosis; however, it is critical to assess safety and monitoring in this vulnerable population by applying robust research methodology to randomized controlled clinical trials. Longer-term extension analyses are also needed to better evaluate the efficacy, dosing and long-term safety of adult disease-modifying therapy for use in paediatric-onset multiple sclerosis. Future research should focus on defining optimal first-line disease-modifying therapy in paediatric-onset multiple sclerosis as related to both efficacy and safety, improving recruitment and completion rates of clinical trials, identifying relevant biomarkers of disease activity, analysing outcome measures related to treatment response and assessing long-term safety for this unique population living with a chronic disease.
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Margoni M, Rinaldi F, Perini P, Gallo P. Therapy of Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis: State of the Art, Challenges, and Opportunities. Front Neurol 2021; 12:676095. [PMID: 34079516 PMCID: PMC8165183 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.676095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Treatment of pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) has been tailored after observational studies and data obtained from clinical trials in adult-onset multiple sclerosis (AOMS) patients. There are an increasing number of new therapeutic agents for AOMS, and many will be formally studied for use also in POMS. However, there are important efficacy and safety concerns regarding the use of these therapies in children and young adults. This review will discuss the current state of the art of POMS therapy and will focus on the newer therapies (oral and infusion disease-modifying drugs) and on those still currently under investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Margoni
- Multiple Sclerosis Centre of the Veneto Region (CeSMuV), University Hospital of Padua, Padua, Italy.,Padova Neuroscience Centre, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Francesca Rinaldi
- Multiple Sclerosis Centre of the Veneto Region (CeSMuV), University Hospital of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Paola Perini
- Multiple Sclerosis Centre of the Veneto Region (CeSMuV), University Hospital of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Paolo Gallo
- Multiple Sclerosis Centre of the Veneto Region (CeSMuV), University Hospital of Padua, Padua, Italy.,Department of Neurosciences, Medical School, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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