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Paediatric multiple sclerosis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in Germany: results of a nationwide survey

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Abstract

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. Conclusion: 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.

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Abbreviations

ADEM:

acute disseminated encephalomyelitis

CSF:

cerebrospinal fluid

EP:

evoked potentials

ESPED:

Erhebungseinheit für seltene pädiatrische Erkrankungen in Deutschland (German Surveillance Unit for Rare Paediatric Disorders)

MRI:

magnetic resonance imaging

MS:

multiple sclerosis

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported grants of the Gemeinnützige Hertiestiftung (GHS 191/00). The authors thank all of the Departments of Paediatrics in Germany for their cooperation and contributions to the study and Frau Beate Heinrich, ESPED-office, for excellent assistance and coordination of the ESPED-survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics and Paediatric Neurology, Georg-August-University, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Folker Hanefeld

  2. Institute of Social Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Rüdiger von Kries

  3. Department of Paediatrics and Paediatric Neurology, Georg-August-University, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Daniela Pohl & Isabell Hennemuth

Authors
  1. Daniela Pohl
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  2. Isabell Hennemuth
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  3. Rüdiger von Kries
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  4. Folker Hanefeld
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Folker Hanefeld.

Additional information

This paper is dedicated to Prof. Dr. Helmut Bauer for his continuing encouragement and support of research in paediatric MS.

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Pohl, D., Hennemuth, I., von Kries, R. et al. Paediatric multiple sclerosis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in Germany: results of a nationwide survey. Eur J Pediatr 166, 405–412 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-006-0249-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-006-0249-2

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