Attack phenotypes and disease course in pediatric MOGAD
Journal: Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology; March 31, 2023
Author(s): Jonathan D. Santoro, Timothy Beukelman, Cheryl Hemingway, Suvi R. K. Hokkanen, Frank Tennigkeit, Tanuja Chitnis
Early symptoms and disease progression for MOGAD in children
MOGAD has different symptomatic and clinical features in children than adults. This study aimed to evaluate how MOGAD first shows up and what the disease course looks like in children, by carefully reviewing papers published on MOGAD in children between January 2010 and January 2022. The most common initial symptom, especially in children below the age of 5 was acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), which means intense inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve) and transvers myelitis were the next most common early symptoms. About 25% children have at least one relapse, usually within 3 years of the first episode. The relapse often includes optic neuritis, even if there was no optic neuritis in the first episode. It remains unclear what factors may increase the risk of a relapse.
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