First UK childhood MS incidence study published

Researchers funded by the MS Society and Action Medical Research have found the UK has the highest reported incidence rate in the world of children who experience their first MS-like attack in childhood.  

Every year in the UK around 125 children – that’s ten aged between one and 15 in every million – will experience what’s thought to be their first MS-like attack.

The ‘attack’ is often diagnosed as Clinically Isolated Syndrome, CIS, where symptoms similar to those found in MS, like problems with eyesight or numbness in the hands and feet, flare up and then disappear again. 

It’s thought around one in 20 adults with MS will experience their first symptoms in childhood, but children who experience a second MS attack at a young age are usually diagnosed with childhood MS. 

Researchers working at the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Children’s Hospital also discovered that:

• The average age for the first MS-like symptom was 10 years old

• In children aged 10 years and older, more girls than boys were affected – in keeping with the diagnosis ratio that MS affects twice as many women as men

The results have been published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and were compared with findings from similar studies carried out in Canada and Germany, which reported lower incidence rates.

Tracey and Richard Murdoch’s daughter Emily, from Cannock, was diagnosed with MS when she was 12 years old after years of unexplained symptoms. Emily, now 15, regularly experiences severe fatigue, muscle spasms and problems with numbness in her hands and legs. She horse rides regularly and hopes to one day compete at the Paralympic Games in the three day event.

Tracey said: “Emily was three and a half when she had her first MS symptom but at the time we didn’t know it was MS because her doctor couldn’t explain it. Childhood MS is rare and there’s very little support available for teenage kids – we felt so isolated, but we got support by speaking to other families affected by MS.”

 Dr Doug Brown the head of biomedical research at the MS Society, said: “Historically MS has always been considered as an older person’s condition, but we’re now seeing people diagnosed much younger, so the more we understand about childhood MS the better health professionals can be at diagnosing the condition and offering treatment and vital support to young people and their families.”

For more information on childhood MS or other research funded by the MS Society see website www.mssociety.org.uk.