Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) exert a psychological and physiological toll that increases risk of chronic conditions, poorer social functioning, and cognitive impairment in adulthood. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between childhood adversity and clinical disease features in multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS: Sixty-seven participants with MS completed the ACE assessment and neuropsychological assessments as part of a larger clinical trial of cognitive remediation. RESULTS: Adverse childhood experience scores, a measure of exposure to adverse events in childhood, significantly predicted age of MS onset (r = -0.30, p = 0.04). ACEs were also linked to reading recognition (a proxy for premorbid IQ) (r = -0.25, p = 0.04). ACE scores were not related to age, current disability, or current level of cognitive impairment measured by the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). CONCLUSION: Childhood adversity may increase the likelihood of earlier age of onset and poorer estimated premorbid IQ in MS.

BACKGROUND: Salt intake was reported to be associated with increased clinical and MRI activity in adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE: To determine if salt intake is associated with time to relapse in patients with paediatric-onset MS. METHODS: Paediatric-onset MS and patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) within 4 years of disease onset were recruited from 15 paediatric MS centres in the USA as part of a case-control study. Patients with available prospective relapse data subsequent to enrolment were included in this project. Dietary sodium intake was assessed by self-report questionnaire using the validated Block Kids Food Screener. Cox proportional-hazards regression models were employed to determine the association of sodium density, excess sodium intake and sodium density tertiles with time to relapse following study enrolment, adjusting for several confounders. RESULTS: 174 relapsing-remitting MS/CIS patients were included in this analysis (mean age of 15.0 years, and 64.9% females). Median duration of follow-up was 1.8 years. In an unadjusted analysis, density of daily sodium intake was not associated with time to relapse, and patients with excess sodium intake had no decrease in time to relapse as compared with patients with non-excess sodium intake. The multivariable analysis demonstrated that patients in the medium and high tertile of sodium density had a HR of 0.69 (95% CI 0.37 to 1.30, p=0.25) and 1.37 (95% CI 0.74 to 2.51, p=0.32) compared with patients in the lowest tertile, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Higher salt intake was not associated with decreased time to relapse in patients with paediatric-onset MS.

BACKGROUND: Genetic ancestry, sex, and individual alleles have been associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether established risk factors for disease onset are associated with relapse rate in pediatric MS. METHODS: Whole-genome genotyping was performed for 181 MS or high-risk clinically isolated syndrome patients from two pediatric MS centers. Relapses and disease-modifying therapies were recorded as part of continued follow-up. Participants were characterized for 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum status. Ancestral estimates (STRUCTURE v2.3.1), human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1*15 carrier status (direct sequencing), sex, and a genetic risk score (GRS) of 110 non-HLA susceptibility single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were evaluated for association with relapse rate with Cox and negative binomial regression models. RESULTS: Over 622 patient-years, 408 relapses were captured. Girls had greater relapse rate than boys (incident rate ratio (IRR) = 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04-1.87, p = 0.026). Participants were genetically diverse; ~40% (N = 75) had <50% European ancestry. HLA-DRB1*15 status modified the association of vitamin D status (pixn = 0.022) with relapse rate (per 10 ng/mL, in DRB1*15+ hazard ratio (HR) = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.58-0.88, p = 0.002; in DRB1*15- HR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.83-1.12, p = 0.64). Neither European ancestry nor GRS was associated with relapse rate. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that HLA-DRB1*15 modifies the association of vitamin D status with relapse rate. Our findings emphasize the need to pursue disease-modifying effects of MS genes in the context of environmental factors.

Background: Pregnancy is a period of relative disease quiescence for a majority of women with multiple sclerosis (MS). Though the use of disease modifying therapies (DMTs) is discouraged during pregnancy, specific recommendations with respect to breastfeeding or timing of cessation of DMT use as well as reinitiation of DMT postpartum are often unclear. Objective: Our primary objective is to examine the pregnancy making decisions of women with MS enrolled in the New York State MS Consortium (NYSMSC) and the associations with clinical outcomes. Methods: 800 women enrolled in the NYSMSC were mailed a questionnaire inquiring on reproductive history and reproductive decision-making. Longitudinally collected information including demographics, disease characteristics (MS type, relapses), EDSS, DMT history, and patient-reported outcomes are available from the 20-year ongoing prospective NYSMSC registry. Results: To date, 477 questionnaires have been received. Of the 365 women who responded to specific pregnancy questions, 97 (26.6%) reported at least one pregnancy or pregnancy attempt after diagnosis of MS. Of those who attempted pregnancy post- MS diagnosis, 64 (66%) reported at least one successful pregnancy, while 21 (21.7%) reported that they were unable to conceive, and several were still trying. The majority of women (61.1%) resumed the same DMT they had been taking before their pregnancy, and 65.4% resumed DMT use within 6 months of delivery. Ten women (10.3%) reported relapses during pregnancy. There were no significant differences in age or DMT use between women who reported relapses and women who did not. Women who reported relapses during pregnancy were also more likely to report relapses in the 12 months prior to the pregnancy (p=0.020). Sixteen women reported a relapse in the 12 months before pregnancy; of those, 11 (68.8%) also reported relapses in the 12 months after pregnancy. Of the 55 women who did not have a relapse in the 12 months before pregnancy; 15 (29.1%) reported having a relapse in the 12 months after pregnancy. The difference between the two groups was significant (p-value=0.004). Conclusion: A substantial portion of women with MS will intend to become pregnant after their MS diagnosis. As such, it is essential that evidence-based information is available to young women with MS. Additional analyses will be presented in a larger sample with respect to the effect and type of DMT used before and after pregnancy on relapses