Childhood multiple sclerosis is associated with reduced brain volumes at first clinical presentation and brain growth failure

Background:Paediatric multiple sclerosis (pedMS) patients at a single site were shown to have reduced brain volumes and failure of age-expected brain growth compared to healthy controls. However, the precise time of onset of brain volume loss remains unclear.Objective:To longitudinally study brain volumes in a multi-centre European cohort at first presentation and after 2 years.Methods:Brain volumes of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 37 pedMS patients at first presentation prior to steroid therapy and at 2-year follow-up (n = 21) were compared to matched longitudinal MRI data from the NIH Paediatric MRI Data Repository.Results:Patients showed significantly reduced whole brain, grey and white matter and increased ventricular volumes at initial presentation and at follow-up compared to controls. Over 2 years, patients exhibited significant reduction of whole brain and white matter volumes, accompanied by increased ventricular volume. Brain volume loss at follow-up correlated with ...