How MRI Can Help Detect MS in Children Before They Start to Develop Symptoms

Yale University scientists have developed a way to use MRI to determine if a child is at high risk for developing multiple sclerosis (MS) before they start exhibiting symptoms.

In a study published in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, researchers evaluated MRI scans of 38 children across 16 different facilities in six countries who had demonstrated signs of MS. The children underwent the neuroimaging procedure for various reasons, but many received scans for headaches. The researchers found that around 42 percent of the children later developed symptoms of MS about two years after their MRI. Children who had spinal cord lesions or a certain marker in spinal fluid had the highest instance of being diagnosed with MS.

Before these findings, MRI scans presenting signs of MS without corresponding symptoms, or radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS), had only been noted in adult patients. “Children with RIS may represent a high-risk group of children that needs to be followed more closely for the later development of clinical multiple sclerosis,” said lead author Naila Makhani, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics (neurology) and neurology. “We hope that our work will help inform expert guidelines for how to follow up children with RIS and help us accurately inform families of the risk of later developing multiple sclerosis, something we were previously unable to do.”