Applying a genetic risk score model to enhance prediction of future multiple sclerosis diagnosis at first presentation with optic neuritis.

Optic neuritis (ON) is associated with numerous immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, but 50% patients are ultimately diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Differentiating MS-ON from non-MS-ON acutely is challenging but important; non-MS ON often requires urgent immunosuppression to preserve vision. Using data from the United Kingdom Biobank we showed that combining an MS-genetic risk score (GRS) with demographic risk factors (age, sex) significantly improved MS prediction in undifferentiated ON; one standard deviation of MS-GRS increased the Hazard of MS 1.3-fold (95% confidence interval 1.07-1.55, P < 0.01). Participants stratified into quartiles of predicted risk developed incident MS at rates varying from 4% (95%CI 0.5-7%, lowest risk quartile) to 41% (95%CI 33-49%, highest risk quartile). The model replicated across two cohorts (Geisinger, USA, and FinnGen, Finland). This study indicates that a combined model might enhance individual MS risk stratification, paving the way for precision-based ON treatment and earlier MS disease-modifying therapy.

A student-led public education project on dermatology in skin of colour.

Despite the UK's population rapidly diversifying, the representation of dermatological conditions in skin of colour in education, medical resources, and clinical practice is lagging. Furthermore, resources and advancements created by recent initiatives appear not to be communicated to the general public and are not integrated into medical curricula. In this perspective article, we share our experience from a public-engagement campaign in South West England and propose that student-led initiatives hold the potential to close the existing gap in diversity and racial equity in dermatology by communicating recent efforts within the medical field to the general public. We describe how student-led initiatives allow medical students to advocate for diversity and equity within their institutions while delivering much-needed education to ethnically minoritised communities.