Multiple sclerosis under the age of ten: the challenge of a rare diagnosis in a special population - a case series.

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating and degenerative disease of the central nervous system which, when it begins before the age of 18, is defined as paediatric MS. Most common clinical presentations include long tract involvement, brainstem/cerebellum syndromes, optic neuritis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Paediatric-onset MS typically has a more inflammatory-active course and a higher lesion burden in imaging studies, but an extensive post-relapse recovery, with a slower long-term disability progression. The first demyelinating clinical attack occurs before 10 years old in less than 1% of patients, and, in this special population, the condition has particularities in clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, diagnostic assessment, current treatment options and outcome. Clinical cases: We present the cases of four Caucasian children (2 girls) diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS before the age of ten, with a mean age at the time of the first relapse of 7.4 ± 2.4 years. Clinical presentation included optic neuritis, myelitis, brainstem syndrome, and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Baseline MRI identified several lesions, frequently large and ill-defined. Two patients were included in clinical trials and two patients remain in clinical and imaging surveillance. Conclusion: Diagnosis of MS before the age of 10 years is rare, but it has significant long-term physical and cognitive consequences, as well as a substantial impact on the current and future quality of life of the child and family. Early and correct diagnosis is essential. Prospective, randomized, large cohort studies are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of disease-modifying treatments in children under the age of ten.

Neutrophil/lymphocyte and monocyte/lymphocyte indexes as potential predictors of relapse at 1 year after diagnosis of pediatric multiple sclerosis: a single-center, exploratory and proof-of-concept study.

Introduction: Early identification of patients with a more unfavorable outcome in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is crucial to optimize individualized treatment. Neutrophil-lymphocyte index (NLI) and monocyte-lymphocyte index (MLI) have been considered as potential biomarkers for disease prognosis. Our study aims to investigate the usefulness of NLI and MLI as predictors of relapse, disability progression, and lesion accumulation on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 1 year after diagnosis and treatment initiation, in pediatric-onset MS. Methods: A retrospective single-center study was conducted, including patients with diagnosis of MS established in pediatric age (<18 years old), at least 1-year of follow-up, and a complete blood count (CBC) performed at diagnosis. We collected the nearest-to-diagnosis NLI and MLI, as well as clinical and imaging variables, at diagnosis and 12 months later. Our cohort was further dichotomized into two groups, based on the presence of relapses. Statistical significance was considered for p < 0.05. Results: Eighteen patients (n = 18) were included. The relapsing group had higher mean, minimum, and maximum values for both NLI (5.17 ± 5.85, range: 1.57-11.92) and MLI (0.35 ± 0.22, range: 0.19-0.59), compared to the non-relapsing group (2.19 ± 1.63, range: 1.12-7.32 for NLI, and 0.24 ± 0.09, range: 0.14-0.44 for MLI). A higher percentage of patients in the relapsing group had increased NLI (>1.89, 66.7%) and MLI (>0.21, 66.7%) values than those in the non-relapsing group (46.7%). Patients who presented new T2-hyperintense lesions on MRI after 1 year of follow-up also had higher mean, minimum, and maximum values of both biomarkers. Patients who did not achieve No Evidence of Disease Activity-3 (NEDA-3) state exhibited higher values for both ratios. However, in our sample, no statistically significant correlations were found between MLI and NLI values and the clinical and imaging variables considered. Conclusion: The ease of obtaining NLI and MLI from routine blood tests renders them useful biomarkers as a screening tool in longitudinal follow-up. Our study was based on a very small sample size, but it allowed us to verify the feasibility of the protocol used. It is intended to involve other centers in the next phase of this work, testing the possible usefulness of the indices under analysis on a larger sample.

Premature closure of ductus arteriosus after a single dose of diclofenac during pregnancy.

A male term neonate was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit in the first hours of life with central cyanosis. Echocardiogram showed severe biventricular hypertrophy, markedly right-sided, tricuspid regurgitation, a patent foramen ovale and a closed ductus arteriosus (CDA). The mother recalled being treated with a single dose of intravenous diclofenac for low back pain 2 weeks earlier. The newborn was started on propranolol with symptomatic improvement and was discharged on day 10. At 1-month follow-up, he showed complete resolution of ventricular hypertrophy and suspended propranolol. In the literature, of the 22 cases of CDA after intrauterine exposure to diclofenac, 11 resolved in utero, 3 required ventilatory and inotropic support and 1 evolved to persistent pulmonary hypertension. In this case, a thorough anamnesis was key to identify the probable cause of an otherwise unexplained transient ventricular hypertrophy. This case also alerts to the fetal risks of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs during the third trimester, requiring close monitoring.

Early Individual and Family Predictors of Weight Trajectories From Early Childhood to Adolescence: Results From the Millennium Cohort Study.

Background: Early infancy and childhood are critical periods in the establishment of lifelong weight trajectories. Parents and early family environment have a strong effect on children's health behaviors that track into adolescence, influencing lifelong risk of obesity. Objective: We aimed to identify developmental trajectories of body mass index (BMI) from early childhood to adolescence and to assess their early individual and family predictors. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study and included 17,165 children. Weight trajectories were estimated using growth mixture modeling based on age- and gender-specific BMI Z-scores, followed by a bias-adjusted regression analysis. Results: We found four BMI trajectories: Weight Loss (69%), Early Weight Gain (24%), Early Obesity (3.7%), and Late Weight Gain (3.3%). Weight trajectories were mainly settled by early adolescence. Lack of sleep and eating routines, low emotional self-regulation, child-parent conflict, and low child-parent closeness in early childhood were significantly associated with unhealthy weight trajectories, alongside poverty, low maternal education, maternal obesity, and prematurity. Conclusions: Unhealthy BMI trajectories were defined in early and middle-childhood, and disproportionally affected children from disadvantaged families. This study further points out that household routines, self-regulation, and child-parent relationship are possible areas for family-based obesity prevention interventions.

Clustering of health-related behaviours and its relationship with individual and contextual factors in Portuguese adolescents: results from a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Health behaviours are shaped early in life and tend to occur in complex specific patterns. We aimed to characterise these patterns among Portuguese adolescents and their association with individual and contextual factors. METHODS: This study was based in the Portuguese 2009/10 survey of Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study, comprising 4036 adolescents. Individuals were grouped using two-step cluster analysis based on 12 behaviours regarding diet, physical activity, screen use and substance use. The association between clusters and individual and contextual factors was analysed using multinomial regression. RESULTS: The median age was 13,6, and 54% were female. Overweight and obesity were highly prevalent (25%). We identified four behavioural clusters: "Active screen users", "Substance users", "Healthy" and "Inactive low fruit and vegetable eaters". Sociodemographics varied across clusters. The "Substance users" and "Active screen users" clusters were associated with poor family communication, academic performance and school attachment and violent behaviours, and the "Inactive low fruit and vegetable eaters" were associated with lower socioeconomic status. CONCLUSION: The understanding of these health-compromising patterns and their social determinants is of use to Public Health, allowing tailored health-promoting interventions. Further research is needed to understand how cluster membership evolves and its influence on nutritional status.