Abstract
IMPORTANCE: Multiple sclerosis can also affect children. Approximately 3-10% of patients develop multiple sclerosis before the age of 16. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this analysis is to describe the characteristics of pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis who started their treatment with disease-modifying drugs in 2013-2020, with data obtained from the Czech National Registry of patients with multiple sclerosis. DESIGN AND SETTING: A method of retrospective analysis conducted with 134 pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis was used. RESULTS: The findings reveal that the mean age at the date of the introduction of the first disease-modifying drugs treatment is 15.89 years, and gender does not play any role. In addition, moderate (51.6%) and mild (45.2%) relapses are predominant in these young patients. Seventy five percent of patients will not experience a confirmed progression of the expanded disability status scale within 54.7 months from starting the treatment. Furthermore, the results confirm that the first-choice treatment is interferon beta-a and glatiramer acetate, which is common for adult patients. However, some factors, such as a low efficacy or a lack of tolerance may impact on treatment discontinuation in children. CONCLUSION: More research should be performed on novel disease-modifying drugs for this target group.