MRI Research and At-Risk MS Children

MRI scans may be able to diagnose children at high risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) before symptoms even show.  

Multiple sclerosis is a complex and long-spanning illness that affects up to 2.5 million people worldwide and 400,000 people in the United States. Symptoms tend to only show once in adulthood and progresses as one ages.  

Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine have started preliminary studies into possible signs of MS. One such early sign that can lead to MS is called Radiologically Isolated Syndrome, or RIS. These are lesions that indicate a loss of myelin in the spinal fluid.

After a number of scans, and across 38 children volunteers, the research has some interesting results to share. Children that had a lesion in their spinal fluid, or who had MRI changes in their spinal cord, were at greater risk of developing MS.

Lead author Naila Makhani, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at Yale School of Medicine, said, ““For the first time we have proposed a definition of RIS in children.” She continued, “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.”

Dr. Makhani noted that five children is not a large enough sample to accurately draw conclusions. However they did receive medical treatment that will ideally prevent the condition later in life.

MRI machines and the technologists that run them save lives everyday. Learn more about the MRI services offered by Sound Imaging.