Multiple sclerosis in black children

Six cases of childhood multiple sclerosis (MS) are presented. All patients (three boys and three girls) were black and came from the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Age at onset of the disease ranged from 8 to 17 years. Although motor deficits, optic neuritis, and ataxia were similar to those previously reported in pediatric patients, mental symptoms were more prominent and the course more intractable. The pattern of disease was characterized by a high frequency of relapses, with short remission and rapid progression. Within 1 to 7 years, one patient had died, one became severely handicapped, and three were steroid dependent with recurrent relapses. Our findings suggest that MS, though uncommon, exists also in black children. In the cases presented, the clinical course seems to be more malignant than previously reported.