EARLY ONSET OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS - CLINICAL FEATURES

The onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) in childhood is a diagnostic challenge. The aim of our study was to analyze the parameters of MS with an early onset in relation to the symptoms and course of the disease in adult patients. This study included patients treated with signs and symptoms of initial central nrvous system demyelinating disease, which were divided into a group of 52 patiensts who developed the disease before the age of 18 (children) and another group aged 20-55 years (adults). Children rarely had polysymptomatic onset (p=0.020). The most common initial symptoms in children were optic neuritis (35.3%) and ataxia (35.3%). In the group of adult patients, sensory disturbances (41.6%) were the most common initial symptoms, followed by pyramidal symptoms (37.6%). Monitoring the time of second relapse revealed it to have occurred in 40 (78.4%) pediatric patients and 79 (78.2%) adult patients after a median of 12 months and 9 months, respectively. In conclusion, the initial manifestations of MS in children do not differ much from MS in adults according to the disease characteristics.