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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1475161
This article is part of the Research Topic Monoclonal antibodies in treating multiple sclerosis (MS), and related diseases. View all 6 articles

The effect of Natalizumab on SDMT is higher in Pediatric-Onset than Adult-Onset Multiple Sclerosis

Provisionally accepted
Marco Puthenparampil Marco Puthenparampil 1,2*Graziana Scialpi Graziana Scialpi 1Marta Gaggiola Marta Gaggiola 1,2Giovanni Zanotelli Giovanni Zanotelli 1,2Alessandro MIscioscia Alessandro MIscioscia 1Angela Berardi Angela Berardi 1Alice Riccardi Alice Riccardi 1Margherita Nosadini Margherita Nosadini 2,3Stefano Sartori Stefano Sartori 2,3Paola Perini Paola Perini 2Francesca Rinaldi Francesca Rinaldi 2Paolo Gallo Paolo Gallo 1,2
  • 1 Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
  • 2 Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria, Centri Sclerosi Multipla, Padova, Italy
  • 3 Department of Women's and Children's Health, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Padua, Padua, Veneto, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background. A wide range of cognitive deficits has been described also in Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis (POMS) patients. Thus, the therapeutic approach should be designed on both preventing cognitive worsening and enhancing cognitive improvement. Aim. We explored the effect of natalizumab (NTZ) on Symbol Digit Modality Test (SDMT) in both POMS and Adult-Onset MS (AOMS). Method. Sixty-three patients (34 AOMS and 29 POMS) were enrolled in this retrospective, single-centre study. Patients were clinically and radiologically followed up every six months. They also perform SDMT at baseline and after at least 24 months. SDMT values were reported as corrected values (cSDMT) and z-scores (zSDMT). Annualized cSDMT and zSDMT was calculated dividing the difference between scores by follow-up (expressed in years). Results.Although annualized cSDMT and zSDMT improved in both POMS and AOMS, the improvement was significantly higher in POMS than in AOMS (+3.85±4.32 vs +1.76±2.80, p=0.010 for cSDMT, 0.41±0.40 vs 0.25±0.34, p=0.026 for zSDMT). After a re-baseline at month 6, 93% of POMS ( 27patients) and 85.3% of AOMS (29 patients, p=0.84) were NEDA-3. NEDA-3 condition, as well as any clinical and demographic parameter at baseline, did not explain SDMT improvement.The favorable outcomes observed in clinical, radiological, and neuropsychological parameters that we observed in our study support the consideration of natalizumab as a viable treatment option in POMS.

    Keywords: Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Pediatric onset multiple sclerosis, natalizumab, Multiple Sclerosis, Neuropsychological outcome

    Received: 02 Aug 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Puthenparampil, Scialpi, Gaggiola, Zanotelli, MIscioscia, Berardi, Riccardi, Nosadini, Sartori, Perini, Rinaldi and Gallo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marco Puthenparampil, Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

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