The US Network of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers: Development, Progress, and Next Steps

T Charles Casper; John W Rose; Shelly Roalstad; Emmanuelle Waubant; Gregory Aaen; Anita Belman; Tanuja Chitnis; Mark Gorman; Lauren Krupp; Timothy E Lotze; Jayne Ness; Marc Patterson; Moses Rodriguez; Bianca Weinstock-Guttman; Brittan Browning; Jennifer Graves; Jan-Mendelt Tillema; Leslie Benson; Yolanda Harris; US Network of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers

doi:10.1177/0883073814550656

The US Network of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers: Development, Progress, and Next Steps

J Child Neurol. 2015 Sep;30(10):1381-7. doi: 10.1177/0883073814550656. Epub 2014 Sep 30.

Authors

T Charles Casper¹, John W Rose², Shelly Roalstad³, Emmanuelle Waubant⁴, Gregory Aaen⁵, Anita Belman⁶, Tanuja Chitnis⁷, Mark Gorman⁸, Lauren Krupp⁶, Timothy E Lotze⁹, Jayne Ness¹⁰, Marc Patterson¹¹, Moses Rodriguez¹¹, Bianca Weinstock-Guttman¹², Brittan Browning³, Jennifer Graves¹³, Jan-Mendelt Tillema¹¹, Leslie Benson⁸, Yolanda Harris; US Network of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers

Collaborators

US Network of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers:
J Ness, Y Harris, M Gorman, L Benson, G Aaen, T Chitnis, J Tillema, J M Rodriguez, L Krupp, A Belman, T Lotze, B Weinstock-Guttman, O Farooq, E Waubant, J Graves, T C Casper, J Rose, S Roalstad, T Hunt, C Olsen, T Simmons, W Weber, B Brown, E Roan

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA charlie.casper@hsc.utah.edu.
² Department of Neurology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
³ Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA Department of Pediatrics, Benioff Children's Hospitals, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁵ Pediatric MS Center at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
⁶ Lourie Center for Pediatric MS, Stony Brook Children's Hospital, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
⁷ Partners MS Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁸ Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Related Diseases Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
⁹ Blue Bird Circle Multiple Sclerosis Center, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
¹⁰ UAB Center for Pediatric Onset Demyelinating Disease, Children's Hospital of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, USA.
¹¹ Mayo Clinic's Pediatric MS Center, Rochester, MN, USA.
¹² Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center, Jacobs Neurological Institute, SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
¹³ Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases in the pediatric population have received an increasing level of attention by clinicians and researchers. The low incidence of these diseases in children creates a need for the involvement of multiple clinical centers in research efforts. The Network of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers was created initially in 2006 to improve the diagnosis and care of children with demyelinating diseases. In 2010, the Network shifted its focus to multicenter research while continuing to advance the care of patients. The Network has obtained support from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. The Network will continue to serve as a platform for conducting impactful research in pediatric demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system. This article provides a description of the history and development, organization, mission, research priorities, current studies, and future plans of the Network.

Keywords: NPMSC; demyelinating disease; multicenter research; multiple sclerosis; network.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Age of Onset
Biomedical Research*
Child
Databases, Factual
Goals
Hospitals, Pediatric*
Humans
Multicenter Studies as Topic
Multiple Sclerosis* / diagnosis
Multiple Sclerosis* / etiology
Multiple Sclerosis* / therapy
Pediatrics*
Risk Factors
Societies, Medical
United States

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding