MS in Children

MS in Children

While it is often thought of as a condition that affects adults, children and adolescents can also be diagnosed with MS, known as pediatric MS.  

The Atlas of MS estimates that there are 2.9 million people living with MS worldwide. However, there is limited global information about how many children have pediatric MS or where they live. Based on information from 53 countries, collected between 2020 and 2022, it is currently estimated that more than 31,000 children and adolescents under 18 are living with MS globally—equating to about 1.49 per 100,000 children. 

Children and adolescents who develop MS face unique challenges. While they recover from relapses more quickly than adults, they experience relapses more frequently and disability progression occurs at a younger age. Without rapid diagnosis and treatment, this has a huge impact on their quality of life and wellbeing.   

Diagnosing MS in children

Diagnosing MS in children poses unique challenges. Symptoms often overlap with other childhood conditions and can develop against a background of a still-developing nervous system. Pediatricians may not be familiar with MS because they are not expecting to see it in children.  

However, as a result of increased awareness of childhood MS among neurologists and advances in technology, the number of children diagnosed with MS is steadily growing. The 2024 McDonald Diagnostic Criteria for MS has also made diagnosing MS in children clearer, by introducing specialised criteria for diagnosing pediatric MS. 

Treating MS in children 

Treatment options that can change the course of disease specifically indicated for children with MS are fewer than in adults, though have improved in recent years.  

In 2018, fingolimod became the first disease modifying therapy (DMT), approved specifically for pediatric MS by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States. Since then, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the drug teriflunomide for children with MS aged 10 and older and the drug dimethyl fumarate for children aged 13 and older. License extensions were also given for pediatric use of glatiramer acetate and beta interferon. In some places, other treatments that are used to treat MS in adults, will also be prescribed off-label to treat children with MS, based on a growing body of evidence around safety in children. 

Beyond these disease modifying treatments, a wide range of treatments can help children with MS to manage symptoms and maintain quality of life. 

The International Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Study Group (IPMSSG) is a network of adult and pediatric neurologists, researchers, representatives of MS organisations and others. The group – which was previously funded by MSIF and our members for many years – aims to improve diagnosis and treatment of pediatric MS. 

Information and support  

If your child has been diagnosed with MS, or MS has been suggested as a possible cause for your child’s symptoms, you may have lots of questions. 

Kids get MS too, Guide is a free booklet providing information to make you feel confident in helping your child manage their MS. This resource was published by the National MS Society in the US in 2019. Download the booklet here. 

Childhood MS: A guide for parents is a free downloadable resource intended to provide answers to some of these questions. It should help you to understand more about the care your child should receive, and the kind of support you are entitled to in order to manage the changes MS can bring. Download the childhood MS guide, published by MSIF in 2015, from the MS Resource Hub here.  

#SonoMoltoAltro is a series of five animated clips that portray authentic journeys into the experience of MS for teenagers. The series was created by the Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla They express what teenagers want others to know about their MS. Each video highlights how essential it is for a young person with MS to know that others have a certain level of understanding about MS and can see that they are much more than their disease. Watch the series in Italian and Polish here. 

Find more resources in the sidebar links.

My Childhood MS

Hear from people with MS who were diagnosed with MS as children.

• MS is just a chapter in my story of resilience: Deanna, Australia
• I was diagnosed with MS when I was twelve years old: Beatriz, Brazil
• I felt down, empty and lonely when I couldn’t go to the school: Hafizuddin, Malaysia
• Kids Get MS Too: Joshua, Doug, Hannah, Peter, United States

Watch Kids Get MS Too on YouTube here.

Beatriz is 17 years old and lives in Brazil. When she was just 13, she had her first symptoms of MS while at school: she experienced tingling in her tongue and numbness down her left-hand side. Over the following two years she had two more attacks, which have increased her anxiety levels. Beatriz has a close family network who support her as much as they can, but a lack of access to information about MS have left them feeling isolated.

Serena (centre) lives in Argentina. A month after turning 13, she started experiencing numbness in her legs. Then she lost her peripheral vision and a few days after that, she lost almost all of her eyesight in her left eye during a relapse. Two months later, she was diagnosed with MS. Serena is now taking a disease modifying drug to reduce the number of relapses she has. Her father describes her as full of energy and living a normal life.