paediatric uk demyelinating disease longitudinal study (puddls)英国儿科脱髓鞘疾病(puddls)的纵向研究.pdf

Absoud et al. BMC Pediatrics 2011, 11:68 /1471-2431/11/68 STUDY PROTOCOL Open Access Paediatric UK demyelinating disease longitudinal study (PUDDLS) 1,2* 1 3 4 5 3 Michael Absoud , Carole Cummins , Wui K Chong , Christian De Goede , Katharine Foster , Roxanna Gunny , 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Cheryl Hemingway , Philip Jardine , Rachel Kneen , Marcus Likeman , Ming J Lim , Mike Pike , Naomi Sibtain , William P Whitehouse13 and Evangeline Wassmer2 Abstract Background: There is evidence that at least 5% of Multiple sclerosis (MS) cases manifest in childhood. Children with MS present with a demyelinating episode involving single or multiple symptoms prior to developing a second event (usually within two years) to then meet criteria for diagnosis. There is evidence from adult cohorts that the incidence and sex ratios of MS are changing and that children of immigrants have a higher risk for developing MS. A paediatric population should reflect the vanguard of such changes and may reflect trends yet to be observed in adult cohorts. Studying a paediatric population from the first demyelinating event will allow us to test these hypotheses, and may offer further valuable insights into the genetic and environmental interactions in the pathogenesis of MS. Methods/Design: The Paediatric UK Demyelinating Disease Longitudinal Study (PUDDLS) is a prospective longitudinal observational study which aims to determine the natural history, predictors and outcomes of childhood CNS inflammatory demyelinating diseases. PUDDLS will involve centres in the UK, and