Evaluating Efficacy Outcomes in Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Patients While Using Avonex or Plegridy via USNPMSC Registry
This study evaluated the efficacy of the multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapies, intramuscular interferon beta-1a (Avonex) and subcutaneous peginterferon beta-1a (Plegridy), using data from the United States Network of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers. In this retrospective analysis, 154 patients with multiple sclerosis were included who were treated with Avonex (n = 130), Plegridy (n = 23), or both treatments (n = 1) before the age of 18 years. After 3 months' sustained use acclimation ("wash-in"), the probability of being relapse-free during the first year was 68.3% for Avonex-treated patients and 69.9% for Plegridy-treated patients; annualized relapse rates were 0.50 and 0.59, respectively. Both disease-modifying therapies demonstrated efficacy similar to that reported in adult populations. Despite the lack of formal approval for pediatric multiple sclerosis, these outcomes indicate that patients may benefit from treatment with Avonex or Plegridy. Understanding efficacy of specific disease-modifying therapies in pediatric multiple sclerosis is essential to making informed treatment decisions.
Authors
- Aaron W. Abrams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4607-5740)
- Jan-Mendelt Tillema (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6933-8913)
- Mark Gorman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3694-8832)
- Lauren Krupp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7003-807X)
- Nikita Malani Shukla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7322-676X)
- Leslie A. Benson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1680-4834)
- Emmanuelle L. Waubant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5188-0157)
- Yolanda Wheeler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1391-4496)
- John W. Rose (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2382-5921)
- Skyler Peterson
- Moses Rodriguez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6328-6497)
- Bradley J. Barney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4348-2914)
- Teri Schreiner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3816-812X)
- Tanuja Chitnis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9897-4422)
- Megan Vignos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7755-2781)
- Melissa A. Wright (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7804-9627)
- Soe Mar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8449-2003)
- Mary R. Rensel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9613-8394)
- Timothy E. Lotze (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2898-1963)
- Theron Charles Casper (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7512-1294)
- Michael Waltz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8859-0362)
Institutions
- Boston Children's Hospital (US)
- Biogen (United States) (US)
- Cleveland Clinic (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- University of Utah (US)
- Children's of Alabama (US)
- NYU Langone Health (US)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- Children's Hospital Colorado (US)
- Mayo Clinic in Arizona (US)
- Multiple Sclerosis Center Of Northeastern New York (US)
- Texas Children's Hospital (US)
- University of Colorado Denver (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Child Neurology
- Published
- 2025-09-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/08830738251367460
- Primary Topic
- Multiple Sclerosis Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00