Living an Inspirational Life With Pediatric MS: Brenda Banwell, MD

WATCH TIME: 4 minutes 

“All of them [patients with pediatric MS], the common theme was they took ownership of their disease. It wasn't me, it wasn't the therapies I gave them, it was this innate resilience that ‘I'm going to be who I am, and this disease isn't going to stop that. It may reshape some of the things I do, but it doesn't change who I am.’”

An oral presentation on fingolimod’s (Gilenya; Novartis) superior efficacy in comparison with interferon (IFN) β-1a for patients with pediatric multiple sclerosis (PedMS) from the PARADIGMS trial (NCT01892722) was given at the 2022 European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) Congress, from October 26-28, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, by Brenda Banwell, MD.

In previous research conducted by Banwell and colleagues, fingolimod improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in comparison with IFN β-1a in patients with pediatric-onset MS (PoMS) in both the self-reported and parent-reported scores of the Pediatric Quality of Life scale (4.66 vs -1.16, P ≤.001 and 2.71 vs -1.02, P ≤.05).2 In this previous randomized study, patients with PoMS (N = 215) aged 10 to18 years old were given fingolimod (N = 107) orally once-daily or once-weekly intramuscular IFN β-1a (N=108).

In a recent interview with NeurologyLive^®, Banwell, chief of neurology, codirector of the neuroscience Center, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, professor of neurology and Pediatrics, the University of Pennsylvania, discussed more about the patient perspective of pediatric MS and how children continue to strive despite their condition. She spoke about the promising stories of patients when they leave and reconnect, and why they give her the motivation to keep doing her job.

REFERENCES
 1. Deiva K, Banwell B, Gärtner J. Long-term efficacy and safety of fingolimod in paediatric multiple sclerosis patients: analysis of PARADIGMS study up to 6 years of treatment. Presented at: 2022 ECTRIMS Congress; October 26-28; Amsterdam, Netherlands. Oral Presentation 69
2. Krupp L, Banwell B, Chitnis T, et al. Effect of fingolimod on health-related quality of life in paediatric patients with multiple sclerosis: results from the phase 3 PARADIGMS Study. BMJ Neurol Open. 2022;4(1):e000215. Published 2022 Feb 24. doi:10.1136/bmjno-2021-000215