Novotná, Martina

Objective: To evaluate the impact of age on recovery from multiple sclerosis relapses. Background: Increasing disability in multiple sclerosis is a consequence of progressive disease and incomplete relapse recovery. Methods: The first and last-ever relapse data (357 relapses in 193 patients) from the Olmsted County population-based multiple sclerosis cohort were systematically reviewed for age, fulminance, location (optic nerve, brainstem/cerebellar, spinal cord), peak deficit, and maximum recovery. Three different relapse-outcome measures were studied both as paired analyses and as an overall group effect: change from peak deficit to maximum recovery in raw functional system score related to the relapse (ΔFSS), a previously published FSS-based relapse-impact model, and change from peak deficit to maximum recovery in Extended Disability Status Scale (ΔEDSS) score. Results: Older age was linearly associated with worse recovery in the ΔFSS outcome ( p = 0.002), ΔEDSS outcome ( p < 0.001), and the FSS-based relapse-impact model ( p < 0.001). A multivariate analysis of ΔFSS outcome linked poor recovery to older age ( p = 0.015), relapse location (transverse myelitis or brainstem/cerebellar syndrome; p < 0.001), and relapse fulminance ( p = 0.004). Conclusion: Multiple sclerosis-relapse recovery declines in a linear fashion with increased age, which should be considered when making treatment decisions.

SummaryBackgroundAnti‐TNFα biologics induce and maintain remission in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Also, they have been reported to induce or unmask idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (IIDD).AimTo determine if anti‐TNFα biologics increased the risk of IIDD in a large cohort of patients with IBD.MethodsWe retrospectively identified adult patients referred to the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN for management of IBD from a five state capture area (Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa) between 1996 and 2010. IIDDs were identified in both Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients with and without anti‐TNFα exposure using the 2010 McDonald MRI criteria. The risk of IIDDs in patients with and without anti‐TNFα exposure was estimated for IBD; CD and UC groups separately.ResultsA total of 9095 patients with IBD were identified (4342 CD and 4753 UC). Four patients with CD with exposure to anti‐TNFα agents (4/2054) and five patients with CD without anti‐TNFα exposure (5/2288) developed a confirmed IIDD. One patient with UC with exposure to anti‐TNFα agents (1/1371) and five patients with UC without anti‐TNFα agents developed a confirmed IIDD (5/3382). The per cent of IIDDs in patients with and without anti‐TNFα exposure was; IBD: 0.15% and 0.18% (RR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.28–2.42; P = 0.729); CD: 0.19% and 0.22% (RR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.24–3.31; P = 0.863); UC: 0.07% and 0.15% (RR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.06–4.22; P = 0.510).ConclusionAnti‐TNFα biologics do not appear to impact the risk of developing clinical idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating disease in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.