Tanuja Chitnis, MD

“In general, we need to pay more attention to wellness throughout the MS disease course, but especially around relapse recovery. Physical therapy, occupational therapy are a small part of it and then adding on these other factors are probably going to be important.”

In a study presented at the 2020 America’s Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, February 27-29, 2020, researchers led by Marinos Sotiropoulos, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, found that 

 from multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses contributes to 10-year disability in patients with relapsing MS.

Tanuja Chitnis, MD, senior author of the study and director of the Partners Pediatric MS Center at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, pointed out an association between patients with older age and higher rates of incomplete recovery. The study 308 patients who contributed a total of 403 eligible relapses, 50.4% of which had an incomplete recovery at 6 months. There was a significant association between 10-year Expanded Disability Status Scale score and the percentage of relapses with complete recovery (

 to discuss the study results and their implication on predicting long-term outcomes. 

Sotiropoulos MG, Lokhande H, Rosso M, et al. The Contribution Of Relapse Recovery To Long-term Outcomes In MS. Presented at: 2020 ACTRIMS Forum. February 27-29, 2020; West Palm Beach, FL. Abstract LB317.

Videos

The director of the Partners Pediatric MS Center at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children provided insight on the consequences of incomplete relapse recovery in multiple sclerosis.

Tanuja Chitnis, MD: Consequences of Incomplete Recovery in MS 

“As a clinician, it tells me that early treatment and early management, and reducing, potentially, this biomarker at the earliest stage is the most important in long-term outcomes.”

Over the past several years neurofilament light (Nfl) has emerged as an important biomarker of disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) due to the ease of collecting its measurement with a highly sensitive single molecule array (SIMOA) based assay. Although, limited data about the correlation of serum Nfl levels and long-term outcomes in MS has been collected.

Tanuja Chitnis, MD, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues collected 10-year follow-up data to determine how valuable the biomarker could be in prognosticating long-term outcomes for patients with MS. She and her team analyzed data from the CLIMB study, which included more than 100 patients who were at least 5 years post-disease onset and annual blood samples up to 10 years.

To find out more about the findings of the study, 

 spoke with Chitnis in an interview, on the floor from the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum in Dallas, Texas.

1. Chitnis T, Gonzalez CT, Healy BC, et al. Neurofilament light chain serum levels correlate with 10-year MRI outcomes in multiple sclerosis. Poster #3585. Presented at: ACTRIMS Forum; February 28 to March 2, 2019; Dallas, TX. actrims.confex.com/actrims/2019/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/3585. Accessed March 19, 2019.

The professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School spoke about the long-term correlations between neurofilament light chain and MS outcomes.

Tanuja Chitnis, MD: Nfl Levels In Long-Term MS Outcomes

“In addition to the treatment of pediatric MS, it’s important to think about management in the larger sense, and ensuring the child has support at home as well as at school.”

Differentiating pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) from other demyelinating conditions is incredibly important for clinicians, as the earlier a patient can be treated, the better outcomes tend to be.

At the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) 2019 Forum in Dallas, Texas, Tanuja Chitnis, MD, gave a presentation detailing the importance of better understanding this condition and its diagnosis. One of her points was the importance of sending in antibody tests, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and spinal tap in addition to magnetic resonance imaging measures.

To learn more about her methods for diagnosing pediatric MS and about the importance of managing the disease in a larger sense, the professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School spoke with 

The professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School shared her methods for diagnosing pediatric MS and about the importance of managing the disease in a larger sense.

Tanuja Chitnis, MD: Diagnosing Pediatric MS

“It’s very important to understand the differences between these different types of demyelinating or neuroinflammatory disorders which can present in somewhat similar ways.”

At the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) 2019 Forum in Dallas, Texas, Tanuja Chitnis, MD, offered her colleagues and peers findings from work regarding the clinical decision-making process in the treatment of pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS).

She highlighted the major points of which clinicians treating children and teenagers with MS should be aware, noting that there is a broad differential that emerges in any child with a demyelinating disorder such as pediatric MS, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and MOG antibody-associated diseases. While the understanding of the pathogeneses of these disorders is increased, knowing the differences has become essential as the treatment plans vary.

The professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School also provided some advice for clinicians treating pediatric patients with MS and shared her insight regarding her experiences with 

The professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School provided some insight into her experience with treating pediatric patients with MS.

Author | Tanuja Chitnis, MD

Articles

Tanuja Chitnis, MD: Consequences of Incomplete Recovery in MS

Tanuja Chitnis, MD: Nfl Levels In Long-Term MS Outcomes

Tanuja Chitnis, MD: Diagnosing Pediatric MS

Tanuja Chitnis, MD: Differentiating Pediatric MS From Other Demyelinating Disorders