Wendy Vargas

• Professor (Assistant) at Columbia University

Background Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and spinal MRIs are often obtained in children with the radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) for diagnosis and prognosis. Factors affecting the frequency and timing of these tests are unknown. Objective To determine whether age or sex were associated with (1) having CSF or spinal MRI obtained or (2) the timin...

Abstract Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical trials have included low numbers of patients from racial and ethnic minority populations; therefore, it is uncertain whether differences exist in response to disease-modifying therapies. We evaluated the real-world safety and effectiveness of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) treatment over 5 years in fo...

IntroductionDimethyl fumarate (DMF) showed favorable benefit-risk in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in phase 3 DEFINE and CONFIRM trials and in the ENDORSE extension study. Disease activity can differ in younger patients with MS compared with the overall population.Methods Randomized patients received DMF 240 mg twice dai...

New-onset psychosis in the pediatric population poses many diagnostic challenges. Given the diversity of underlying causes, which fall under the purview of multiple medical specialties, a timely, targeted, yet thorough workup requires a systematic and coordinated approach. A committee of expert pediatric physicians from the divisions of emergency m...

Objective: The radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) represents the earliest detectable pre-clinical phase of multiple sclerosis (MS). This study evaluated the impact of therapeutic intervention in preventing first symptom manifestation at this stage in the disease spectrum. Methods: We conducted a multi-center, randomized, double-blinded, plac...

Objectives To explore the challenges in diagnosing acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) and evaluate clinical features and treatment paradigms associated with under recognition. Study Design This is a retrospective, multi-center study of pediatric patients (age ≤ 18 years) who were diagnosed with AFM from 2014-2018 using the Centers for Disease Control ca...

Objective Anxiety is common among persons with MS (PwMS), but widely accepted treatments are lacking. Group-based interventions delivered via telehealth are an accessible treatment option requiring clinical trial evidence to support feasibility and initial efficacy. We conducted a pilot feasibility trial of an online support group intervention to r...

Background/Objective: There have been numerous reports of neurological manifestations identified in hospitalized patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Here, we identify the spectrum of associated neurological symptoms and diagnoses, define the time course of their development, examine readmission rates and mortality ris...

Background Treatment with natalizumab once every 4 weeks is approved for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, but is associated with a risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Switching to extended-interval dosing is associated with lower progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy risk, but the efficacy of this approach...

It has been hypothesized that multiple sclerosis (MS) has hormonal influences, and testosterone may have anti-inflammatory functions in this context. Given prior reports of lower testosterone levels in men with MS in archival serum samples, we evaluated the prevalence of hypogonadism in the clinical setting and its association with disability in me...

Background: Our objective was to characterize the frequency, early impact, and risk factors for neuro-logical manifestations in hospitalized children with acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Methods: Multicenter, cross-sectional study of neurological...

Background While many patients with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-mediated disease (MOG-AD) will have a monophasic course, 30-80% of patients will relapse after the initial attack. It is not known which factors predict relapse. Here we describe our clinical experience with MOG-AD and evaluate for factors that correlate with relapsing...

Background Seminal trials evaluating anti-CD20 therapy in progressive MS primarily found benefit in younger, less-disabled patients with more inflammatory disease activity. The risks and benefits of ocrelizumab use in older patients with progressive froms of MS are not known. Methods Retrospective chart review was performed for patients older than...

Objectives Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is characterized by lymphocytic thyroid infiltration. Gradual thyroid failure can occur due to thyroid cell apoptosis. Rarely neurological autoimmunity due to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antigen can co exist with HT. Case presentation A seven-year-old male presented with tiredness, weight loss, frequen...

Objective To report initial results of a planned multicenter year‐long prospective study examining the risk and impact of COVID‐19 among persons with neuroinflammatory disorders (NID), particularly multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods In April 2020, we deployed online questionnaires to individuals in their home environment to assess the prevalence and...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) usually leads to a mild infectious disease course in children, but serious complications may occur in conjunction with both acute infection and associated phenomena such as the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Neurological symptoms, which have been predominantly reported in adults, range fro...

Infections are increasingly recognized as a common trigger of autoimmune disease, including autoimmune encephalitis. A significant association is particularly shown between HSV-1 encephalitis (HSVE) and a post-infectious autoimmune encephalitis mediated by neuronal autoantibodies, most notably anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibodies....

OBJECTIVE To test the association between physical function and the social environment in multiple sclerosis (MS), we quantified personal social networks. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from two academic MS centers, with center one serving as a discovery group, and center two as the extension group. We performed a meta-ana...

Objectives To describe the spectrum of pediatric inflammatory neurologic diseases and compare the sensitivity of ancillary testing for these diagnoses. Methods We analyzed clinical features and outcomes of 98 children with an immune-mediated central nervous system disorder. We compared sensitivities of each diagnostic modality. Results We identif...

We report a fatal case of COVID-19 in a 51-year-old African American woman with multiple sclerosis on natalizumab. She had multiple risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease including race, obesity, hypertension, and elevated inflammatory markers, but the contribution of natalizumab to her poor outcome remains unknown. We consider whether altered dy...

Purpose of review: Neurological complications are increasingly recognized in the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 is caused by the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). This coronavirus is related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and other human coronavirus-related illne...

IntroductionCompared with the non-Hispanic/non-Latino population, Hispanic/Latino patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are reported to exhibit greater disease severity. Geographical location and genetics play a role in differences observed across Hispanic/Latino subpopulations. We evaluated real-world safety and effectiveness of dimethyl fumarate...

Background Limited data suggest that adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently discontinue school. While it is known that cognitive impairment occurs in 30% to 50% of children with MS, the functional impact of childhood MS on academic achievement is virtually unknown. Objective To that end, this paper builds an evidence-based argument fo...

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune thyroiditis (AT) is a common cause of acquired hypothyroidism in children characterized by lymphocytic thyroid infiltration. Sometimes gradual thyroid failure occurs due to apoptosis of thyroid cells. It may occur via apoptotic cytokines, ligands and receptors, including T regulatory cells, tumor necrosis factors etc. AT can...

Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) typically presents as painless central or centrocecal scotoma and is due to maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. Over 95% of LHON cases are caused by one of three mtDNA “common” point mutations: m.3460G>A, m.11778G>A, or m.14484T>C, which are all in genes encoding structural subunits of...

Pregnancy influences the course of neuroimmunologic conditions, which include multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, and autoimmune encephalitis. The outcomes differ significantly for each disorder, reflecting the impact of hormonal changes, T-cell subsets, and placental factors on disease pathogenesis. In recent years, nu...

Enteroviruses (EV) are responsible for a large number of meningoencephalitis cases, especially in children. The objective of this study was to identify modes of diagnosis including the significance of respiratory and cerebrospinal fluid samples, associated clinical characteristics, inpatient management, and outcome of individuals with EV infections...

Background Steps towards the development of diagnostic criteria are needed for children with the radiologically isolated syndrome to identify children at risk of clinical demyelination. Objectives To evaluate the 2005 and 2016 MAGNIMS magnetic resonance imaging criteria for dissemination in space for multiple sclerosis, both alone and with oligocl...

Supplemental Material2 - Supplemental material for Oligoclonal bands increase the specificity of MRI criteria to predict multiple sclerosis in children with radiologically isolated syndrome

Supplemental Material1 - Supplemental material for Oligoclonal bands increase the specificity of MRI criteria to predict multiple sclerosis in children with radiologically isolated syndrome

Children with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and pediatric controls were enrolled across 16 pediatric multiple sclerosis centers in the United States and completed questionnaires that addressed time of first unaided walking and acquisition of 2-word phrases. A total of 467 (308 female) cases and 428 (209 female) controls were enrolled. Pediatri...

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disease (NMOSD) can present as a spinal cord syndrome in children. This chapter describes two cases of children presenting with acute transverse myelitis leading to a diagnosis of neuromyelitis optica based upon current diagnostic criteria. The contrasting cases demonstrate the application of the criteria in the settin...

An 18-year-old woman without previous medical issues was examined at an academic medical center for a complaint of ascending numbness in the legs following viral illness. She had taken a trip in early spring 2016 to the Dominican Republic, during which time she was bitten several times by mosquitoes. Approximately 2 weeks following return, she deve...