New Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center Offers Multidisciplinary Care Management, Advanced Diagnostics and Comprehensive Therapies
The new Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center at Cincinnati Children’s provides sophisticated testing, cutting-edge treatments and personalized, long-term follow up for patients with neuroinflammatory and neuroimmunology conditions such as multiple sclerosis, CNS lupus and optic neuritis.
“Children, adolescents and young adults with these conditions typically receive fractured, inadequate care, which can affect their overall health and quality of life,” says Veeral Shah, MD, PhD, a pediatric/adult neuro-ophthalmologist and director of the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center, which is part of the medical center’s Division of Neurology. “Sometimes, the problem is that they need to travel to see specialists at different institutions, or that no one is coordinating their follow-up care after an acute inflammatory episode. Our goal with the center is to provide the subspecialist clinical assessments, state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, novel/current medical therapies and care management services these patients need to thrive, all in one location.”
A Timely, Coordinated One-Day Evaluation
The center offers a comprehensive evaluation that includes one-on-one appointments with multiple specialists, including a neuro-immunologist, neuro-ophthalmologist and rheumatologist. Each specialist evaluates the child from their unique perspective, focusing on the inflammation that is affecting the central nervous system. Appointments can take place all on one day or be scheduled over a week or two, depending on the family’s preference.
Following the comprehensive evaluation, the entire team meets to review test results and discuss the patient’s condition in more detail. This team includes all of the physicians who participated in the evaluation, along with the center’s behavioral psychologist/psychiatrist, neuroradiologist, pathologist, geneticist and other providers. Together, they develop a detailed, unified treatment plan.
Personalized Diagnostic Testing
Cincinnati Children’s is one of only a few children’s hospitals in the United States offering personalized testing for neuroinflammatory conditions, which include antibody-mediated, demyelinating, granulomatous, T cell-mediated and autoinflammatory disease.
“Many of our key inflammatory lab tests are performed in-house,” Shah says. “These test results typically are available in days, not weeks or months, which means treatment can begin that much sooner.”
If the team suspects that an underlying genetic condition is causing the child’s symptoms, they may order a gene panel to learn more. The CLIA-certified Human Genetics Diagnostic Laboratory at Cincinnati Children’s offers customized genetic testing, as well as panels that can detect multiple different genes associated with neuroinflammatory diseases.
Another strength of the center is its collaboration with neuroradiologists who have special training, experience and advanced technology to identify subtle clues on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that help them distinguish and diagnose neuroinflammatory diseases.
Comprehensive Treatment Options
These sophisticated tests help the team create a treatment plan that is tailored to the child’s needs.
“Our priority is to treat the active inflammation that is affecting the child, achieve overall disease control/stabilization, and offer care management services to optimize the child’s development and growth,” Shah says. “Medical management may include immunosuppressive anti-inflammatories, antibody infusions and other biologic agents. Then we focus on recovery and long-term care management to ensure the best quality of life possible. The personalized treatment plan can include everything from low vision therapy and pain management to mental health counseling and rehabilitation services such as occupational and physical therapy.”
The Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center offers comprehensive evaluations and care for individuals under the age of 30. For more information or to refer a patient, contact Veeral.Shah@cchmc.org.