Children with MS show signs of ageing up to two years faster than their peers, study finds

Children diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) appear to show signs of accelerated biological ageing, according to new findings that could reshape understanding of the disease’s long-term effects.

Researchers studying DNA from children and teenagers with MS found patterns indicating they were biologically older than their healthy counterparts, despite being the same age in years.

The study examined 125 children with MS and compared them with 145 children without the condition.

Researchers analysed DNA methylation — chemical modifications to DNA that act as markers of biological ageing, which differs from chronological age, or the number of years a person has lived.

MS is a lifelong autoimmune disease that affects the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.

The immune system mistakenly attacks the protective coating on nerve fibres, leading to inflammation and damage that interferes with communication between the brain and the body.

Researchers found that children with MS showed signs of accelerated ageing based on four different epigenetic clocks — tools that use molecular changes in DNA to estimate a person’s biological age.

The children studied had an average chronological age of 15, but those most affected by MS appeared to be biologically up to two years older.

Jennifer Graves is professor and vice chair of neurosciences at UC San Diego.

She said: “We found evidence that children living with MS experience accelerated biological ageing.

“Compared to young people without MS, youth with MS had evidence of accelerated epigenetic age, a measurement of DNA chemical modifications associated with ageing.

“We know that ageing is related to the development of a less treatable form of MS and that adults with MS face both normal ageing and accelerated ageing from the disease.”

Biological age has previously been linked to faster disability progression in adults with MS.

The findings suggest this process may begin much earlier than previously thought — potentially even before any clinical signs of worsening appear.

Graves said: “This is a whole new concept in MS.

“Ageing isn’t something we think of affecting teenagers. But these kids are accumulating cellular damage that may not show up clinically until years later, when they suddenly transition from doing fine to disease progression in their 30s.

“It is a significant finding to see this accelerated ageing in children.

“If we can understand the interplay between the immune system, the brain and ageing — and break that open — we might be able to put MS into full remission in the future.”

The researchers hope to follow participants over time to explore how early biological ageing affects long-term disability.

They also plan to examine the impact of environmental exposures, obesity and social stress — particularly in light of the higher incidence of paediatric MS among children from lower-income backgrounds.