A message from Steven L. Strongwater, M.D., Chief Executive Officer
 
 
We are pleased to announce the success of the National Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center.  Opened in 2002, the Center was the nation's first for youngsters and teenagers with this often puzzling neurological disease. Dr. Lauren Krupp, an international authority on pediatric MS, heads this unique multi-disciplinary patient care and research program.
 
Primary reasons for establishing the center were that MS is underdiagnosed and/or misdiagnosed in children, and that some adult-onset forms may have their origins in childhood.  In just the past five years, hundreds of children and teenagers from across the country have been referred to Stony Brook for evaluation and diagnosis.
 
On-going research activities include identifying biomarkers of MS, study of stem cell functions in MS, the effect of the disease on quality of life including school work and epidemiological features of pediatric MS.  Having this center is an ambitious undertaking, but one that will help us meet our obligation to provide optimal health care for children with MS.
 
We are proud of the multidisciplinary team Dr. Krupp has assembled and the difference this group has made in the lives of so many children and their families.
 
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Steven L. Strongwater, M.D.,
Chief Executive Officer
Stony Brook University Medical Center