Center for Youngsters With Multiple Sclerosis |
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Written by Stewart Ain, New York Times
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Tuesday, 22 October 2002 |
Stony Brook University Hospital has opened the nation's first center
for the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis in youngsters.
Dr. Lauren B. Krupp, a professor of neurology at Stony Brook, is the
director of the new center with Dr. Anita Belman, another Stony Brook
neurologist.
Dr. Krupp estimated that 5 percent of the 250,000 to 350,000 Americans
with multiple sclerosis are 17 or younger, and explained that although
it has long been considered an adult disease, enough cases of childhood
multiple sclerosis have been diagnosed in recent years to warrant
establishment of the new center.
Johanna Biederman, president of the Long Island chapter of the National
Multiple Sclerosis Society in Hauppauge, said the center was needed
because multiple sclerosis in children has only been recognized in
recent years due to improved diagnostic tools.
''The earlier it is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome for the patient,'' she said.
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