Psychomotor skills in first-year infants born by multiple sclerosis mothers: a single-centre prospective clinical observational study

Introduction. The impact of a mother’s MS on the intrauterine and postnatal development of the infant remains controversial. Aim: to study the influence of mother’s MS, and pathogenetic therapy, on the formation of psychomotor skills in first-year infants under comparison with a group of infants from healthy mothers (“case-control”).

Materials and methods. Рrospective observational study (“case-control”) at months 3, 6, 9 and 12. The WHO-recommended scale of motor development (WHO six milestones), 46 infants from MS mothers and 46 infants from the control group.

Results. The duration of the mother’s MS disease, the severity of the neurological deficit, and the disease course’s activity was found not significantly to affect the motor and neuropsychiatric development of the child in the first year of life. Significant differences were established between the groups of children and patients with MS from the control group in terms of mastering the skills of standing and walking; the presence of better motor parameters in children from patients receiving pathogenetic therapy was established too. The negative influence of interferons in the first trimester on speech skills in infants was revealed.

Conclusion. The main influencing factor was mother multiple sclerosis and the pathogenetic therapy received by the mother before and during pregnancy. This fact can play a significant role in managing this infant cohort. Special exercises such as stimulation of motor and speech skills need to be included.

Contribution:
Vinogradova T.V., Kasatkin D.S. — study concept and design;
Vinogradova T.V. — collection and handling of material;
Vinogradova T.V., Kasatkin D.S. — statistical analysis;
Vinogradova T.V. — writing up the manuscript;
Sitnikova E.P. — text editing.
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: May 22, 2021
Accepted: June 23, 2021
Published: July 16, 2021

1. O’Leary N., Jairaj C., Molloy E.J., McAuliffe F.M., Nixon E., O’Keane V. Antenatal depression and the impact on infant cognitive, language and motor development at six and twelve months postpartum. Early Hum. Dev. 2019; 134: 41–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.05.021

2. Boyko A., Melnikov M. Prevalence and incidence of multiple sclerosis in Russian Federation: 30 years of studies. Brain Sci. 2020; 10(5): 305. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10050305

3. Spirin N.N., Kasatkin D.S., Stepanov I.O., Shipova E.G., Baranova N.S., Vinogradova T.V., et al. Registry-based comparison of multiple sclerosis epidemiology trend data in 1999 and 2019: the case of Yaroslavl. Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii im. S.S. Korsakova. 2020; 120(7-2): 48–53. https://doi.org/10.17116/jnevro202012007248 (in Russian)

4. Yakushina T.I., Kotov S.V., Yakushin M.A. Analysis of the course of pregnancy, delivery and postpartum period in women with multiple sclerosis. Al’manakh klinicheskoy meditsiny. 2015; (39): 82–8. https://doi.org/10.18786/2072-0505-2015-39-82-89 (in Russian)

5. Jesus-Ribeiro J., Correia I., Martins A.I., Fonseca M., Marques I., Batista S., et al. Pregnancy in multiple sclerosis: a portuguese cohort study. Mult. Scler. Relat. Disord. 2017; 17: 63–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2017.07.002

6. Partanen L., Korkalainen N., Mäkikallio K., Olsén P., Laukkanen-Nevala P., Yliherva A. Foetal growth restriction is associated with poor reading and spelling skills at eight years to 10 years of age. Acta Paediatr. 2018; 107(1): 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.14005

7. Li X., Eiden R.D., Epstein L.H., Shenassa E.D., Xie C., Wen X. Parenting and cognitive and psychomotor delay due to small-for-gestational-age birth. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry. 2017; 58(2): 169–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12644

8. Zhang Z., Tran N.T., Nguyen T.S., Nguyen L.T., Berde Y., Tey S.L., et al. Impact of maternal nutritional supplementation in conjunction with a breastfeeding support program during the last trimester to 12 weeks postpartum on breastfeeding practices and child development at 30 months old. PLoS One. 2018; 13(7): e0200519. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200519

9. Lucas A., Morley R., Cole T.J., Lister G., Leeson-Payne C. Breast milk and subsequent intelligence quotient in children born preterm. Lancet. 1992; 339(8788): 261–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/0140-6736(92)91329-7

10. Chen Y.H., Lin H.L., Lin H.C. Does multiple sclerosis increase risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes? A population-based study. Mult. Scler. 2009; 15(5): 606–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1352458508101937

11. van der Kop M.L., Pearce M.S., Dahlgren L., Synnes A., Sadovnick D., Sayao A.L., et al. Neonatal and delivery outcomes in women with multiple sclerosis. Ann. Neurol. 2011; 70(1): 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.22483

12. WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group. WHO Motor Development Study: windows of achievement for six gross motor development milestones. Acta Paediatr. 2006; 450: 86–95.

13. Flensborg-Madsen T., Mortensen E.L. Infant developmental milestones and adult intelligence: A 34-year follow-up. Early. Hum. Dev. 2015; 91(7): 393–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2015.04.006

14. Kasatkin D.S., Spirin N.N., Vinogradova T.V., Shitova A.S. Effects of the treatment of mothers with multiple sclerosis using disease-modifying drugs on child development. Neurosci. Behav. Physiol. 2018; 48: 864–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-018-0641-1

15. Zavadenko N.N., Shchederkina I.O., Zavadenko A.N., Kozlova E.V., Orlova K.A., Davydova L.A., et al. Speech delay in the practice of a paediatrician and child’s neurologist. Voprosy sovremennoy pediatrii. 2015; 14(1): 132–9. https://doi.org/10.15690/vsp.v14i1.1272 (in Russian)