Senders Pediatrics Enrolling Patients for Clinical Trial in Hopes to Eliminate Mono

Senders Pediatrics Enrolling Patients for Clinical Trial in Hopes to Eliminate Mono

Mono, “often called the kissing disease” caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), has exhausting effects on teens and young adults, which can drag on for months. It can also lead to serious health conditions in the future.

According to Senders Pediatrics in South Euclid, the common symptoms are debilitating fatigue, the “worst sore throat of your life”, swollen glands in the neck and an enlarged spleen which often gives abdominal pain on the lower left side.

There is no treatment or current prevention for the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) or mono, but that may change as an upcoming clinical trial hopes to eliminate it for good.

Currently, Senders Pediatrics has begun enrolling patients (ages 10 to 21-year-olds) in the EBV vaccine trial.  The new vaccine has been developed to prevent all EBV diseases, including mono.

According to Senders, the mRNA vaccine (the same type of vaccine technique used in COVID-19, vaccines) has been shown, in previous trials, to be effective and to have a good safety record. The practice is the only Northeast Ohio site and one of the few sites in the country involved in the study. Enrollment is proceeding rapidly and is likely to be completed by the end of January.

“Mono is a very debilitating condition in adolescence leading to missed school and athletics,” says Dr. Shelly Senders, Founder and CEO of Senders Pediatrics. “Teens with mono often cannot participate in contact sports because of concerns for a ruptured spleen for weeks to months.  But the greatest benefit is in preventing serious life threatening conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Hodgkins Lymphoma and chronic inflammatory conditions such as lupus.”

Senders says the disease is common throughout the country. By age 20, 90% have been exposed and by age 35, 95% have been exposed.  Mono occurs in 13% of males and 22% of females but symptoms are more severe the older you develop the disease.  The national experience has been that exposure occurs later in Northeast Ohio than in some southern states which puts kids and young adults locally at greater risk for more significant mono. Mono is not a seasonal disease but because the virus that causes it is spread socially by close contact, schools often report more cases in the fall and spring when students begin to congregate again.

Following infection, EBV remains dormant in the body, but in immunosuppressed individuals, it can become reactivated and lead to more serious complications.

According to Senders, it’s estimated estimated that up to 20,000 of multiple sclerosis and over 100,000 cases of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma as well as many inflammatory conditions such as lupus could be prevented by preventing EBV disease.

The practice recommends a parent should seek advice when their child has viral symptoms (runny nose, cough) with or without fever and a bad sore throat that just doesn’t get better over a week’s time.  Many of these kids have had a strep test that was negative as mono is a viral infection and strep is a bacterial infection.

How can one participate in the EBV vaccine trial? Parents and young people who would like to participate can get more information by calling Senders Pediatrics at 216-658-2408 or 216-232-6520 or by emailing [email protected].

About the author

Angela Gartner has been the editor at Northeast Ohio Parent Magazine since 2014. She has won local and national awards for her features, columns and photography over the years. Previously, her work appeared in publications including The News-Herald, Sun Newspapers and The Chicago Tribune. She grew up in Northeast Ohio and is a mom of two boys. The whole family is busy every weekend with sports and finding new happenings around the region. She is also a board member and past president at the Cleveland Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She loves reading, writing poetry and taking the family's Scottish Terrier on walks.

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