Clinical and epidemiological profile of multiple sclerosis in a reference center in the State of Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

-Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, demyelinating and degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system. Its prevalence and clinical aspects vary according to the continent considered, being more frequent in Caucasians and young individuals aged 20 to 40 years. Epidemiological data from Brazil show that prevalence is variable, being more frequent in the Southern and Southeastern areas of the country, rather than in the Northern and Northeastern areas. The purpose of this paper is to describe MS clinical and epidemiological features in the State of Bahia, in the Brazilian Northeastern region. Thus, we held a cross-sectional study over the period from February to May, 2005, in the Multiple Sclerosis Patient Support Center ("Núcleo de Apoio aos Pacientes com Esclerose Múltipla") of Bahia, which included all patients with a diagnosis of MS seen over this period of time. A total of 121 patients were investigated, being 80.2% females (female:male ratio=4:1), with higher frequency in mulatto individuals (64%), and the relapsing-remitting type (91.3%). Most patients (68.7%) had mild MS, and blacks were prone to worse prognosis compared to other patients.KEY WORDS: multiple sclerosis, epidemiology, reference center. Perfil clínico e epidemiológico da esclerose múltipla em um centro de referência do Estado da BahiaRESUMO -A esclerose múltipla (EM) é doença auto-imune, desmielinizante e degenerativa que afeta o sistema nervoso central. Sua prevalência e seus aspectos clínicos variam de acordo com o continente estudado, sendo mais freqüente em caucasianos e indivíduos jovens entre a terceira e quarta décadas de vida. Dados epidemiológicos sobre o Brasil demonstram que a prevalência é variável, sendo mais freqüente nas regiões sul e sudeste que no norte e nordeste. O objetivo desse estudo é descrever as características clíni-cas e epidemiológicas da EM no Estado da Bahia, nordeste brasileiro. Assim, realizamos estudo de corte transversal durante o período de fevereiro a maio de 2005, no Núcleo de Apoio ao Pacientes com Esclerose Múltipla da Bahia, incluindo todos os pacientes consecutivos, com diagnóstico de EM, atendidos nesse período. Foi estudado um total de 121 pacientes, 80,2% do gênero feminino com uma relação de 4:1 com o gênero masculino, sendo observado maior freqüência de mulatos (64%) e da forma surto-remissão (91,3%). A maioria dos pacientes (68,7%) foi classificada como EM leve, sendo que os negros apresentaram indícios de pior prognóstico em relação aos outros pacientes.

Clinical and epidemiological profile of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil

“…Regarding the distribution of disease modifying drugs among patients, there were similar results when compared to those found in the study by Cardoso et al 1 We did not find, even in the most recent studies of clinical and epidemiological profile of MS, the use of Natalizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, a drug already in use by the participants of this study, since it is a drug with recent availability in the market.…”

“…In this respect, classifying patients according to their ethnicity in a country with great miscegenation as Brazil is not an easy task. We had difficulty in classifying patients as pheodermic, black or mulatto 1,3 . The calculation of the sex ratio also indicated a greater predisposition of females to MS. A similar finding is reported in other studies on clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with the disease.…”

Evaluación neuropsicológica en 129 pacientes chilenos con esclerosis múltiple recurrente remitente previo a inicio de fármacos inmunomoduladores

“…Las características demográficas referidas a género, edad de presentación de la enfermedad, edad al momento de la evaluación y nivel educacional del grupo de pacientes evaluados son similares a lo comunicado en otras series de pacientes latinoamericanos [13][14][15][16][17] . En términos de sus propiedades psicométricas, la BRN-R se mostró como un instrumento válido y confiable.…”

Clinical features of multiple sclerosis in the south of Brazil: a partial analysis

“…Epidemiologic studies in many Brazilian regions have been published [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] presenting demographic and clinical characteristics of treated patients at different clinics and hospitals. Nevertheless, there are no published data on MS patients in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.…”