Western and Asian features of multiple sclerosis in Mexican Mestizos

The objective of this study was to compare the clinical expression of MS in Mexican Mestizos with that of patients of European or Asian descent; as well as to compare the annual frequency of new cases with that observed in the previous decades.

All patients with diagnosis of definite MS seen at the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Mexico from January 1993 to December 2003 were studied (n=312). Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were compared with reports of patients from either Western or Asian origin; the long-term disability score was analyzed according to gender, age of onset of MS and the initial symptom.

The clinical expression of MS in Mexican Mestizos shares some characteristics with both, Asian and Western forms of MS indicating that the genetic composition of Mexican Mestizos participates in the clinical expression of the disease. Also, at the prevalence date, the mean age of patients and the duration of the disease were lower in our patients than in MS patients from endemic countries suggesting a true increasing incidence in recent times, rather than only improved case ascertainment.

Clinical expression of MS in Mexican Mestizos shows the coexistence of some features common in European and in Asian cases.