[Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in the Primosky Krai and Far East regions]

The first results of a clinical and epidemiological survey on prevalence, incidence, clinical characteristics, diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and medical assistance to patients in Primosky Krai, Vladivostok and the Far East regions (Sakhalin, Magadan oblasts and Kamchatka Krai) during 2005-2010 are presented. The prevalence of MS was 1.12 cases per 100000 population in the Primosky Krai in whole and from 1.61 cases in 2005 in Vladivostok to 11.45 and 16.2 cases in Primosky Krai and Vladivostok in 2010, respectively. The incidence of MS was maximal in the Primosky Krai (2.61 cases per 100 000 population in 2007 and 3.95 cases in 2008). The increase in the prevalence may be explained by the improvement of MS diagnosis, introduction of neuroimaging methods for brain structure visualization (MRI etc) and the organization of a regional MS center. The relative decrease in the MS incidence to 2.49 cases per 100 000 in 2010 was noted. Epidemiological characteristics of MS in separate oblasts of the Far East are presented. In whole, all indices indicate the moderate risk for MS in the region studied.