Title |
Pediatric multiple sclerosis in Venezuela
|
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Published in |
Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, April 2012
|
DOI | 10.1590/s0004-282x2012000400008 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Joaquín A. Peña, María Elena Ravelo, Evelio Rubio, Dulce Pirela, Arnoldo Soto, Cecilia Montiel Nava |
Abstract |
To describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of Venezuelan pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Database records from the National Program for MS were searched for patients with an established diagnosis of MS whose first symptoms appeared before age 18. The national database held records of 1.710 patients; 3.8% had onset of the first symptoms before age 18. 46.7% were boys, yielding an F:M ratio of 1.13:1. Many children had a disease onset characterized by motor impairment (30.7%), brainstem/cerebellum and spinal cord affectation (27.6%), headache (26%). Less frequent symptoms were sensory symptoms (8%) and optic neuritis (7%). Pediatric MS patients in Venezuela represent a significant proportion of all MS cases. The clinical pattern is characterized by motor symptoms at onset, and predominantly monosymptomatic presentation with a relapsing-remitting pattern. This is the first systematic attempt to estimate the prevalence of pediatric MS in Venezuela. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Scientists | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 1 | 5% |
Unknown | 21 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Bachelor | 6 | 27% |
Student > Postgraduate | 3 | 14% |
Professor > Associate Professor | 3 | 14% |
Researcher | 2 | 9% |
Student > Master | 1 | 5% |
Other | 3 | 14% |
Unknown | 4 | 18% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 8 | 36% |
Psychology | 4 | 18% |
Neuroscience | 2 | 9% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 1 | 5% |
Computer Science | 1 | 5% |
Other | 0 | 0% |
Unknown | 6 | 27% |