Background. Studies on the clinical course of multiple sclerosis
have indicated that certain initial clinical factors are predictive of
disease progression. Regions with a low prevalence for disease, which
have environmental and genetic factors that differ from areas of high
prevalence, lack studies on the progressive course and disabling
characteristics of the disease.
Objective. To analyse the long-term
evolution to the progressive phase of the relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
and its prognosis factors in mixed population.
Methods. We performed a
survival study and logistic regression to examine the influence of
demographic and initial clinical factors on disease progression. Among
553 relapsing-remitting patients assisted at a Brazilian reference
centre for multiple sclerosis,
we reviewed the medical records of 150 patients who had a disease for
ten or more years.
Results. African ancestry was a factor that conferred
more risk for secondary progression followed by age at the onset of the
disease and the number of relapses in the year after diagnosis. A
greater understanding of the influence of ancestry on prognosis serves
to stimulate genetics and pharmacogenomics research and may clarify the
poorly understood neurodegenerative progression of MS.
The conclusions say it all, we have heard this before that while people of recent African Ancestry (we all originated from Africa originally) may have a lower risk of developing MS, once MS develops progressive MS is more common.