The initial symptoms in multiple sclerosis: clinical and demographic data of Çorum province

Abstract

Aims: Multiple sclerosis, which has individual and societal effects such as being observed in young and middle-aged people and its long and expensive treatment process, has become an important public health issue. Methods: Between January 2022 and January 2023, 103 patients with MS were evaluated using anamnesis, neurological examinations, and neuroimaging results. The patients’ initial findings upon their MS diagnosis, the duration of diagnosis, their neurological observations in the past month, and their clinical categorization were examined. Results: Out of the 103 patients, 70 (67.96%) were female, and 33 (32.04%) were male, which was detected as a female-to-male ratio of 2.12/1. The average age of the patients was 34.41±8.4 years, and the average disease duration was 8±5.8 years. The initial findings in females were as follows; 25 patients (35.7%) had sensory, 13 patients (18.6%) had motor (pyramidal), 17 patients (24.3%) had brain stem-cerebellar, 10 patients (14.3%) had a visual impairment, and 5 patients (7.1%) had other findings. The distributions of the initial symptoms in males were as follows; 12 patients (36.4%) were motor (pyramidal), 10 patients (30.3%) were sensory, 5 patients (15.1%) were brain stem-cerebellar, 5 patients (15.1%) had visual impairment, and 1 patient (.3.1%) had other findings. The mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) at the time of initial diagnosis was 2.5± 1.5. Among the 60 patients with RRMS who were first diagnosed, the duration elapsed between initial symptom onset and diagnosis was 12.8± 5.7 months. Conclusion: Demographic information of the MS patients followed up in our clinic, their initial complaints, frequency of clinical subtypes, differences between clinical subtypes, their clinical status in the last month, and their EDDS at their initial diagnosis and last follow-up are presented. As this represents the first data on the epidemiology of MS in our city, we believe it will contribute to the national data of Turkey and help raise MS awareness among clinicians.