Objective: To describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of Venezuelan pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: 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. Results: 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%). Discussion: 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.
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Peña, J. A., Ravelo, M. E., Rubio, E., Pirela, D., Soto, A., & Nava, C. M. (2012). Pediatric multiple sclerosis in venezuela. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 70(4), 267–270. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2012000400008