title: Multiple sclerosis in Chile.
abstract: So far as we know this series of 68 cases is one of the first clinical accounts of multiple sclerosis in South America. Average age of onset was 30.7 years and female:male ratio was 2:1. The most frequent initial symptom was motor impairment and less frequent was visual loss. Most affected site of involvement in established cases was the optic nerve. There were no familial cases. The severity of the disease in Chile proved to be the same as elsewhere. No characteristic clinical pattern peculiar to the region emerged.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cárdenas
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fauré
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lavados
mesh_terms: D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods