title: Pediatric multiple sclerosis in Venezuela.
abstract: 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%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, School of Medicine, University of Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela. juaco949@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Joaquín A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Peña
authors.forename: María Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ravelo
authors.forename: Evelio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: Dulce
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pirela
authors.forename: Arnoldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.forename: Cecilia Montiel
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Nava
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014687:Venezuela / Q000453:epidemiology