title: The prevalence of multiple sclerosis in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the leading causes of neurologic deficits in young adults and can lead to physical, intellectual and emotional problems. Approved treatments are expensive and are among the 10 highest budgets of the Brazilian Health Ministry. Given the diverse prevalence of MS among Brazilian regions, it is important to determine prevalence rates across the country. Seven studies have assessed MS in Brazil and reported rates ranging from 15 cases to 18 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. It has been hypothesized that this rate is even higher in southern Brazil, which has a high proportion of European heritage (mostly German and Italian) immigrants. Here, we report that the prevalence of MS in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is 27.2 cases/100,000 inhabitants.
authors.affiliation: Ambulatório de Esclerose Múltipla, Hospital das Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Neurologist, coordinator of the Ambulatório de Esclerose Múltipla at the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finkelsztejn
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center, Santa MariaRS, Brazil, Neurologist, coordinator of the Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center - Santa Maria-RS, Brazil;
authors.forename: Juarez Silva
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center, Brazil, Santa MariaRS, Neuropsychologist at the Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center - Santa Maria-RS, Brazil;
authors.forename: Janaína
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noal
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil, Physician, clinical researcher in Multiple Sclerosis at the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Finkelsztejn
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult