title: Disability and progression in Afro-descendant patients with multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS) prevalence is higher in Caucasian (CA) populations, narrowing the analysis of the impact of Afro-descendant (AD) populations in disease outcomes. Even so, recent studies observed that AD patients have a more severe course. The main objective of this study is to confirm and discuss, through a systematic review, that being AD is a risk factor for disability accumulation and/or severe progression in patients with MS. A systematic review of published data in the last eleven years was performed, which evaluated clinical aspects and long term disability in patients with MS. Fourteen studies were included. Of these fourteen articles, thirteen observed a relationship between ancestry and poorer outcome of MS. African ancestry is a condition inherent in the patient and should be considered as an initial clinical characteristic affecting prognosis, and influencing which therapeutic decision to make in initial phases.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Hospital Universitário Gaffrée e Guinle, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Juliana Calvet Kallenbach
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Aurenção
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Hospital Universitário Gaffrée e Guinle, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Claudia Cristina Ferreira
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Hospital Universitário Gaffrée e Guinle, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil.|Instituto Nacional de Câncer - INCA, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luiz Claudio Santos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Thuler
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Hospital Universitário Gaffrée e Guinle, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil.|Hospital Federal da Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Regina Maria Papais
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Alvarenga
mesh_terms: D044383:Black People; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index