Actualización en esclerosis múltiple: manifestaciones clínicas, formas evolutivas y estudios paraclínicos

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis is the classic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Besides geographical, genetic and environmental-related propensity, it has recently been confirmed that the most important risk factor for the development of the disease is infection by the Epstein-Barr virus. The classic diagnostic criteria of at least two episodes of neurological dysfunction disseminated in time and affecting different anatomical locations have been updated in recent decades, considering paraclinical techniques that allow early diagnosis and initiation of treatment, which results in a better prognosis of the illness. Current understanding is that the clinical forms of multiple sclerosis are part of a continuous spectrum in which relapses of the disease and progression of disability coexist to different degrees.