Multiple Sclerosis and Allied Diseases in Japan: Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses epidemiological and clinical aspects of multiple sclerosis and allied diseases in Japan. Demyelinating encephalomyelitis, especially multiple sclerosis and allied disorders, are known to show characteristic geographical distributions and are most prevalent in the temperate zones of the world, and have low rates in the tropical and subtropical areas. It is found that cases which showed affectation of both predominantly optic nerves and spinal cord were most common and these included 4 cases of Devic's disease and 7 cases of multiple sclerosis. A second feature was the relatively high ratio of optic spinal vulnerability. There was a gradual transition from Devic's disease to multiple sclerosis. Some of the autopsied cases showed necrotic optic chiasma and necrosis in the spinal cord, which were clinically more compatible with multiple sclerosis than with Devic's disease. This may indicate that the Japanese cases were different from classical multiple sclerosis or there may be some constitutional factors which modify the demyelinating processes of the Japanese.