The Patterns of Clinical Presentation of Multiple Sclerosis in Patients Admitted to the National Center of Neurological Sciences, Khartoum, Sudan 2018

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune- mediated inflammatory disease that attacks myelinated axons in the central nervous system leading to significant disability. This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at the national center for neurological sciences (NCNS), Khartoum Sudan, over 3 years period from August 2015 to April 2018. The diagnosis was performed based on Poser & Mackdonalds criteria. Data was collected using Questionnaire. The diagnosis was confirmed by brain and cervical spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with sagittal FLAIR, serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) oligoclonal band. Sixty-five patients were enrolled. The majority (90.8%) of them were females. 38.4% were within the age group from 21-30 years and 95.4% had no family history of MS. 18 patients (27.6%) had decreased visual acuity, 13 patients (20%) had ataxia, and 33 patients (50.7%) had a past history of similar condition. 64.6% out of 65 patients had more than two lesions detectable in their brain MRI. Only 18.4% of the patients were examined for CSF analysis. Oligoclonal band was found positive in all of them. Females predominated in 91% of the patients. The most affected age group was ranging between 21-30 years. Relapsing-remitting type was the most common disease course. Oligoclonal band was detected in all of the patients. Azathioprine was found to be very effective.