Department of Neurology, Research Institute and Hospital of National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Korea.
Mult Scler. 2013 Oct;19(11):1493-8. doi: 10.1177/1352458513477712. Epub 2013 Feb 13.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) in Asia is thought to have different clinical characteristics from MS in Western countries; however, previous studies in Asia were performed without properly differentiating neuromyelitis optica (NMO) from MS.
To evaluate the clinical characteristics of MS in Korea after careful exclusion of potential explanations other than MS, particularly NMO spectrum disorder (NMOSD).
This study is a retrospective review of consecutive MS patients attending five referral hospitals in Korea. All patients' MS diagnoses were re-evaluated.
Of the 105 patients, 70 were female and 35 were male. The mean age of onset was 30.4 years and the mean disease duration was 5.4 years. On initial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 58% and 64% fulfilled the criteria for dissemination in space for the 2005 and 2010 McDonald criteria, respectively. Spinal cord lesions were observed in 78% of patients, primarily present as multiple small lesions with a mean length of 0.9 vertebral segments. The median time from disease onset to an Expanded Disability Status Scale 6 was 20 years.
After careful exclusion of NMOSD, we found that the clinical pattern of MS in Korea does not fundamentally differ from that seen in Western countries.
亚洲多发性硬化症（MS）的临床特征与西方国家的 MS 不同；然而，亚洲之前的研究没有将视神经脊髓炎（NMO）与 MS 正确区分开来。
在仔细排除 MS 以外的潜在解释因素，特别是 NMOSD 后，评估韩国 MS 的临床特征。
这是一项对韩国五家转诊医院的连续 MS 患者进行的回顾性研究。对所有患者的 MS 诊断进行重新评估。
105 例患者中，70 例为女性，35 例为男性。发病年龄平均为 30.4 岁，病程平均为 5.4 年。初次磁共振成像（MRI）时，分别有 58%和 64%符合 2005 年和 2010 年 McDonald 标准的空间弥散标准。78%的患者存在脊髓病变，主要表现为多个小病变，平均长度为 0.9 个椎体节段。从发病到扩展残疾状况量表 6 的中位时间为 20 年。
在仔细排除 NMOSD 后，我们发现韩国 MS 的临床模式与西方国家没有根本区别。
