HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

Correspondence to:

ARTICLES: B. A.C. Cree, O. Khan, D. Bourdette, D. S. Goodin, J. A. Cohen, R. A. Marrie, D. Glidden, B. Weinstock-Guttman, D. Reich, N. Patterson, J. L. Haines, M. Pericak-Vance, C. DeLoa, J. R. Oksenberg, and S. L. Hauser Clinical characteristics of African Americans vs Caucasian Americans with multiple sclerosis Neurology 2004; 63: 2039-2045 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

Correspondence: Submit a response to this article

Correspondence published:

Clinical characteristics of African Americans vs Caucasian Americans with multiple sclerosis

Victor M. Rivera, Houston, Texas, 77030   (8 February 2005)

Clinical characteristics of African Americans vs Caucasian Americans with multiple sclerosis 8 February 2005
Victor M. Rivera, Baylor College of Medicine 6501 Fannin St. Suite 1224, Houston, Texas, 77030 Send Correspondence to journal: Re: Clinical characteristics of African Americans vs Caucasian Americans with multiple sclerosis vrivera{at}bcm.tmc.edu Victor M. Rivera, et al.	The genetic and clinical features of African Americans (AA) with multiple sclerosis (MS) reported in the article by Cree et al [1] may also apply to Blacks with African genetics in the rest of the American continent. Africans, particularly West Sub- Saharan Africans, were initially brought in large numbers during the late seventeenth century to this continent and readily intermixed with European Caucasians specially in some Latin American areas including: Caribbean islands, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. In Brazil, it has been reported that almost half of patients with MS (Rio de Janeiro) are "Afro-Brazilian" (Mulattos) with a susceptibility locus in DQB1*0602.[2] This may also suggest a European ancestry component. Although an in-depth genetic analysis has not been completed, Colombian [3] and Brazilian [4] studies report high frequency of visual and spinal abnormalities at onset and during the course of MS and a higher frequency than expected in these groups (comparison to published data) for Neuromyelitis Optica. [5] The Latin American Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (LACTRIMS) has identified similar clinical trends for the main racial core of Latin America: Mestizos. This group represents a complex admixture of Caucasian and American native inhabitants in whom ancestral Mongoloid genetics have been described, and that together with AA, constitute relatively recent genetic events developed over the last five centuries. According to observations from LACTRIMS studies Mestizos appear to share genetics similar to Europeans at higher risk for MS. Studies on Genotypic responses to MS therapies among AA and Mestizos in Latin America should be encouraged considering the apparent increase in frequency of the disease in this region. References 1.Cree BAC, Khan O, Bourdette D, et al. Clinical characteristics of African Americans vs Caucasian Americans with multiple sclerosis. Neurology 2004;63: 2039-2045. 2.Caballero A, Alves-Leon S, Papais-Alvarenga R, et al. DQB1*0602 confers genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis in Afro-Brazilians. Tissue Antigens 1999;54:524-546. 3.Sanchez JL, Palacio LG, Uribe CS, et al. Clinical features of multiple sclerosis in a genetically homogenous tropical population. Mult Scler 2001;7:227-229. 4.Lana-Peixoto MA, Lana-Peixoto MI.Is multiple sclerosis in Brazil and Asia alike?.Arq Neuropsiquiatr 1992;50:419-425. 5.Patrucco LB,Cristiano E,Videla GC,et al.Devic's Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO)and Multiple Sclerosis (MS); Clinical and Epidemiological findings in a MS Center in Argentina. Mult Scler 2002;Vol 8:(Suppl),P51. The authors had the opportunity to respond to this Correspondence but declined.