ACTRIMS 2022 | The clinical presentation of MS in Latin American populations

Victor Rivera, MD, FAAN, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, discusses the clinical presentation of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Latin American populations, which shows differences compared to other racial-ethnic populations. For instance, the first symptom of disease onset in Mexican Americans is usually optic neuritis. Although not completely understood, genome-wide association studies have shown that the tendency to display such symptoms may be due to ancient ancestral genetics. Additionally, the age of disease onset is younger in the Latin American population when compared to Caucasian counterparts and seems to be associated with rapid disability. This interview took place at the ACTRIMS Forum 2022 in West Palm Beach, Florida.