Research Information System
38th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 26 - 28 October 2022, (Unpublished)
Background: A better understanding of severe disability is essential for optimizing treatment in
this subtype of MS. Our aim was to identify the characteristics of patients with MS with severe
disabilities.
Methods: We analyzed the demographics and clinical characteristics of 417 participants with an
EDSS score of 6 and above registered in our database.
Results: The majority of participants (81.77%) had a secondary progressive MS (SPMS), whereas
%18.23 of the sample had a primary progressive MS (PPMS). The mean EDSS of the total sample
was 6.6±0.6. The female/male ratio was 1.68; the mean disease duration was 18.74±9.7 years;
the mean age at onset was 32.85±11.23 years. The mean diagnosis age was 36.48±11.61, the
mean disease duration at the first visit was 3.62±4.92, and the mean onset age was
32.85±11.23. The mean age at conversion from relapsing-remitting MS to SPMS was
42.46±10.38. The disease onset age of patients with PPMS was 38.01±12.56. 11.5% of patients
had known familial history, and 8.63% had pediatric-onset MS. Regions of lesions at onset were
spinal cord (48.9%), optic (32.1%), and supratentorial (24.7%).
Conclusion: Our results confirm that older age at onset is a risk factor for more severe MS,
consistent with the literature. However, the prevalence of familial MS and pediatric MS is not
greater than the rate reported in studies covering the entire disability spectrum. Further follow-
up studies are needed to define clinical markers for severe disability.