No abstract

Objective To assess whether the month of birth in different latitudes of South America might influence the presence or severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life. Methods Neurologists in four South American countries working at MS units collected data on their patients' month of birth, gender, age, and disease progression. Results Analysis of data from 1207 MS patients and 1207 control subjects did not show any significant variation in the month of birth regarding the prevalence of MS in four latitude bands (0–10; 11–20; 21–30; and 31–40 degrees). There was no relationship between the month of birth and the severity of disease in each latitude band. Conclusion The results from this study show that MS patients born to mothers who were pregnant at different Southern latitudes do not follow the seasonal pattern observed at high Northern latitudes.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease characterized by demyelination and neurodegeneration of the central nervous system. Immunomodulatory treatment is possible at an early stage of the disease, and consists of injections of either beta-interferon or glatiramer acetate. The drugs are not curative, and the need for frequent injections may give rise to a serious problem regarding adherence to treatment. The present study analyzed the database of all Brazilian patients using glatiramer acetate between June 2003 and December 2006 who had enrolled in the patient program run by the pharmaceutical company commercializing the drug. The rate of treatment discontinuation was 10% over this period, and the main reason for suspending the drug was medical decisions (47% of all discontinuations), rather than side effects or the patient's choice. The present work did not take into consideration the regularity of injections and the main objective was to assess discontinuation. It was concluded that adequate healthcare, education, and a specifi c program for patients were the factors responsible for this 90% adherence to glatiramer acetate treatment in Brazil.