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A review of the international epidemiological literature is undertaken with the view of identifying the main demographic and sociocultural features of MS as they apply to ethnic groups. Ethnic groups are differentiated principally in terms of three variables: race, religion, and nationality. Although MS is present in the three principal racial groups in the world (white, oriental, and black), it tends to be unequally distributed. Four hypotheses are formulated regarding the unequal susceptibility of the races to MS. Hypothesis 1. Whereas the highest MS rates are found in regions of the world inhabited largely by white populations, the lowest rates tend to be found in those areas where non-whites live. Hypothesis 2. Racially different groups living in the same geographical area tend to have different MS rates, although there is tendency for whites to experience MS more often than non-whites. The data associated with hypotheses 1 and 2 support a uniformly higher and lower risk for MS among respectively whites and non-whites. If these findings are valid, these studies indicate that racial (genetic) factors may play an important role in the distribution of this disease. Hypothesis 3. Data from this hypothesis confirm the proposition that the risk of MS among white and non-white populations tends to be variable, with variability in susceptibility being especially prominent among whites. Hypothesis 4. The prevalence data, plus the geographical distributions, in the US serve to support the firmly established interpretation that prevalence in all three racial groups tends to increase in frequency with increasing geographical latitude.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Egas Moniz is generally remembered for having discovered cerebral angiography in 1927, and having introduced lobotomy as a form of treatment for mental illness in 1935. Less well known is his pioneering research on occlusive cerebrovascular disease, namely internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion, as documented by cerebral angiography. It is our contention that the medical community has, until recently, largely overlooked this research. His neglected observations on ICA occlusion and the important diagnostic role played by angiography are reviewed. We propose to show how our paper differs from previous publications regarding Moniz's ICA occlusion contributions. Whereas most previous reviews have focused on either the role played by cerebral angiography in the diagnosis of ICA occlusion, or on the importance of Moniz's internal carotid occlusion observations, our review attempts to integrate both topics. We will tie Moniz's ICA occlusion research to his documented use of angiography.

Earlier virologic studies established that human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) is the predominant retrovirus type found among Seminole Indians in southern Florida. We studied 46 members of the Seminole tribe living on 3 reservations to determine the risk factors for HTLV-II and to investigate disease association with the virus. The donors’ plasma samples were evaluated with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent and Western blot assays. DNA extracted from their peripheral blood mononuclear cells were analyzed by type-specific polymerase chain reaction amplification and detection of the HTLV pol gene using the primer pair SK110/SK111, and the probes SK112 or SK188. One of 46 (2%) subjects was identified as HTLV-I positive and 11 (24%) were identified as HTLV-II positive. Restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analyses indicated that all of the HTLV-II strains were subtype b. Mitochondrial DNA analyses indicated that all of the HTLV-II-positive subjects had an Amerindian haplotype. HTLV-II was more prevalent in Indians who were >45 years of age or female, had multiple sex partners or had received a blood transfusion. However, only the latter risk factor was statistically significant. Three of the HTLV-II-positive Indians demonstrated signs and symptoms of an ataxic neuropathy. The data support that HTLV-IIb is endemic among the Seminoles and that they will be a key population for further virologic studies.