AI Summary
This article discusses the challenges of differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in regions such as Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, eastern Europe, southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific. It highlights how environmental factors, genetic background, and access to medical care vary in these areas compared to North America and western Europe where multiple sclerosis is most prevalent. The article also mentions that diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis are primarily based on data from North America and western Europe.
The differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis can present specific challenges in patients from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, eastern Europe, southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific. In these areas, environmental factors, genetic background, and access to medical care can differ substantially from those in North America and western Europe, where multiple sclerosis is most common. Furthermore, multiple sclerosis diagnostic criteria have been developed primarily using data from North America and western Europe.