Multiple sclerosis is typically diagnosed in people of Northern European extraction, explains neurologist Charles Smith, MD. Watch as he discusses why women are diagnosed with MS three times more often than men.
Well, anybody could be, but it's primarily a disease of Caucasians, and especially women. And, in fact, the female to male ration is pretty close to 3:1. And, it's people of a certain age, they said, the age about it around 30, it's very, very rate to see a person through that after age 60. It can occur in childhood and there are instances of very small children getting multiple Sclerosis, as young as 3, 4, and 5.
Mainly people from Northern European extraction, and for that reason, a white woman represents with the history of a symptom that suggests a possible and an episode, that's the question that we often consider. We don't tell them that because just the mere mention of multiple sclerosis can have very devastating impact on the patient's anxiety about the future.
So we tell them we're going to do some test to see what the answer to your problem and to see what other treatment you need.
Charles Smith, MD is a neurologist at Scripps Clinic in San Diego. He is a leading expert on multiple sclerosis.
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