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Multiple Sclerosis in Migrants

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Neurology in Migrants and Refugees

Part of the book series: Sustainable Development Goals Series ((SDGS))

Abstract

Multiple Sclerosis is an immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system with a different distribution worldwide. The epidemiology of the disease has attracted considerable attention over the past decades. A latitudinal North-South gradient of Multiple Sclerosis prevalence was globally admitted. However, the pathogenesis of this demyelinating disease is not fully understood. The studies of migration’s effect on Multiple sclerosis broadened our knowledge of this disease, suggesting that some determinants of Multiple Sclerosis risk followed human movements. Mixture between people from different ethnicities and in different areas far from their homelands generated more complexity to the current disease picture. Successive migration studies, since the 1960s, were focused on environmental exposures and their interaction with genetic background. In this chapter, we review relevant papers related to the topic “Multiple Sclerosis and migration”. We also focused on the disease in Low- and Middle-income countries to highlight diagnosis and treatment limitations. Our main purpose was to explore the contribution of migrant studies in the understanding of the epidemiology and the aetiology of Multiple Sclerosis. Therefore, we studied the main issues related disease frequency, mortality among migrants with Multiple Sclerosis, age at migration and its influence on disease risk, and modification of the disease susceptibility over generations according to the status of Multiple Sclerosis in the host country. In summary, all identified features supported the theory of interplay between genetic background and acquired environmental factors in Multiple Sclerosis genesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology and LR 18SP03, Clinical Investigation Centre Neurosciences and Mental Health, University Hospital Razi, Tunis, Tunisia

    R. Gouider, S. Mrabet, A. Souissi, I. Sghaier & I. Kacem

  2. Faculty of Medicine, University Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

    R. Gouider, S. Mrabet & I. Kacem

Authors
  1. R. Gouider
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  2. S. Mrabet
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  3. A. Souissi
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  4. I. Sghaier
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  5. I. Kacem
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. Gouider .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of Neurology and Neuropsychology, Director of the Alzheimer’s Center of Rabat, The Mohammed-V University, Rabat, Morocco

    Mustapha El Alaoui-Faris

  2. Emeritus Professor of Neurology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Antonio Federico

  3. Specialist for Neurology and Psychiatry, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Vienna, Wien, Austria

    Wolfgang Grisold

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Gouider, R., Mrabet, S., Souissi, A., Sghaier, I., Kacem, I. (2022). Multiple Sclerosis in Migrants. In: El Alaoui-Faris, M., Federico, A., Grisold, W. (eds) Neurology in Migrants and Refugees. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81058-0_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81058-0_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-81057-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-81058-0

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