Multiple sclerosis in Oman

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) seen in Oman and compare it with those seen in the Arabian peninsula, the rest of Asia and the Western world.

METHODS: A hospital based case descriptive study of MS patients, seen at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in the Sultanate of Oman, between June 1990- June 2000.

RESULTS: We saw a total of 30 patients during the study period, with a prevalence of 4/100,000. Mean age at onset was 27 and male to female ratio was 1.1:1. Visual and motor symptoms were the most common presenting features. Lesions were distributed in the optic nerve in 17, spinal cord in 16, cerebral hemispheres in 12 and brain stem and cerebellum in 10. One third of patients had the optico-spinal form of the disease. Twenty-three patients had a remitting and relapsing course, 4 had secondary progressive and 3 had a primary progressive course. Cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal band was positive only in 20% of patients, and we carried out HLA analysis in 24 of these patients.

CONCLUSION: The incidence of MS is low in Oman, but similar to other countries in the region. The optico-spinal form of the disease constituted 30% in this series, comparable to other series reported from Asia. Generally, the clinical profile of MS seen in Oman is very similar to those reported from the Arabian Peninsula and other Asian regions.