Epidemiology and clinical features of demyelinating disorders in India

• Published in: Neurology and clinical neuroscience Vol. 9; no. 4; pp. 266 - 273
• Main Authors: Pandit, Lekha, Mustafa, Sharik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2021
• Subjects: AQP4‐IgG; Aquaporin 4; Demyelination; Epidemiology; Immunoglobulin G; MOGAD; MOG‐IgG; Multiple sclerosis; Myelitis; Neuritis; Neuromyelitis; NMOSD; Oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein; Optic neuritis; Serological tests; India
• ISSN: 2049-4173; 2049-4173
• DOI: 10.1111/ncn3.12487

Epidemiological and clinical features of demyelinating disorders in the Indian context have been sparsely reported. This paper aims to provide a review of literature from the past decade on the same. PubMed, Google scholar, and PubMed search databases were searched using subject headings and key words for data from the past 10 years (1999‐2019). Data from studies that collected Incidence and prevalence of demyelinating disorders were prioritized. In addition, clinical and demographic features of demyelinating disorders were obtained from hospital‐based studies published from different regions within India. The sole epidemiological study from India showed a prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) among Indians to be 8.3/100 000 and that of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) to be 2.7/100 000. Clinical features of MS obtained from hospital‐based studies showed female predominance, an onset of disease predominantly in the second decade of life and pyramidal dysfunction as a common initial attack. Aquaporin 4‐IgG‐associated NMOSD were predominantly in woman with myelitis as the most common initial attack. In contrast, MOG‐IgG‐associated disorders showed no gender bias and presented often with optic neuritis. There is growing awareness of demyelinating disorders in India, and the availability of imaging and serological tests has allowed for accurate and early diagnosis. In the absence of large epidemiological studies at the national level, there is likely to be a significant underestimation of prevalence and incidence of these diseases.