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Advanced Neurology

REVIEW ARTICLE
Multiple sclerosis: Unveiling current

immunogenetic factors and their role in
etiopathogenesis and clinical aspects

Benediktas Trumpulis *, Rasa Liutkeviciene , and Renata Balnyte 3
1
2
1 Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Medical Academy, Eiveniu 2 Street, Kaunas, Lithuania
2 Neuroscience Institute, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Medical Academy, Eiveniu Street
2, Kaunas, Lithuania
3 Department of Neurology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Medical Academy, Eiveniu 2
Street, Kaunas, Lithuania

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of neurological deficits among the
young population. While the prevalence of MS is increasing worldwide, the incidence
rate of MS is also undergoing a similar trend in Lithuania. Globally, women are twice as
likely to be affected by MS as men. Unilateral optic neuritis is the most common initial
symptom of MS. The signs and symptoms of MS vary greatly from patient to patient
and depend on the location and severity of the nerve fiber damage in the central
nervous system. Most people with MS have a relapsing-remitting disease course or
clinically isolated syndrome. They experience periods of new symptoms or relapses
that develop over days or weeks and usually resolve partially or completely. These
*Corresponding author: relapses are followed by quiet periods of disease remission that may last months or
Benediktas Trumpulis
(benediktas.trumpulis@stud.lsmu.lt) even years. Data accumulated over the years suggest a complex interplay between
environment and immunogenetics (strong associations with a large number of
Citation: Trumpulis B,
Liutkeviciene R, Balnyte R, 2023, immune and genetic markers), and an increasingly convincing role of an underlying
Multiple sclerosis: Unveiling current degenerative process leading to demyelination (in both white and gray matter),
immunogenetic factors and their axonal and neurosynaptic damage, and a persistent innate inflammatory response,
role in etiopathogenesis and clinical
aspects. Adv Neuro, 2(3): 1319. with T-cell-mediated autoimmunity appearing to play a diminishing role as the MS
https://doi.org/10.36922/an.1319 develops and progresses. In the absence of clinically proven, accurate, and reliable
biomarkers, the disease can take a progressive course in case of late treatment,
Received: July 18, 2023
signifying the critical need for early diagnosis. This article therefore discusses the
Accepted: September 14, 2023 etiopathogenesis and clinical aspects of MS.
Published Online: September 29,
2023
Keywords: Multiple sclerosis; Etiopathogenesis; Clinical aspects
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of neurological deficits among the
properly cited.
young population, with the prevalence increasing worldwide, particularly in Western
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
[1]
Publishing remains neutral with countries . The number of people affected by MS has increased to 2.8 million in 2020.
regard to jurisdictional claims in The global prevalence of MS is estimated to be 35.9/100,000 people in 2022. The number
published maps and institutional
[2]
affiliations. of documented cases has increased by 14.69% globally since 2013 . MS has different
Volume 2 Issue 3 (2023) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/an.1319