Does Early-Onset Multiple Scleroses differ from Adult-onset form?

Few studies have attempted to delineate the clinical profile of multiple Sclerosis (MS) among people of Asia; therefore we sought to identify the characteristics of early-onset Multiple Sclerosis (EOMS) comparison to adult-onset form (AOMS) in Isfahan, IRAN.Patients and this prospective study consisted of 104 youths with multiple sclerosis beginning before the age of 16 years and 123 patients with adult-onset multiple sclerosis.Patients were followed for a mean period observation of 5 years. The common presenting symptoms, MRI finding, course of disease and disability score were compared between two groups. The mean onset age of disease in youths and adults were 14.05±1.9 and 27.7±8.06 respectively.Female /Male ratio was 4.47:1 in EOMS and 3.92:1 in AOMS, this ratio was 7:1 in really childhood MS (≤10 year).The most common presenting symptom was Optic Neuritis in the EOMS group and paresthesia in AOMS. Optic neuritis was common in AOMS too,but ataxia was more common in EOMS than AOMS. Seizure occurred more frequently in EOMS than in the AOMS group (12.6% vs 1.6% respectively p