Copyright (c) 2026 Fernando Pérez López, Fernando Gracia García
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system characterized by a heterogeneous course and significant functional impairment. In Panama, data from national referral centers are limited. The objective of this study was to describe
the demographic, clinical, and epidemiological characteristics of patients treated at the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic of Santo Tomás Hospital between 1997 and 2025.
Materials and Methods An observational, descriptive, and retrospective study was conducted by reviewing 102 medical records and analyzing sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical, and therapeutic variables.
Results 75.49% of the patients were women, with a median current age of 41.6 years. The median age at symptom onset was 30.6 years and at diagnosis was 31.2 years, with a diagnostic delay of 1.2 months. The relapsing-remitting phenotype predominated 85.29% of cases. The most common initial manifestations were motor (42.16%), visual (26.47%), and sensory (17.65%). The median EDSS score was 2.5, and the annualized relapse rate was 0.23. A high lesion burden was documented in 44.12% of patients, and gadolinium-enhancing lesions were present in 22.55%. Oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid were positive in 90.76%. 46.53% required a change in disease-modifying therapy, primarily due to treatment failure. Conclusion: MS at this center exhibits characteristics comparable to international cohorts and provides relevant local evidence to optimize the clinical approach and strengthen public health policies in Panama.
