Sex as a Determinant of Relapse Incidence & MS Progression

Dr Tomas Kalincik et al

Relapses of MS activity present with worsening of neurological symptoms and are usually followed by periods of stability. These are a defining feature of relapsing-remitting MS, the most common form of MS.

MSBase is a large, international collaboration that records large amounts of information from people with MS over the course of their disease. Researchers from The University of Melbourne used the MSBase to conduct a large study examining the relationship between gender and relapses. The study used data from 11,570 patients with relapsing-remitting MS from 25 countries. It showed that women are more likely to experience relapses than men. In particular, among patients with multiple relapses per year, there are more women than men, especially later in the disease course. It has been shown that the frequency of relapses decreases with time. The MSBase study showed that this decrease is determined more by patient age than MS duration.

The mechanisms underlying the relationship between sex and relapses are unknown, and figuring this out may improve our understanding of the mechanisms of MS.