TEHRAN – The 18th International Congress on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) will be held virtually from December 1 to 3, ISNA reported on Sunday.

The Iranian MS Society is to host the international MS congress with the cooperation of the MS research center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, faculty members of medical universities, and neurologists across the country.

The scientific event will be held in order to advance research and effective treatments for MS and to promote the scientific level of the Iranian medical community.

In Iran, every 87 per 100,000 populations are diagnosed with MS.MS is one of the most common diseases in the central nervous system, that is, the brain and spinal cord. Multiple Sclerosis is an inflammatory demyelinating condition, which is caused by damage to myelin, a fatty material that insulates nerves.

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, more than 2.8 million individuals suffer from neurological disease, which is found more in women than in men.

The total number of MS patients admitted by the Ministry of Health system all around the country has now reached above 70,000 people, which is an alarming number, Mehdi Shadnoush, head of the Health Ministry's center for transplantation and disease management, said in May.

Stating that the prevalence of the disease is still 2.5 times higher in women than men and is developed more in the age group of 20 to 45 years, he noted that according to global statistics, the average prevalence is 112 people per 100,000 populations and its incidence is 5.2 per 100,000 populations. Of course, this ratio varies from country to country.

In Iran, every 87 per 100,000 populations are diagnosed with the disease, which is one of the countries with the highest prevalence rate, he added.

However, in recent decades, MS prevalence in Iran has grown larger than ever, especially in urban areas, he lamented, adding, so that the timely diagnosis and control of the disease among youth comes to attention more than ever.

On average, about 5,000 people develop MS in the country every year, according to Shadnoush.

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