Increased Risk of Stroke in Hispanic Patients with Multiple Sclerosis?: A Case Report and Literature Review on Multiple Sclerosis in the Rio Grande Valley.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) and stroke share a common pathogenesis that contributes to mortality and disability in patients in both developed and developing countries. MS and stroke have similar risk factors, however, the relationship between ethnicity and disease co-occurrence is unclear. Here, we describe a case report of disease co-occurrence in a Hispanic patient in the Rio Grande Valley and present a literature review on evidence suggesting an increased risk of stroke in Hispanic patients with multiple sclerosis. Method: Relevant studies were systematically searched in PubMed/Medline and Google Scholar dated from January 2013 up to April 2024 that contained combinations of ‘multiple sclerosis’ and ‘stroke’. The following keywords were included: cerebrovascular disease, comorbidity, intracerebral hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and Hispanic American. A manual search was utilized to select relevant articles. Results: A manual search of PubMed for articles on multiple sclerosis and stroke from January 2013 to April 2024 yielded 2,973 results, including 220 systematic reviews, 71 meta-analyses, 46 randomized control trials, 76 clinical trials, 1,099 reviews, and other books and documents. Similarly, a Google Scholar search with the same date filter and using 'allintitle' produced 223 results. All papers were reviewed, duplicates were removed and papers which met the following criteria were included for analysis (n=38). of which 38 were relevant review articles. Conclusion: In conclusion, our work emphasizes the importance of more investigation into the relationship shared between the role of Hispanic ethnicity, MS, and stroke. A clear connection between risk factors common to both MS and stroke has been shown that proves how necessary studies of the comorbidities attributed to MS are. Although strides in evidence that link the two pathologies have been made, there are clear information gaps on how the disease course differs in the Hispanic population putting this demographic at risk for comorbidities. The included case report also underscores the intricate disease course Hispanic patients with MS experience when compared to other demographics. Overall, this review shows the need for more well-defined studies on this patient population.