MS expert, advocate discuss need for greater visibility and awareness
by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD |
Multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been considered a disease that mostly affects white women. But in the U.S., the numbers indicate that Black people, particularly Black women, may be more likely to develop the neurodegenerative disease than people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
For Black individuals, this misunderstanding can lead to misdiagnoses, gaps in care, underrepresentation in clinical trials, and an overall lack of visibility in the MS community.
“There’s still a need for awareness in the general community … that MS does occur in Black people. I think that’s still a huge unmet need,” Mitzi Joi Williams, MD, a neurologist and MS specialist, said in an interview with Multiple Sclerosis News Today.
The interview took place during last week’s Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, held in San Diego, following the Biogen-hosted exclusive in-person premiere of the “MS in Black and African Americans” documentary.
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