Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive, autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). It afflicts an estimated 2.8 million people worldwide, or 1 in 3000 (Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, Atlas of MS, 2020).

MS is a disease with an unknown exact cause; however, several factors can increase the risk of its development or progression. These risk factors are divided into two categories: modifiable risk factors (body mass, diet, smoking, vitamin D, and sun exposure, etc.) (Bargiela and Chinnery, 2019), and non-modifiable factors (age, biological sex, and genetics) (Belbasis et al., 2020; Goodin et al., 2021; Russi et al., 2018).

Clinically, the diagnosis of MS is based on the 2017 McDonald criteria (Thompson et al., 2018). Patients with MS (pwMS) may suffer from multiple symptoms, such as fatigue, pain, sensory complaints, spasticity, and cognitive, urinary, and digestive complaints (Silveira et al., 2022). In terms of MS clinical phenotypes, we classify them into two main categories: MSRR and progressive MS (Lublin et al., 2014a).

The pharmacological management of MS is based on three types of medication: disease-modifying therapy (DMT), symptom management, and relapse management (Yamout et al., 2020). In addition to pharmacological treatment, patients have recourse to non-pharmacological treatment, especially traditional medicine.

In Morocco, epidemiological studies on multiple sclerosis are lacking due to the difficulty of reaching MS patients and the absence of a national registry for the disease. MS generally affects young adults, with a median age of 35.36 years and a female predominance (69.4 %) (Lotfi et al., 2022b). The prevalence rate in Morocco has been estimated at 20 per 100,000 (Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, Atlas of MS, 2020).

In addition to the sociodemographic and economic aspects already studied (Lotfi et al., 2022a), this study explores other disease features in Morocco: clinical (clinical phenotype, principal symptoms, mode of access to diagnosis, number of relapses per year), epidemiological (familial MS, physical activity, climate, smoking, body mass index, vitamin D levels, stress…), and therapeutic (type and cost of treatments used, use of complementary medicine). Furthermore, in the present study, we will attempt to test the relationship between these features and the number of annual relapses. Thus, our study aims to describe the epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics of patients with pwMS in Morocco.