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Abstract This study was a hospital based study carried out among the inpatients of neurology unit - Assiut university hospital through a period of one year retrospectively (from January 1st –December31st 2003). This work aimed to study the relative frequency of neurological disorders and /or diseases in the patients that had been admitted to neurology unit of Assiut University Hospital. One thousand four hundreds and eleven patients (1411) were admitted to neurology unit of both sexes {56.3% males and 43.7% females}. As regard the different ages of the patients there were a higher percent of admission of neurological diseases in adulthood period {18- <65 years} (69.7%), followed by elderly {65 years and more} (18.4%) and lastly childhood period {1- <18 years} (11.9%). Males were higher than females in all age groups. Cerebrovascular stroke was the commonest illness in adulthood and elderly. While the CNS infection and epilepsy were the most common neurological diseases in children. Cerebrovascular stroke, CNS infection, spinal cord and root diseases, epilepsy and radiculoneuropathies were the most frequent diseases. The total mortality rate of neurological diseases in our department was 18.1%, the highest death rate were observed in cerebrovascular stroke (26.8%) and CNS infection (19.3%). As regard the subtypes of cerebrovascular stroke there was significant higher rate of occurrence of ischemic stroke over hemorrhagic stroke (70.5% vs. 29.5%). Regarding the anatomical site of cerebrovascular stroke there was significant occurrence of anterior circulatory stroke over posterior circulatory stroke (86.3% vs. 13.7%). Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking in males, cardiac disease and recurrent stroke was the most common risk factors detected. There were no significant differences in mortality rates between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. As regard diseases of the cord and root there was high significance of occurrence of spinal cord diseases compared to combined cord and root diseases. Compressive lesions were significantly higher than non- compressive lesions. Radiculopathy (58.8%) was the most common type of root and peripheral nerve diseases, followed by polyradiculoneuropathy (27.7%), and lastly peripheral neuropathy (13.5%). Generalized convulsions were significantly higher than partial seizures; serial fits, uncontrolled fits, and status epilepticus were the most common causes of admission of epileptic patients. 59.1% of epileptic patients receive monotherapy. Extrapyramidal disorders responsible for 2.8% of neurological diseases admitted to our department. Parkinsonism was the commonest (56.4%), followed by chorea (28.2%), and dystonia (15.4%). Parkinson’s disease (72.7%) was the commonest subtype of Parkinsonism. Brain tumors account for 2.8% of patients. Supratentorial tumors were the most common (64.1%). Muscle diseases account for 2.6% of patients, myasthenia gravis (37%) was the most frequent followed by myopathy (31.5%), myositis (21%), and lastly periodic muscular paralysis (10.5%). Benign increase intracranial pressure account for 1% of cases, females were more common than males. Motor neuron disease responsible for 0.8% of cases, and lastly multiple sclerosis (0.7%). |