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Old 01-29-2007, 04:27 PM #1
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Default Marked rise in MS in the US debated by scientists

Marked rise in MS in the US debated by scientists
21:00 29 January 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Roxanne Khamsi


Neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease are becoming more common in the US, a large new analysis suggests.

Deborah Hirtz at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland, US, and colleagues reviewed about 500 research articles describing the prevalence of 12 diseases commonly identified and treated by neurologists.

The team focused on studies published between 1990 and 2005 and ranked them according to various criteria, including scope and diagnostic precision.

Nearly 1 out of every 1000 people in the US – around 266,000 people – suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS), Hirtz’s team calculates. This figure is 50% higher than that estimated by a similarly large literature review published in 1982 (Neurology, vol 32, p 1207).

Higher or lower?
Some scientists speculate that increased amounts of certain pollutants or a reduction in dietary vitamin D have caused a rise in MS cases. These hypotheses remain unproven, according to Douglas Goodin, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at University of California San Francisco Medical Center, US. But Goodin adds that “if the prevalence of MS is increasing we need to find out why”.

Hirtz notes that the higher MS estimate might be due to better diagnosis rather than an actual increase in prevalence.

Conversely, some experts argue that the MS prevalence determined by Hirtz’s team is too low. “The National MS Society alone has over 300,000 people in its data base who have self-identified themselves as having multiple sclerosis,” says Nicholas La Rocca of the society, based in New York.

Alzheimer's up
Hirtz’s analysis also estimates that 67 out of every 1000 people aged 65 or older in the US suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. She says that this represents a “substantial increase” in the prevalence of this disease and attributes this partly to the growing proportion of very elderly people in the US.

According to the new analysis:

• Nearly six out of every 1000 children have some form of autism.

• About two out of every 1000 youngsters have Tourette's syndrome, which is characterised by uncontrolled movements and speech. Hirtz says the collection of reliable data on these disorders is relatively recent.

• The number of traumatic brain injuries is down by 50% over the past few decades, perhaps partly due to better car safety. An estimated 300,000 people in the US suffer such injury each year, researchers report.

• About 13,000 people each year suffer an injury to the spinal cord.

• The prevalence of certain disorders, such as cerebral palsy, migraine and epilepsy, has remained steady in the US over the past 25 years. Rates of Motor neuron/Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease also appear stable. However, a recent study projected that the number of people living with Parkinson’s disease will double from about 4.3 million to 9 million people worldwide over the next 25 years (Neurology, vol 68, p 384).

Journal reference: Neurology (vol 68, p 326)

http://www.newscientist.com/article/...in-the-us.html
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Old 01-29-2007, 04:56 PM #2
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Public release date: 29-Jan-2007
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Contact: Angela Babb
ababb@aan.com
651-695-2789
American Academy of Neurology

Updated rates of common US neurological disorders
ST. PAUL, Minn -- In an up-to-date review of most of the common neurological disorders in the United States published in the January 30, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, researchers reviewed studies from nearly 500 articles published between 1990 and 2005 to determine the best available data.

The study found nearly one out of 1,000 people have multiple sclerosis (MS). "Our estimate of MS prevalence is about 50 percent higher than a comprehensive review from 1982. Whether this reflects improvements in diagnosis or whether incidence is actually increasing deserves further study," said one of the study authors Deborah Hirtz, MD, with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

The rate of Alzheimer’s disease was also up substantially from the past estimate, with the study finding 67 out of 1,000 elderly Americans with Alzheimer’s disease. The authors say these findings merit further research. As for the rate of traumatic brain injuries, the study found 101 out of every 100,000 Americans have a traumatic brain injury each year. That’s a 50-percent drop compared to the past estimate. The authors say the decrease likely reflects more restrictive hospital admission criteria, but improvements in motor vehicle safety may have had an effect.

The study found 183 out of every 100,000 people suffer a stroke each year, and one in 100 has had a stroke in the past. In addition, the study found nearly 10 out of 1,000 elderly Americans have Parkinson’s disease, while nearly four out of every 100,000 Americans have ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Nearly five out of every 100,000 have a new onset spinal cord injury each year. As for childhood neurological disorders, the study found nearly six out of every 1,000 children have autism, with two out of every 1,000 children having cerebral palsy.

This review looked at currently available literature, which presented a wide range of estimates for some diseases. For some disorders the best available data was from western Europe, which was extrapolated to the U.S. population. More high-quality studies from the United States are needed.

"Current, accurate estimates of the numbers of people affected by neurological disorders are needed to understand the burden of these conditions on patients, families, and society, to plan and carry out research on their causes and treatment, and to provide adequate services to people who suffer from these illnesses," said Hirtz, who is also a member of the Quality Standards Subcommittee at the American Academy of Neurology.

###
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2007
Media Contact:
Robin Stinnett, rstinnett@aan.com, (651) 695-2763

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Parkinson’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), dementia, West Nile virus, and ataxia. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit www.aan.com.
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Old 01-31-2007, 04:28 PM #3
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Default 18,000 pals got well

the american association of neurology says that there are 4 in 100,000 pals in the U.S. U.S. population is 300 million. therefore according to this new estimate by AAN, there are 12,000 pals in the U.S.

for the last 6 years or more I have always read that there are 30,000 pals in the U.S. this figure is consistent on a procapita basis with the numbers stated by Canada, UK, France, Germany, etc.

What happend to 18,000 pals in the U.S.?

I think we know that they did not get well.

I live in Orange county, CA. the population of OC is almost exactly 3 million, or 1 percent of the U.S. population. if you believe in the 30,000 pals number for the U.S. there should be 300pals in OC. like wise if you accept the AAN estimate then there should be only 120 pals in OC.

Assuming an average lifespan of a pals to be 4 years, then there should be either 75 or 30 deaths per year due to als in OC.

For many years I have read the obituary page in the OC register looking for deaths due to als. I have seldom seen as many as 2 per month. Never have I seen anywhere near the 6 per month that would be required to justify the 75 annual death estimate.

So what number is correct? Based upon my crude analysis, I have to conclude that the actual prevalence for pals is probably closer to 12,000 than to the 30,000 number that is always published.

This issue points out how desperately we need a national registry. The first requirment of solving any problem is to establish how big it is.

I'm glad these people from AAN are not designing airplanes, bridges, or skyscrapers.
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