Incidence of first-ever transient ischemic attack in Eastern Finland

Evaluation of Transient Ischemic Stroke Cases Admitted to a Tertiary Hospital in Mehedinți County, South-West of Romania

The transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a common cerebrovascular ischemic disease whose symptoms resolve within a maximum of 24 hours. The study carried out by us is a retrospective descriptive one, in which we sought to highlight the main characteristics of TIA in patients admitted to the Emergency Hospital in Turnu-Severin municipality in Mehedinți county, in the period 2016-2020, including a group of 53 patients, mainly from Mehedinți county. The analysis of the study group and the risk factors showed that TIA mainly affects the elderly, over 50 years old, with the highest incidence being recorded in the 60-80-year age groups, with an extremely low incidence under 40 years. Significant differences were found between the sexes and between the social environments, with women and people from the urban environment being more prone to suffer a TIA. Among the most important modifiable risk factors encountered in TIA patients included in the study, the following were highlighted: HTN, obesity and atherosclerosis. Knowing the modifiable factors and combating them can improve the prognosis of AIT.

Adult-Onset Neuroepidemiology in Finland: Lessons to Learn and Work to Do

Finland is a relatively small genetic isolate with a genetically non-homogenous population. Available Finnish data on neuroepidemiology of adult-onset disorders are limited, and this paper describes the conclusions that can be drawn and their implications. Apparently, Finnish people have a (relatively) high risk of developing Unverricht-Lundborg disease (EPM1), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Spinal muscular atrophy, Jokela type (SMAJ) and adult-onset dystonia. On the other hand, some disorders, such as Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) and Wilson's disease (WD), are almost absent or completely absent in the population. Valid and timely data concerning even many common disorders, such as stroke, migraine, neuropathy, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, are unavailable, and there are virtually no data on many less-common neurological disorders, such as neurosarcoidosis or autoimmune encephalitides. There also appear to be marked regional differences in the incidence and prevalence of many diseases, suggesting that non-granular nationwide data may be misleading in many cases. Concentrated efforts to advance neuroepidemiological research in the country would be of clinical, administrative and scientific benefit, but currently, all progress is blocked by administrative and financial obstacles.