Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in West bank of Palestine.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, and the major neurologic cause of disability in young adults. Its incidence and prevalence vary significantly between different ethnic groups and geographical regions. It is thought that MS is more frequent as we go further from the equator. In Palestine, there is yet no published data concerning its incidence and prevalence. So, in this article, we aim to study the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of MS in the West Bank of Palestine. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted from year 2010 to 2019 among MS patients in West Bank. Demographic and clinical records of concerned patients were collected from the database of the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Age, sex, onset of symptoms, first symptom, year of diagnosis, family history, and smoking were noted. The crude 2019 prevalence and incidence rate were calculated. RESULTS: We identified 1652 MS patients with 1074 (65.01%) females and 578 (34.99%) males. In 2010, the crude incidence rate was 1.96 cases per 100,000. Peaked in 2017 to 6.08, and then dropped unexpectedly in 2018 to 2.91 before it re-rose again to 3.54 in 2019. The incidence rates among females were higher than in males from 2010 to 2019. 802 and 730 patients were diagnosed at age groups (below 30) year and (30-45) year respectively, which comprises 92.74% of all patients. Males were slightly more affected at a later age group (30-45), whereas females were more affected at age group below 30. The most common symptom at disease onset was motor presentation (16.04%) followed by blurring of vision (15.74%). CONCLUSION: This is the first epidemiological study regarding MS disease in the West Bank of Palestine. Our results showed that crude incidence rate is increasing from 2010 to 2017. This is in part due to increasing awareness of the disease as well as the availability of diagnostic tools. Further researches will be necessary to closely monitor this increasing trend of the disease amongst Palestinian population in the coming future. Clinical features of the disease were similar to those described in the literature.

A review of penile cancer.

UNLABELLED: Cancer of the penis is a rare tumour in Europe and mainly affects the elderly patient population. The aim of this paper was to analyse and study the characteristics of this tumour, in our patient population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on penile tumours diagnosed and treated in the Urology Department of the Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, in the last ten years. RESULTS: A total of 34 patients were diagnosed and treated. The mean age at presentation was 71.27 years. The mean time between symptoms and the first consultation was 12.54 months with a median of 6 months. The most common form of presentation was balanoposthitis (32%) and the most common site in our series was the glans. Partial penectomy was performed in 22 cases, total amputation in 8, and local excision in 3. DISCUSSION: Carcinoma of the penis is a pathology which mostly affects elderly patients; in our series, the highest incidence was observed in patients in the group aged 75-84 years. The most common histological type was epidermoid carcinoma in its various forms of presentation. We recorded a mortality of 23%. CONCLUSION: Penile carcinoma is a rare pathology which affects elderly persons and is diagnosed late.