Monitoring Huntington's Disease Mortality across a 30-Year Period: Geographic and Temporal Patterns.

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by chorea, dystonia, behavioral disturbances and cognitive decline. The aim of this study is to assess temporal and spatial changes on mortality attributable to HD over 30 years in Spain.

Methods: HD data were extracted from the nationwide mortality registry for the period 1984-2013.

Respiratory diseases registries in the national registry of rare diseases.

This report describes the general characteristics, objectives and organizational aspects of the registries of rare respiratory diseases included in the National Registry of Rare Diseases of the Research Institute for Rare Diseases (ISCIII), in order to publicize their existence and encourage the participation of professionals. Information is collected on the following conditions: alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, idiopathic tracheal stenosis, adult pulmonary Langerhans' cell histiocytosis, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, alveolar proteinosis, and sarcoidosis.

Rare diseases epidemiology research.

Rare Diseases Epidemiology is a novel action field still largely unexplored. However, Rare Diseases is a topic of growing interest at world level. The aims of this chapter are to revise useful epidemiological tools and define areas where epidemiology can help improve the rare disease knowledge, and facilitate policy decisions taking into account the real burden of rare diseases in society.

Effects of toxic oil syndrome on the psychological conditions of the descendants of affected persons.

Objective: In May 1981, the Toxic Oil Syndrome (TOS) affected over 20,000 people, in Spain, as a result of the ingestion of rapeseed oil that had been denatured with 2% aniline. Amongst many physical and organic problems, many patients in this cohort showed different degrees of anxiety and depression. It can be hypothesized that their children might well be susceptible to suffer from anxiety, depression and other psychological disturbances.

High prevalence of cardiovascular risk in patients with toxic oil syndrome: a comparative study using the general Spanish population.

Background: The objective of this study was to compare current prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors (CRF) between a cohort of patients affected by the toxic oil syndrome (TOS) epidemic, which occurred in Spain in 1981, and the unaffected Spanish population.

Methods: This was a case-referent study covering 1276 TOS cases and a referent population of 2843 (aged 35-65 years) using data collected from 1996 to 2003. Study variables were high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, dyslipemia, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.

Neurologic outcomes of toxic oil syndrome patients 18 years after the epidemic.

Toxic oil syndrome (TOS) resulted from consumption of rapeseed oil denatured with 2% aniline and affected more than 20,000 persons. Eighteen years after the epidemic, many patients continue to report neurologic symptoms that are difficult to evaluate using conventional techniques. We conducted an epidemiologic study to determine whether an exposure to toxic oil 18 years ago was associated with current adverse neurobehavioral effects.