Movement Disorders Course for Non-Specialist Doctors
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - March 23-24, 2015
Background
There is little known about the epidemiology of Movement Disorders in sub-Saharan Africa. Two classic articles from the 1980’s found that the prevalence of Parkinson's disease in Africans was approximately 20% that of African Americans.(Schoenberg, Anderson et al. 1985; Schoenberg, Osuntokun et al. 1988) More recently however, a study found that the prevalence of PD in Tanzanian males was similar to that in African American men in northern Manhattan.(Mayeux, Marder et al. 1995; Dotchin, Msuya et al. 2008) One study in a Neurology Department in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, documented that Movement Disorders make up 15.1% of the patients in an outpatient clinic, with PD representing 47.7% of those.(Bower, Teshome et al. 2005) Nonetheless, there is clear agreement that sub-Saharan Africa is undergoing an epidemiologic transition. With the aging of their population, noncommunicable diseases such as Movement Disorders will definitely increase.
There is a paucity of neurologists in sub-Saharan Africa. It has been estimated that over 31 million people live in nations with 0-4 neurologists.(Bower and Zenebe 2005) International societies can benefit our medical colleagues in SSA by offering educational conferences to them. Ethiopia is a country of 92 million. In 2006, with a total of only four neurologists in the country and the help of international adjunct professors, the Addis Ababa University School of Medicine started a Neurology residency program in the capital, Addis Ababa. There are now more than 12 neurologists in the country. The outlying medical schools are for the first time being staffed by a trained neurologist. They would benefit by more training in Movement Disorders.
Course Description
The topics included: Parkinson's disease- clinical, pathologic and therapeutic approaches; Non-Motor aspects of parkinsonism; PSP and MSA; Video Overview of Movement Disorders; Tremor disorders- classification and treatment; Myoclonus- syndromes and treatment; Huntington’s disease and other choreas; Tic Disorders; Dystonias - classification and treatment. There were formal didactic lectures, but also small group sessions for case discussions, and opportunities for the students to present videos.
References
Bower, J. H., M. Teshome, et al. (2005). "Frequency of movement disorders in an Ethiopian university practice." Movement disorders: official journal of the Movement Disorder Society20(9): 1209-1213.
Bower, J. H. and G. Zenebe (2005). "Neurologic services in the nations of Africa." Neurology64: 412-415.
Dotchin, C., O. Msuya, et al. (2008). "The prevalence of Parkinson's disease in rural Tanzania." Movement disorders: official journal of the Movement Disorder Society23(11): 1567-1672.
Mayeux, R., K. Marder, et al. (1995). "The frequency of idiopathic Parkinson's disease by age, ethnic group, and sex in northern Manhattan, 1988-1993." American journal of epidemiology142(8): 820-827.
Schoenberg, B. S., D. W. Anderson, et al. (1985). "Prevalence of Parkinson's disease in the biracial population of Copiah County, Mississippi." Neurology35(6): 841-845.
Schoenberg, B. S., B. O. Osuntokun, et al. (1988). "Comparison of the prevalence of Parkinson's disease in black populations in the rural United States and in rural Nigeria: door-to-door community studies." Neurology38(4): 645-646.