We describe the methods and operational definitions of an epidemiological door-to-door survey for the detection of neurological disorders in Atahualpa, a rural community of approximately 2,600 inhabitants, located in the coastal region of Ecuador. We will determine the prevalence of epilepsy; the prevalence and incidence of cerebrovascular disease; the prevalence of dementia; the relationship between smoking, alcohol ingestion, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and stroke; the relationship between cysticercosis and epilepsy; and the prevalence of Taenia solium infection among individuals who tested positive for anti-cysticercal antibodies in serum. We hope that improved epidemiological knowledge on some differences of expression that such diseases may present according to racial, cultural, and socio-economic factors, may improve the control and management of these conditions in Atahualpa.
Publicación Oficial de la Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Neurología, de la Liga Ecuatoriana Contra la Epilepsia y de la Sociedad Iberoamericana de Enfermedad Cerebrovascular
