SPECTRUM OF MOVEMENT-DISORDERS IN A SAUDI-UNIVERSITY-HOSPITAL

Background: Information about movement disorders in Saudi Arabia is st ill very limited. Methods: Retrospective review of movement disorders cases referred to the Pediatric and Adult Neurology clinics in King Fa had University Hospital, Al Khobar, between January 1985 and December 1990. Results: There were 137 cases, 93 males (68%) and 44 females (32 %). Of these, 115 (84%) were Saudi nationals. Parkinsonism, the most c ommon syndrome accounted for 71 cases of which 64 cases were Parkinson 's disease. Of the 25 cases of dystonia 18 were idiopathic; in the sev en cases in which a clear cause was identified there was one case each of Wilson's disease, multiple sclerosis, Leigh's disease, Fahr's dise ase; the remaining three cases were siblings with Hallervorden-Spatz s yndrome. There were ten cases of Sydenham's chorea. One case of hemiba llismus was associated with a toxoplasmic abscess in a patient with HI V-1 infection. Comments: Movement disorders constituted 6% of the refe rrals to the neurology clinics or 49/100 000 hospital patients. The sp ectrum embraced most of the major syndromes of this category. However, there was a striking rarity of some disorders which are common elsewh ere, such as Huntington's chorea.