eNeurologicalSci – Special Issue on Neurological Disorders in South America

CARAMELLI, PAULO; CONFORTO, ADRIANA B.; VERDUGO, RENATO J.; ALLEGRI, RICARDO

eNeurologicalSci

Elsevier B.V.

Año: 2016 vol. 5 p. 41 - 41

South America includes 12 countries and three overseas territories, currently accounting for a total population of approximately 420 million people. Life expectancy rates have grown significantly in the continent in the last 50 years and nowadays for almost all countries life expectancy at birth has reached 72 or more years.Within this scenario of significant population growth and rapid process of demographic transition, the prevalence and incidence of neurological disorders are rising. Given the local sociodemographic, socioeconomic, ethnic and genetic characteristics of the continent?s population, the etiologies of several neurological conditions include diseases that are also common in more developed countries, besides specific infectious and parasitic disorders that are still prevalent in many areas of the continent.The number of neurologists is yet insufficient in most South American countries, although there have been efforts in the last two decades to qualify more specialists in order to improve assistance to the population. Investigation in Clinical Neurology has also grown significantly, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and there are currently several centers with very good infrastructure and research expertise.This special issue of eNeurologicalSci publishes several manuscripts focusing on neurological disorders in South America. The papers address clinical and epidemiological topics on different neurological conditions, such as epilepsy, cognitive impairment and dementia, Parkinson?s disease and stroke, exploring some important issues about these disorders.We thank all the authors of these manuscripts for their valuable contributions, which expand our knowledge in these areas, also by offering a South-American view. We hope that the readers of eNeurologicalSci will appreciate.