• Styliani-Aggeliki Sintila, Marina Boziki, Christos Bakirtzis, Thomai Stardeli, Nikoletta Smyrni, Ioannis Nikolaidis, Dimitrios Parissis, Theodora Afrantou, Theodore Karapanayiotides, Ioanna Koutroulou, Virginia Giantzi, Paschalis Theotokis, Evangelia Kesidou, Georgia Xiromerisiou, Efthimios Dardiotis, Panagiotis Ioannidis, and Nikolaos Grigoriadis.
• 2nd Department of Neurology, AHEPA University Hospital, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
• Medicina (Kaunas). 2023 Jan 30; 59 (2).

AbstractBackground and Objectives: Rare diseases (RDs) are life-threatening or chronically impairing conditions that affect about 6% of the world's population. RDs are often called 'orphan' diseases, since people suffering from them attract little support from national health systems. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe the clinical characteristics of, and the available laboratory examinations for, patients who were hospitalized in a tertiary referral center and finally received a diagnosis associated with a Rare Neurological Disease (RND). Materials and Methods: Patients that were hospitalized in our clinic from 1 January 2014 to 31 March 2022 and were finally diagnosed with an RND were consecutively included. The RND classification was performed according to the ORPHAcode system. Results: A total of 342 out of 11.850 (2.9%) adult patients admitted to our department during this period received a diagnosis associated with an RND. The most common diagnosis (N = 80, 23%) involved an RND presenting with dementia, followed by a motor neuron disease spectrum disorder (N = 64, 18.7%). Family history indicative of an RND was present in only 21 patients (6.1%). Fifty-five (16%) people had previously been misdiagnosed with another neurological condition. The mean time delay between disease onset and diagnosis was 4.24 ± 0.41 years. Conclusions: Our data indicate that a broad spectrum of RNDs may reach a tertiary Neurological Center after a significant delay. Moreover, our data underline the need for a network of reference centers, both at a national and international level, expected to support research on the diagnosis and treatment of RND.

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