ABSTRACT
The word epidemiology comes from the Greek words epi (among), demos (people) and logos (doctrine), and thus means the doctrine of what is happening to people. The original meaning of epidemiology as the branch of medicine which deals with epidemics is no longer valid. Epidemiology is currently defined as the study of the distribution and dynamics of health and illness in human and other populations, and of the factors that influence these characteristics. Neuroepidemiology is the application of epidemiology to neurological disorders. Whereas a neurologist is concerned with the disease in an individual patient, a neuroepidemiologist is interested in the occurrence of the disease within a defined community.
