Background & Objective: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. It is more common in men than in women, however more than half total stroke death occur in women. Several conditions and lifestyle factors have been well established as risk factors for stroke. The purpose of this study was to asses the magnitude of classic stroke risk factors and its pattern in women.

 Methods: A total of 62 patients with first-onset ischemic stroke were accrued from neurology unit of Alavi hospital during 2002 and compared with their age-matched controls from other units of same hospital. Information concerning potential risk factor exposure status was collected by structured questionnaire at interviews. Stroke risks were estimated by calculating the odds ratios.

 Results: Significantly increased risk of stroke was found among women with hypertension (OR=8.4 CI=3.7-1.8), current smoking (OR=4.2 CI=1.1-16), diabetes (OR=3.7 CI=1.4-9.7) and heart disease (OR=3.2 CI=1.2-8.4). Association of other factors (passive smoking, Hypercholestrolemia) with stroke was not significant.

 Conclusions: Hypertension, diabetes, current smoking and heart disease are major risk factors for stroke in women. Given that the majority of these factors are either correctable or modifiable, prevention strategies should be planned in accordance with this point in order to reduce the occurrence of stroke in women.

  Background & Objective : Despite the ever increasing use of oral contraceptives there is uncertainty about the stroke risk associated with their use. Some cases of pulmonary Emboli and stroke have been reported among women taking these pills. The present research was conducted to investigate the relationship between taking contraceptive pills and the risk of ischemic stroke.

  Methods : In a case-control study, women with definite ischemic stroke were selected from Alavi Hospital in Ardabil who had no prior stroke. The control group was age-matched ( ± 3years) to cases and were selected from other wards of the same hospital. A questionnaire was administered to elicit information about prior exposure to various risk factors, including the oral contraceptive pill (OCP). The data were analyzed by SPSS software (Ver. 12) and statistical methods such as chi-square, multivariate regression and ANOVA. The risk factor were estimated by odds ratio.

 Results: OCP consumption was associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke (OR=5.4 95% CI=1.1-5.3), and after adjustment for other risk factors of stroke it was OR=2.7 (95% CI=0. 95-7.2) with p=0.05.

 Conclusions: According to this study there was weak evidence for an association between ischemic stroke and OCP consumption. Extended studies are needed to clarify the relationship between risk of stroke and the present/ past use of OCP.

  Temporal arthritis (TA) is a systemic inflammatory vasculitis with unknown etiology, which involves large and medium sized arteries. A wide spectrum of systemic, neurological and ophthalmological complications appears in the course of the disease the most serious of which is visual impairment leading to permanent blindness in 60% of the cases.

  TA is diagnosed through an elevated ESR (>60 mm/Hg) and pathological findings of arterial biopsy. It is considered as one of the urgent neurological cases in which the patient should be treated with corticostroid immediately after diagnosis. The subject of this research was a 62-year-old male who had had headache associated with fatigue, night sweats and low mood for four month. The diagnosis of TA was made considering an elevated ESR and temporal artery biopsy findings. Treatment with prednisolone was initiated and continued for 19 months resulting in complete recovery.

  Background & Objective : The role of circulating lipids in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke remains unclear despite 3 decades of research. Since ischemic stroke is one of the important causes of death or disability in the world. Finding its risk factors can play a crucial role in health interferences.This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between blood lipids and ischemic stroke.

  Methods : This was�a case-control study conducted in 2002. The case group were patients who were definitely diagnosed to have ischemic stroke for the first time. An equal number of control subjects (with the same age and sex) were selected from other hospital wards. These two groups were compared in terms of the blood lipids. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (release 12) and statistical methods such as ANOVA and multivariate regression.

  Results : In this research 132 cases were compared with equal number of control subjects. The subjects in both groups were 64.1 years old on average. The mean level of total cholesterol was significantly higher in case group (p=0.001). The mean level of Triglycerides had no significant difference in two groups.

  Conclusions: Regarding the findings of the present research, offering strategies to lower the chlestrol level through primary prevention as well as drug interferences especially in the groups with other risk factors of stroke, seems to have a significant role in the prevention of ischemic stroke.

 Background & Objective: Bell ’ s palsy (BP) is a relatively common disease characterized^�by the sudden onset of facial paralysis. In this disease, the facial muscle is paralyzed and the patient cannot close the eye or control the saliva in the involved side._�The incidence rate of this disease in the world is between 11.5-40.2 cases per 100,000. The cause of this disease is yet to be found. This study is an attempt to investigate the demographic. Characteristics of these patients as well as the environmental factors involved in this disease in Ardabil.

 Methods: In this cross-sectional study which was cauducted in Ardabil province during a 2-year period (2001-2003) all the patients referring to neurology clinics were evaluated by a questionuaire in terms of demographic features and whether they were affected by the disease.

 Results: 140 cases (out of 6550) were affected by Bell ’ s palsy. The incidence rate was high among 20-30 year-olds (17.85%) and was equal among females and males. Incidence of BP was higher in cold seasons. A high incidence was also observed among farmers, who sweat abundantly due to their job nature.

 Conclusions: The results are consistent with hypotheses regarding viral etiologies [e.g., reactivation of herpes simplex] of Bell ’ s palsy and it can be activated by cold exposure. The results also indicated that the disease is more prevalent in cold seasons.

 Background & Objective: Studying the epidemiology and impact of headache can help improve patient care, estimation of burden of disease and classification systems. Migraine is common worldwide and has a geographically variable prevalence in the world. Moreover, its peak of incidence is the age of 20-30. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of migraine among the medical students in order to plan for future health interferences.

 Methods: In this cross-sectional study 631 students filled out a questionnaire designed according to the criteria of the international headache society. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (release 12) and descriptive statistics.�

 Results: 76.6% of the subjects were female and 23.4% of them were male. The females were 20.6 and males were 21.4 years old on average. The total prevalence of migraine was 7.3% (1.6% with aura, 5.4% without aura and 0.3% with both of them). Moreover, females, single subjects and students of medicine, except the migraine with aura that was more prevalent among students of associate degrees. A positive family history of headache was found in 45.6% of the students. 65.2% of those suffering from migraine had not referred to a physician and were unaware of their headache.

 Conclusions: Compared to similar researches there is a low prevalence of migraine among the students but most of the students do not take measures to cape with and treat them in the proper manner. This requires necessary health interferences.�

  Background & Objective: Cerebrovascular disease mortality rates have declined in some countries during recent decades. Changes in mortality rates over time could be attributed to changes in disease incidence or case fatality rate. Very few studies have provided information regarding survival after stroke. We aimed to determine the case-fatality rate (28 days) among patients with first-ever stroke from a population-based study in Ardabil province, Northwest of Iran.

  Methods: This study was conducted between May 2005 and February 2006, all individuals with an acute stroke who were residents in Ardabil province and hospitalized at Alavi Hospital, were registered prospectively and assessed according to standardized diagnostic criteria. The data were analyzed through SPSS, Chi square and variance analysis.

  Results: A total of 352 patients with first-ever stroke were registered, and 346 (96%) were followed up. 288 (81.8%) ischemic stroke, 16.2% (57) ICH and 2% SAH. By 28 days, 70 patients (20.3%) had died. Hypertension, diabetes and cardiac disease history were reported in 61.6%, 16.8% and 26.1% respectively and 19.8% of patients were smokers. Mean age of survivors was different from patients who died at 28 days after index event (64.2±12.9 VS 69.1±10.9, p=0.03). The proportion surviving 28 days varied from 16.2% among patients with ischemic stroke to 43% among ICH and SAH. For ischemic stroke, Survival rates were similar for men and women, whereas men with ICH had lower survival than women.

  Conclusion: Case fatality rate after first-ever stroke is substantial. Rates of mortality differ according to patients diagnosis, age, sex, and heart disease. These data highlight the importance of long-term secondary prevention.