Rare Disease Registry Database for Movement Disorders in Southern Anhui Province (W-MoSCA)

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, a rare disease is a disease affecting fewer than 6.5 people per 10,000; in China, it generally refers to diseases with a prevalence of less than 1/10,000 (i.e., with a total of no more than 140,000 patients). Such diseases are mostly hereditary or congenital in origin. Patients with rare diseases often present with complex symptoms, most of which are neurological. Although a large number of rare diseases have been identified, the small number of patients with each disease and the diversity of symptoms make early diagnosis difficult and render large-sample clinical trials challenging. Consequently, most rare diseases lack curative treatments; available therapies are of limited efficacy or prohibitive cost, ultimately leading to severe disability or death and imposing a substantial socioeconomic burden. This study establishes a registry for motor neuron diseases (MND), spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), hereditary muscular dystrophy (HMD), and hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). Owing to the low incidence, complex clinical diagnosis, unclear pathogenic mechanisms, and strong genetic heterogeneity, epidemiological data on rare motor neuron diseases are limited, further increasing the difficulty of biomarker screening and targeted therapeutic development. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish a comprehensive registry and to obtain reliable evidence on risk factors and early diagnosis through research. This study aims to establish a registry of rare neurological diseases in the southern Anhui Province and to build a high-quality biobank of human biological resources.