Publications by authors named "J H van der Westhuizen"

Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the unknown reasons behind treatment failure in tuberculosis (TB) by using a specialized H NMR technique to analyze TB drug levels and their metabolites in the urine of patients.
  • - Urine samples were taken from patients at different stages of TB treatment and analyzed to compare drug concentrations between those who were cured and those who experienced treatment failure.
  • - Results indicated that metabolites of isoniazid (INH) were higher in patients who did not respond effectively to treatment, suggesting that factors beyond genetics, like environmental influences and variations in metabolic pathways, may play a significant role in treatment failure.
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Aims: Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and an emerging public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Several authors have described an increased frequency of mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) CRC in sub-Saharan Africa, but these tumours remain poorly characterised molecularly. We sought to interrogate the somatic molecular genetic landscape of dMMR CRC in a cohort of young patients to better inform Lynch syndrome (LS) screening strategies and personalised medicine approaches in our setting.

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Background: Low- and middle-income countries have a critical shortage of specialist anaesthetists. Most patients arriving for surgery are of low perioperative risk. Without immediate access to preoperative specialist care, an appropriate interim strategy may be to ensure that only high-risk patients are seen preoperatively by a specialist.

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The accurate quantification of multiple vitamin D analogues simultaneously is challenging. This study set out to use liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to develop a method capable of measuring a comprehensive vitamin D profile, encompassing twelve vitamin D analogues (vitamin D, D, 25(OH)D, 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)D, 24,25(OH)D, 24,25(OH)D, 3-epi-25(OH)D, 3-epi-25(OH)D, 7αC4 and1α(OH)D) in a single run. Serum samples were prepared using double liquid-liquid extraction and analysed on an Agilent 6460 QQQ LC-MS/MS equipped with a Pursuit 3 Pentafluorophenyl (4.

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Dog-mediated rabies is responsible for tens of thousands of human deaths annually, and in resource-constrained settings, vaccinating dogs to control the disease at source remains challenging for various reasons. Currently, rabies elimination efforts rely on mass dog vaccination by the parenteral route. While oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of dogs is primarily considered a tool to increase herd immunity, particularly by targeting free-roaming and stray dogs, here, we are showcasing an ORV-only approach as an emergency response model.

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