Assessing traditional medicine in the treatment of neurological disorders in Mali: prelude to efficient collaboration.

Introduction: Neurological disorders (ND) have a high incidence in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In this region, systemic challenges of conventional medicine (CM) and cultural beliefs have contributed to a large utilization of traditional medicine (TM). Yet, data on TM and those who use it in the treatment of ND in SSA are scarce.

The burden of headache and a health-care needs assessment in the adult population of Mali: a cross-sectional population-based study.

Background: Our recent studies have shown headache disorders to be very common in the central and western sub-Saharan countries of Benin and Cameroon. Here we report headache in nearby Mali, a strife-torn country that differs topographically, culturally, politically and economically. The purposes were to estimate headache-attributed burden and need for headache care.

[Hospital frequency of non-epileptic psychogenic seizures in Bamako].

Diagnosing a non-epileptic seizure is difficult in the absence of a video electroencephalogram. The expert commission of the international league against epilepsy proposes a diagnostic approach allowing the diagnosis to be made according to a degree of certainty with or in the absence of a video electroencephalogram. Our objective was to determine the hospital frequency of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures in the absence of video-electroencephalogram.

Epilepsy and stigma in Africa: Viewpoint of healthcare professionals and combat strategies.

Unlabelled: Epilepsy is a major public health problem in developing countries where eighty percent (80%) of people with epilepsy (PWE) live. Stigma has psychological consequences as well as serious repercussions on patients' quality of life. This study assesses the perception of health professionals in Africa regarding the stigmatization of PWE.

Diagnosis and classification of optic neuritis.

There is no consensus regarding the classification of optic neuritis, and precise diagnostic criteria are not available. This reality means that the diagnosis of disorders that have optic neuritis as the first manifestation can be challenging. Accurate diagnosis of optic neuritis at presentation can facilitate the timely treatment of individuals with multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease.

[Hospital epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in Mali].

Introduction: in Mali, there are no data on the prevalence of mental disorders. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological features of patients hospitalised in the Department of Psychiatry.

Methods: we conducted a cross-sectional study in the Department of Psychiatry at the University Hospital of Point G between January 2014 and December 2018.

Clinical and Genetic Aspects of Huntington's Disease in the Malian Population.

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutation in the HTT gene and characterized by involuntary movements as well as cognitive and behavioral impairment. Since its first description 150 years ago, studies have been reported worldwide. However, genetically confirmed cases have been scarce in Africa.

Descriptive study of cases of schizophrenia in the Malian population.

Background: Schizophrenia is a relatively common disease worldwide with a point prevalence of around 5/1000 in the population. The aim of this present work was to assess the demographic, clinical, familial, and environmental factors associated with schizophrenia in Mali.

Methods: This was a prospective descriptive study on a series of 164 patients aged at least 12 years who came for a follow-up consultation at the psychiatry department of the University Hospital Center (CHU) Point G in Mali between February 2019 and January 2020 for schizophrenia spectrum disorder as defined by DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.

Structured headache services as the solution to the ill-health burden of headache: 1. Rationale and description.

In countries where headache services exist at all, their focus is usually on specialist (tertiary) care. This is clinically and economically inappropriate: most headache disorders can effectively and more efficiently (and at lower cost) be treated in educationally supported primary care. At the same time, compartmentalizing divisions between primary, secondary and tertiary care in many health-care systems create multiple inefficiencies, confronting patients attempting to navigate these levels (the "patient journey") with perplexing obstacles.

Epilepsy surgery in Africa: state of the art and challenges.

Objective: Epilepsy is an important public health problem representing 0.6% of the global burden of disease that particularly impacts people living in the lowest income countries where epilepsy incidence may be 10 fold more than in the developed world. The battery of treatments designed to counteract the clinical manifestations of this disease are various and range from a wide spectrum of antiseizure medicationand specific diets, to surgical techniques for resection of the epileptogenic focus.

Using community health workers as an alternative approach for epidemiological research on epilepsy in six health districts in Mali.

Background: In Mali, the burden of epilepsy is underestimated due to socio-cultural barriers that keep most people with epilepsy out of the local health facilities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of trained community health workers (CHWs) in identifying epilepsy cases (active case detection) as compared to the passive cases detection (PCD) during outpatient visits at the community health centers in the health districts (HDs) of Kolokani, Kayes, Kéniéba, Sikasso, Kadiolo, and Tominian.

Methods: A two-phase cross-sectional study was conducted from February to December 2019.

Neuropathic pain in Mali: The current situation, comprehensive hypothesis, which therapeutic strategy for Africa?

Introduction: According to the taxonomy of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP 2011), neuropathic pain (NeuP) is defined as "". NeuP is currently well-defined clinically, despite a high degree of etiological variation, and it has become a significant public health problem. This work aimed to study the situation regarding NeuP in current practice in Mali, as well as to analyze the therapeutic environment of the patients.

Diabetic polyneuropathy with/out neuropathic pain in Mali: A cross-sectional study in two reference diabetes treatment centers in Bamako (Mali), Western Africa.

Introduction: Diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) with or without neuropathic pain is a frequent complication of diabetes. This work aimed to determine the prevalence of diabetic polyneuropathy, to describe its epidemiological aspects, and to analyze the therapeutic itinerary of patients with DPN.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study performed synchronously over six months at two major follow-up sites for patients with diabetes in Mali.

Correlates of diabetic polyneuropathy of the elderly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Diabetic polyneuropathy is associated with significant physical disability among older adults. However, their frequency and correlates are not well known in the older adults in Sub-Saharan-Africa. The objectives were to evaluate the hospital-based prevalence of diabetic polyneuropathy and identify its correlates in older adults.

Epilepsy Research in Mali: A Pilot Pharmacokinetics Study on First-Line Antiepileptic Drug Treatment.

Background And Purpose: The indication and benefit of plasma level of antiepileptic (AEDs) has been debating in the monitoring of people living with epilepsy and the epilepsy treatment gap has largely been documented in developed countries. This study was aimed to highlight the epilepsy treatment gap between rural and urban Mali.

Methods: We conducted a pilot study on AEDs treatment from September 2016 to May 2019.

Clinical aspects, neuroimaging, and electroencephalography of 35 cases of hemiconvulsion-hemiplegia syndrome.

Introduction: The hemiconvulsion-hemiplegia-epilepsy (HHE) syndrome is a rare consequence of febrile seizures during childhood. It is characterized by the presence of prolonged unilateral clonic seizures occurring during febrile illness in a child less than 4years of age. Then, a flaccid unilateral hemiplegia with variable duration occurs.

Epidemiology of migraine among students in Mali.

Migraine is a debilitating but benign disease that can affect the quality of life of patients, disrupt the emotional relationships and impact on educational and vocational activities. The aim of our work was to study the epidemiology and impact of migraine in schools in the urban district of GAO in Mali. This is a cross-sectional study among students in the city of Gao.

Does the survival motor neuron copy number variation play a role in the onset and severity of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Malians?

Introduction: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS) are both motor neuron disorders. SMA results from the deletion of the survival motor neuron () 1 gene. High or low copy number and the absence of have been reported as risk factors for the development or severity of SALS.

Epilepsy genetics in Africa: challenges and future perspectives.

Despite the diversity of the African population, genetic studies, of epilepsy in particular, have been limited, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, with the regression of infectious diseases in developing countries, the focus has shifted more towards non communicable disorders. The prevalence of epilepsy in Africa is higher compared to other continents.

Current beliefs and attitudes regarding epilepsy in Mali.

Purpose: In Mali, epilepsy affects 15 individuals per thousand. Perceptions and attitudes have not seemingly evolved with advancing medical knowledge. The objective of this study was to assess parental beliefs and attitudes in families with and without affected children.

Genetics of low spinal muscular atrophy carrier frequency in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is one of the most common severe hereditary diseases of infancy and early childhood in North America, Europe, and Asia. SMA is usually caused by deletions of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. A closely related gene, SMN2, modifies the disease severity.

[Cervical and intracranial artery dissections].

Cervical and intracranial artery dissections result from the occurrence of an intramural hematoma. Arterial dissection is one of the main causes of ischemic stroke in young adults. Pathophysiology remains misunderstood but probably results from the association of a triggering environmental factor with an underlying arteriopathy.

Occipital lobe epilepsy secondary to posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) during a post-partum eclampsia in Mali (West Africa).

Background: Eclampsia is known to cause posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) that is often associated with an extensive neurovascular damage affecting preferably posterior regions, often leading to reversible cortical blindness. In spite the magnitude of these lesions, post eclamptic symptomatic epilepsy is rare. We therefore report a case of symptomatic occipital lobe epilepsy secondary to PRES.

[Modalities of stroke management in Mali (West Africa): a survey of practices].

Unlabelled: The upsurge and the impact of stroke in terms of mortality and morbidity in Africa are well documented. But their current stroke management modalities remain to be evaluated.

Methods: This study investigated the modalities of healthcare practitioners working in structures involved in stroke management in seven of the eight regions and the capital city of Bamako.