Stroke units in Nigeria: a report from a nationwide organizational cross-sectional survey.

Introduction: stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in Nigeria. Stroke unit care is crucial for reducing mortality and morbidity in stroke. This study describes the stroke units' structure, organization, and care process in Nigerian tertiary hospitals.

A human calculator: a case report of a 27-year-old male with hypercalculia.

Calculation is one of the higher brain functions, which has been linked to the inferior parietal lobule and part of the frontal lobe. Cases of hypercalculia have been reported, usually in the setting of Autism-Spectrum Disorder or Savant syndrome. We report the case of a 27-year-old male undergraduate who had hypercalculia with normal clinical neurological findings.

Efficacy of Hexetidine, Thymol and Hydrogen Peroxide-Containing Oral Antiseptics in Reducing Sars-Cov-2 Virus in the Oral Cavity: A Pilot Study.

Background: Studies have demonstrated the role of sputum as a site of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV-2) transmission. However, there is limited literature on the virucidal efficacy of oral antiseptics against SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study investigated the virucidal efficacy of three oral-antiseptics compared to a placebo-control in the sputum of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals.

Early-Onset Parkinson Disease Screening in Patients From Nigeria.

Nigeria is one of the most populated countries in the world; however, there is a scarcity of studies in patients with age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson disease (PD). The aim of this study was to screen patients with PD including a small cohort of early-onset PD (EOPD) cases from Nigeria for multiplication, and LRRK2 p.G2019S.

Profile of Nonmotor Symptoms and the Association with the Quality of Life of Parkinson's Disease Patients in Nigeria.

Context: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Several nonmotor symptoms (NMS) are associated with the condition, affecting multiple body systems in addition to the nervous system.

Aims: The aim of the study is to describe the profile of NMS and the factors related to their severity as well as their association with the quality of life (QoL) among patients with PD in a Nigerian neurology clinic.

Kaempferol as a Potential PAK4 Inhibitor in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: Extra Precision Glide Docking and Free Energy Calculation.

Background: P-21 activating kinase 4 (PAK4) is implicated in poor prognosis of many human tumors, particularly in Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) progression. Studies have revealed the crucial role of PAK4 in cell proliferation, anchorage-independent growth and cell migration among other hallmarks of cancer. Thus, PAK4 is an attractive target for anti-TNBC drug design and development.

Task-shifting training improves stroke knowledge among Nigerian non-neurologist health workers.

Background: The increasing stroke burden in sub-Saharan Africa far outstrips the availability of skilled human resource to provide timely and efficient acute, rehabilitative and preventive services. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of a short-term task-shifting stroke training program on the stroke knowledge of a cohort of Nigerian non-neurologist health workers (NNHWs).

Methods: Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, NNHWs drawn from 53 local government areas of Ogun and Oyo states participated in an intensive, multicomponent one-day stroke workshop.

A comprehensive evaluation of rodent malaria parasite genomes and gene expression.

Background: Rodent malaria parasites (RMP) are used extensively as models of human malaria. Draft RMP genomes have been published for Plasmodium yoelii, P. berghei ANKA (PbA) and P.

Impact of somatic comorbidities on quality of life of patients living with epilepsy in Sagamu, Nigeria.

Purpose: Somatic comorbidities are probably as important as the psychiatry comorbidities in people with epilepsy (PWE) although the former has received little attention especially in low- and middle-income countries where the incidence of epilepsy is high. The main objective of this study was to determine the frequencies of somatic comorbidities in PWE. We also compared quality of life of two groups of PWE: Those with somatic comorbidities and those without.

Machado-Joseph disease in a Nigerian family: mutational origin and review of the literature.

Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) has been described in Africans, but no cases have been reported from Nigeria. Current MJD global distribution results from both the ancestral populations-of-origin and the founder effects of mutations, some as a consequence of the Portuguese sea travels in the 15th to 16th century. Two main ancestral haplotypes have been identified: the Machado lineage, which is more recent, predominant in families of Portuguese extraction, and the Joseph lineage, which is much older and worldwide spread, postulated to have an Asian origin.

The structure of Plasmodium yoelii merozoite surface protein 119, antibody specificity and implications for malaria vaccine design.

Merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) has been identified as a target antigen for protective immune responses against asexual blood stage malaria, but effective vaccines based on MSP1 have not been developed so far. We have modified the sequence of Plasmodium yoelii MSP119 (the C-terminal region of the molecule) and examined the ability of the variant proteins to bind protective monoclonal antibodies and to induce protection by immunization. In parallel, we examined the structure of the protein and the consequences of the amino acid changes.

RON12, a novel Plasmodium-specific rhoptry neck protein important for parasite proliferation.

Apicomplexan parasites invade host cells by a conserved mechanism: parasite proteins are secreted from apical organelles, anchored in the host cell plasma membrane, and then interact with integral membrane proteins on the zoite surface to form the moving junction (MJ). The junction moves from the anterior to the posterior of the parasite resulting in parasite internalization into the host cell within a parasitophorous vacuole (PV). Conserved as well as coccidia-unique rhoptry neck proteins (RONs) have been described, some of which associate with the MJ.

Seizure severity and health-related quality of life of adult Nigerian patients with epilepsy.

Objectives: There is paucity of information about the association of seizure severity and quality of life in people with epilepsy (PWE) in sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated the relationship of seizure severity to health-related quality of life of patients with epilepsy being followed up in an outpatient neurology clinic in southwestern Nigeria.

Materials And Methods: Eighty-eight consecutive patients with epilepsy who met the recruitment criteria completed the study questionnaire in company of an eyewitness.

Relationship between placental traits and maternal intrinsic factors in sheep.

The relationship between maternal intrinsic factors and placental traits was investigated on three Southern Mediterranean breed of sheep; Cukurova Assaf (CA), Cukurova (C) and Cukurova Meat Sheep (CMS). The effect of parity and birth type were also considered in the study as a potential influencing factor. Our hypothesis was to show that while differences in placental traits between breed, parity and birth type affected lamb condition and survivability, its correlation to maternal intrinsic behavioral factors may also be a strong indicator.

Targeted disruption of py235ebp-1: invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium yoelii using an alternative Py235 erythrocyte binding protein.

Plasmodium yoelii YM asexual blood stage parasites express multiple members of the py235 gene family, part of the super-family of genes including those coding for Plasmodium vivax reticulocyte binding proteins and Plasmodium falciparum RH proteins. We previously identified a Py235 erythrocyte binding protein (Py235EBP-1, encoded by the PY01365 gene) that is recognized by protective mAb 25.77.

Systematic genetic analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum MSP7-like family reveals differences in protein expression, location, and importance in asexual growth of the blood-stage parasite.

Proteins located on Plasmodium falciparum merozoites, the invasive form of the parasite's asexual blood stage, are of considerable interest in vaccine research. Merozoite surface protein 7 (MSP7) forms a complex with MSP1 and is encoded by a member of a multigene family located on chromosome 13. The family codes for MSP7 and five MSP7-related proteins (MSRPs).

Selenium and aspirin in people living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria.

Objectives: Aspirin and selenium have been shown in vitro and in vivo to inhibit HIV production through inhibition of the transcription factor, the nuclear factor kappa binding (NF-eB). The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy or otherwise of these drugs in people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWAS) in resource limited countries.

Patients And Methods: Consenting HAART-naive PLWAS with mean CD4 count of 256.

Identification and characterization of the Plasmodium yoelii PyP140/RON4 protein, an orthologue of Toxoplasma gondii RON4, whose cysteine-rich domain does not protect against lethal parasite challenge infection.

Previously, we identified a Plasmodium yoelii YM 140-kDa merozoite protein, designated PyP140, which formed a complex with apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1). Furthermore, we produced a nonprotective monoclonal antibody (MAb), 48F8, that immunoprecipitated metabolically labeled PyP140 and localized the protein to the merozoite's apical end and, less frequently, to the merozoite surface, as observed by immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Here, using MAb 48F8, we have identified the pyp140 gene by screening a P.

The oligomerization domain of C4-binding protein (C4bp) acts as an adjuvant, and the fusion protein comprised of the 19-kilodalton merozoite surface protein 1 fused with the murine C4bp domain protects mice against malaria.

Highly purified protein antigens are usually poor immunogens; in practice, adjuvants are needed to obtain satisfactory immune responses. Plasmodium yoelii 19-kDa merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1(19)) is a weak antigen, but mice vaccinated with this antigen in strong adjuvants can survive an otherwise lethal parasite challenge. Fusion proteins comprising this antigen fused to the oligomerization domain of the murine complement inhibitor C4-binding protein (C4bp) and a series of homologues have been produced.

Surgical complications from local herbal practitioners: report of five cases.

Over a 12-month period, five patients (out of a total of 72) with serious complications resulting from use of herbs by traditional healers were seen at the surgical unit of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria. The age range was one and a half to five years with a mean age of 23.4 +/- SD years and a male to female ratio of 3:2.

The pattern and prognostic features of QT intervals and dispersion in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Background: Ischemic stroke, which is perhaps the commonest subtype of stroke, is associated with electrocardiographic (ECG) changes. Some of these changes have been thought to be due either to the stroke state itself or pre-existing heart disease. Some, particularly QT intervals, have been associated with increased mortality.

Extensive proteolytic processing of the malaria parasite merozoite surface protein 7 during biosynthesis and parasite release from erythrocytes.

In Plasmodium falciparum, merozoite surface protein 7 (MSP7) was originally identified as a 22kDa protein on the merozoite surface and associated with the MSP1 complex shed during erythrocyte invasion. MSP7 is synthesised in schizonts as a 351-amino acid precursor that undergoes proteolytic processing. During biosynthesis the MSP1 and MSP7 precursors form a complex that is targeted to the surface of developing merozoites.

Passive immunization with a multicomponent vaccine against conserved domains of apical membrane antigen 1 and 235-kilodalton rhoptry proteins protects mice against Plasmodium yoelii blood-stage challenge infection.

During malaria parasite invasion of red blood cells, merozoite proteins bind receptors on the surface of the erythrocyte. Two candidate Plasmodium yoelii adhesion proteins are apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) and the 235-kDa rhoptry proteins (P235). Previously, we have demonstrated that passive immunization with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) 45B1 and 25.

Validation study of the Siriraj Stroke score in African Nigerians and evaluation of the discriminant values of its parameters: a preliminary prospective CT scan study.

Background And Purpose: CT scanning is important to identify stroke pathology and exclude mimics. Its poor availability in our environment makes the search for simple, reliable clinical-score imperative. This study aims to validate the Siriraj Stroke score (SSS) and determine the discriminant values of its parameters in the black population of African-Nigerians.