Evaluation of epilepsy lesion visualisation enhancement in low-field MRI using image quality transfer: a preliminary investigation of clinical potential for applications in developing countries.

Purpose: Low-field (LF) MRI scanners are common in many Low- and middle-Income countries, but they provide images with worse spatial resolution and contrast than high-field (HF) scanners. Image Quality Transfer (IQT) is a machine learning framework to enhance images based on high-quality references that has recently adapted to LF MRI. In this study we aim to assess if it can improve lesion visualisation compared to LF MRI scans in children with epilepsy.

Penile Agenesis Associated with Anorectal Malformation and Bilateral Renal Agenesis: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature.

Penile agenesis is complete absence of the penis in an otherwise normal phenotypic and genotypic male at birth that results from failure of development of the genital tubercle. It is an extremely rare anomaly that may be associated with anomalies in other organ systems, the extent and severity of which may affect the prognosis. The management is challenging and may have far reaching implications for the individual and family.

Dietary patterns associated with hypertension among stroke-free indigenous Africans: insights from the Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network study.

Background: The dietary factors associated with the high burden of hypertension among indigenous Africans remain poorly understood. We assessed the relationship between dietary patterns and hypertension among indigenous Africans.

Method: In this study, 1550 participants with hypertension matched (for age: ± 5 years, sex and ethnicity) with 1550 participants without hypertension were identified from the stroke-free population in the Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network study in Ghana and Nigeria.

Patient-level and system-level determinants of stroke fatality across 16 large hospitals in Ghana and Nigeria: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Every minute, six indigenous Africans develop new strokes. Patient-level and system-level contributors to early stroke fatality in this region are yet to be delineated. We aimed to identify and quantify the contributions of patient-level and system-level determinants of inpatient stroke fatality across 16 hospitals in Ghana and Nigeria.

Dietary patterns associated with stroke among West Africans: A case-control study.

Background: The relationship of diet with stroke risk among Africans is not well understood.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between dietary patterns and stroke risk among West Africans.

Methods: In this multi-center case-control study, 3684 stroke patients matched (for age and sex) with 3684 healthy controls were recruited from Nigeria and Ghana.

Risk Factor Characterization of Ischemic Stroke Subtypes Among West Africans.

Background And Purpose: To identify the qualitative and quantitative contributions of conventional risk factors for occurrence of ischemic stroke and its key pathophysiologic subtypes among West Africans.

Methods: The SIREN (Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network) is a multicenter, case-control study involving 15 sites in Ghana and Nigeria. Cases include adults aged ≥18 years with ischemic stroke who were etiologically subtyped using the A-S-C-O-D classification into atherosclerosis, small-vessel occlusion, cardiac pathology, other causes, and dissection.

A Novel Afrocentric Stroke Risk Assessment Score: Models from the Siren Study.

Background: Stroke risk can be quantified using risk factors whose effect sizes vary by geography and race. No stroke risk assessment tool exists to estimate aggregate stroke risk for indigenous African.

Objectives: To develop Afrocentric risk-scoring models for stroke occurrence.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of West Africans on genetic studies of stroke: Evidence from the SIREN Study.

Background: It is crucial to assess genomic literacy related to stroke among Africans in preparation for the ethical, legal and societal implications of the genetic revolution which has begun in Africa.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of West Africans about stroke genetic studies.

Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among stroke patients and stroke-free controls recruited across 15 sites in Ghana and Nigeria.

Variation of Carotid Intima Media Thickness With Body Mass Index in Healthy Adults of Black African Descent.

Objectives: Studies have shown that common carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) measured by B-mode sonography increases with body mass index (BMI) among subjects with cardiovascular diseases in different populations. However, association of body fat and subclinical atherosclerosis in the absence of these cardiovascular diseases is understudied. We aimed to evaluate the correlation between BMI and CIMT in a healthy adult population of black African ancestry.

Development of a pan-rickettsial molecular diagnostic test based on recombinase polymerase amplification assay.

Rickettsioses are zoonotic vector-transmitted bacterial infections leading to flu-like symptoms and can progress to severe illness in humans. The gold standard for diagnosis of rickettsial infections is the indirect immunofluorescence assay, a serological method which is not suitable for pathogen identification during the acute phase of the disease. Therefore, several real-time PCR assays were developed.

Mammographic Parenchymal Patterns in Asymptomatic Women.

Background: Breast density has been found to be an independent risk factor for breast cancer. Mammographic breast parenchymal pattern or percent density is mainly a reflection of the proportion of glandular tissue to fatty tissue, and studies have shown that it works synergistically with other risk factors such as nulliparity in predicting breast cancer risk. This study analyses the various mammographic breast patterns and correlates this with some demographic variables and final Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System outcomes of asymptomatic women in our center.

Development and Reliability of a User-Friendly Multicenter Phenotyping Application for Hemorrhagic and Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Annotation and Image Markup on ClearCanvas Enriched Stroke-phenotyping Software (ACCESS) is a novel stand-alone computer software application that allows the creation of simple standardized annotations for reporting brain images of all stroke types. We developed the ACCESS application and determined its inter-rater and intra-rater reliability in the Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network (SIREN) study to assess its suitability for multicenter studies.

Methods: One hundred randomly selected stroke imaging reports from 5 SIREN sites were re-evaluated by 4 trained independent raters to determine the inter-rater reliability of the ACCESS (version 12.

MODIC CHANGES IN ADULTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA.

Background: Modic changes in the endplates of the vertebral bodies have been associated with low back pain. There is however paucity of information on the pattern of Modic changes in the lumbosacral spine in Nigerians with low back pain.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of Modic changes in patients with chronic low back pain in our environment.

Potential antimalarial activity of Methyl Jasmonate and its effect on lipid profiles in Plasmodium Berghei infected mice.

Background: The antimalarial activity and lipid profiles of Methyl Jasmonate (MJ) were investigated against established malaria infection in vivo using BALB/c mice.

Methods: Arteether (AE) and chloroquine (CQ) were used as reference drugs while ethanol was used as the vehicle for drug delivery for MJ.

Results: Mice treated with 10 and 25 mg/kg MJ showed a remarkable reduction in percentage parasitemia by 68.

A five year audit of mammography in a tertiary hospital, North Central Nigeria.

Background: Breast imaging plays a vital role in the multidisciplinary approach to management of breast disease. A baseline data is apt and necessary for collaborative studies.

Materials And Methods: This is a prospective descriptive study carried out between January 2009 and December 2013 at our institution.

Posterior urethral valve with unilateral vesicoureteral reflux and patent urachus: A rare combination of urinary tract anomaliess.

Posterior urethral valve (PUV) is a common cause of lower urinary tract obstruction in male infants with an incidence of 1:5000-8000. PUV continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and ongoing renal damage in infants and children. It can coexist with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in about 50% of cases and also with patent urachus in about one-third of cases.

Demographic trends of sick leave absenteeism among civil service employees at a federal agency from 2004 to 2012.

Objective: To investigate the associations between demographic variables and sick leave use.

Methods: We analyzed sick leave use among civil servants at a federal agency (FA) from 2004 to 2012 by demographic and FA-specific variables. We used a mixed methods approach and type III analysis to build a descriptive model of sick leave proportions and demographic variables.

Neuroimaging of young adults with stroke in Ilorin Nigeria.

Background: Stroke in young adults is relatively uncommon. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are the most valuable tools for the diagnosis of stroke. Recent data on stroke in young adults in Nigeria is sparse.

Ischemic stroke following abuse of Marijuana in a Nigerian adult male.

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug among adolescents and young adults. Despite its widespread use, only a few reports exist on the association of cannabis use and stroke. A 26-year-old Nigerian male, developed right-sided ischemic stroke few hours after smoking three wraps of cannabis.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in a adult female.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is a clinico-neuroradiologic diagnosis, with rapidly evolving neurologic condition, characterized by headache, confusion, altered mental status, seizures, cortical blindness, lethargy, stupor, and occasionally, focal neurological signs accompanied by a typical computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging pattern. With early recognition and treatment, complete resolution of symptoms occurs. Typical imaging findings characteristically involve the white matter bilaterally in the parieto-occipital regions.

Predicting temporal trends in total absenteeism rates for civil service employees of a federal public health agency.

Objective: This study evaluates the predictability in temporal absences trends due to all causes (total absenteeism) among employees at a federal agency. The objective is to determine how leave trends vary within the year, and determine whether trends are predictable.

Methods: Ten years of absenteeism data from an attendance system were analyzed for rates of total absence.

Predicting temporal trends in sickness absence rates for civil service employees of a federal public health agency.

Objective: To determine whether trends of sickness in employees at a federal agency are predictable, and whether the variance was minimal enough to detect unusual levels of employee illness for further investigation.

Methods: Ten years of absenteeism data from an attendance system were analyzed for rates of sickness absence. Specifically, week of year and day of week were used to describe temporal trends.