The Pattern of Neurological Conditions in a Tertiary Institution in Nigeria: Six Years Experience in Ekiti State, Nigeria.

Background: Neurological disorders constitute major causes of morbidity, and globally, they are the leading causes of death. There is a dearth of neurologists in most African countries and the very few available ones are concentrated in urban areas. The cardiovascular and communicable risk factors responsible for most cases of acute and chronic neurological disorders are also prevalent in rural areas.

Acute gastroenteritis and the usage pattern of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications for its management in a Nigerian community.

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is the highest cause of mortality worldwide in children under the age of 5 years, with the highest mortalities occurring in low-to-middle income countries. Treatment can involve use of unregulated herbal medication and antibiotics. A cross sectional study was carried out to investigate the use of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications in the management of AGE among Yòrùbá-speaking communities in Kwara State, Nigeria.

Membraneless electrolyzers for the simultaneous production of acid and base.

This study investigates the use of membraneless electrolyzers based on angled mesh flow-through electrodes for the simultaneous production of acid and base (lye) from aqueous brine solutions. These electrolyte-agnostic flow cells are capable of producing a wide variety of acids and bases with precisely controlled pH using a simple cell design.

Amoxillin- and pefloxacin-induced cholesterogenesis and phospholipidosis in rat tissues.

Background: To investigate whether amoxillin and pefloxacin perturb lipid metabolism.

Methods: Rats were treated with therapeutic doses of each antibiotic for 5 and 10 days respectively. Twenty four hours after the last antibiotic treatment and 5 days after antibiotic withdrawal, blood and other tissues (liver, kidney, brain, heart and spleen) were removed from the animals after an overnight fast and analysed for their lipid contents.

Vascular Effects of Histamine.

Four subtypes of receptors (H1, H2, H3 and H4) mediate the actions of histamine. In the vascular wall, the effects of histamine are mediated via H1 and H2 receptors and the actions are modulated by H3 receptor subtype located on presynaptic neurones. Alterations in vascular responses to histamine are associated with experimental as well as a human form of hypertension, suggesting a role for histanine in cardiovascular regulation.

The prevalence and nature of prescribing and monitoring errors in English general practice: a retrospective case note review.

Background: Relatively little is known about prescribing errors in general practice, or the factors associated with error.

Aim: To determine the prevalence and nature of prescribing and monitoring errors in general practices in England.

Design And Setting: Retrospective case-note review of unique medication items prescribed over a 12-month period to a 2% random sample of patients.

Tissue dyslipidemia in Salmonella-infected rats treated with amoxillin and pefloxacin.

Background: This study investigated the effects of salmonella infection and its chemotherapy on lipid metabolism in tissues of rats infected orally with Salmonella typhimurium and treated intraperitoneally with pefloxacin and amoxillin.

Methods: Animals were infected with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain TA 98. After salmonellosis was confirmed, they were divided into 7 groups of 5 animals each.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus strains and examination of exposure factors associated with seropositivity of cattle herds in Nigeria during 2007-2009.

New outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in cattle herds in Nigeria during 2007-2009. The objectives of the study reported here were: (i) to identify current FMD virus strains circulating in cattle herds and (ii) to identify exposure factors associated with a seropositive diagnosis of FMD in cattle herds. This study provides evidence that FMD virus serotypes O, A and SAT-2 were co-circulating in cattle herds in Nigeria during 2007-2009.

Risk factors for farm-level African swine fever infection in major pig-producing areas in Nigeria, 1997-2011.

African swine fever (ASF) is an economically devastating disease for the pig industry, especially in Africa. Identifying what supports infection on pig farms in this region remains the key component in developing a risk-based approach to understanding the epidemiology of ASF and controlling the disease. Nigeria was used for this matched case-control study, because there is perpetual infection in some areas, while contiguous areas are intermittently infected.

Melkerssons-Rosenthal syndrome: a case report and review of the literature.

Melkerssons-Rosenthal syndrome is a clinical entity identified by the presence of the triad of recurrent facial paralysis, recurrent often permanent (labial) oedema, and to a lesser extent the placation of the tongue. The striking event is that of recurrent lower motor facial paresis. This should arouse the search for the other components of the triad which is not always complete.

Gastrointestinal complications in stroke survivors.

The objective of this study was to highlight the gastrointestinal problems that occur in stroke survivors, which may also reduce their quality of life. Stroke patients admitted over an 18-month period were evaluated for common gastrointestinal symptoms as well as type and site of stroke. Symptoms evaluated included vomiting, dysphagia, constipation, masticatory difficulties and sialorrhea among others.

Benefit of modified plasmapheresis in the management of myasthenia gravis: a case report.

Background: Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease condition caused by the generation of antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor sites at the neuromuscular junction. The treatment modalities include anticholinesterase drugs, corticosteroids, immunotherapy, thymectomy and plasmapheresis. However, because of the poor financial state of our patients and the dearth of appropriate equipment in our centres modifications are made to standard treatment modalities including plasmapharesis.

The determinants of seizure severity in Nigerian epileptics.

Background: Epilepsy is a chronic disease and the control of seizures is central to its management. While seizure frequency has been the traditional index of epilepsy control. severity of seizures is probably as important as seizure frequency in this regard.

The quality of life of chronic epileptic patients in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Epilepsy is a disease that significantly impairs the quality of life of the sufferers. Measures of quality of life have been developed to assess the overall impact of management on the patients. While studies on quality of life have been previously carried out in Nigerians, a standardised and validated inventory has not been used for this purpose because these are just being developed.

Autoimmune diseases in a Nigerian woman--a case report.

Autoimmune diseases (AD) are conditions in which there is the development of antibodies against self cells/ organs. AD could either be organ-specific or non-organ specific (systemic) in clinical presentation. Commonly reported ADs includes: Myasthenia gravis, Hashimoto thyroiditis, Guillian-Barre syndrome, vitiligo, type 1 diabetes mellitus, Graves diseases, Goodpastures syndrome, pemphigus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosis, Addisons disease, multiple sclerosis, pernicious anaemia, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, chronic active hepatitis, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

A questionnaire survey of senior house officers/registrars response to their training at University College Hospital, Ibadan.

This study evaluated the responses of randomly selected 54 senior house officers (SHO)/registrars to questions on their training at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Previous studies have identified excess workload, poor supervision and inadequate hours of formal educations as areas deserving increased attention. The aim of this study is to assess the residents perception of their training and to offer recommendations where necessary.

A 3-year review of neurologic admissions in University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria.

A 3 year review of neurologic admissions into the adult medical wards at the UCH, Ibadan, Nigeria between January 1998 and December 2000 is presented. The study design involved the scrutiny of the records of all the neurological admissions, male and female to the medical ward. The identified cases were then classified and only cases confirmed as neurological were further analysed.

Cerebrovascular complications of hypertension.

Autoregulatory mechanisms exist to keep cerebral blood flow constant despite changes in blood pressure. Elevated blood pressure (acute and sustained) overwhelm these mechanisms resulting in extravasation of fluid and damage to cerebral blood vessels. The resulting thickening of the arterial wall with microaneurysmal formation predisposes individuals with sustained hypertension to various types of strokes.

Hepatocellular carcinoma presenting as a septicaemia-like illness in an African adolescent.

Although primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) is quite common in adults in Africa, it is very rare in those under 25. The clinical diagnosis is usually straightforward by the time patients present and it is unusual to encounter differential diagnostic problems. We report an unusual clinical manifestation of PHC at the very young age of 15 years.

Severe large and small bowel fibrosis clinically mimicking gross splenomegaly.

The case of an 18-year-old female, with mild left hypochondrial pain and an abdominal mass mimicking gross splenomegaly, with severe small and large bowel fibrosis and adhesions and numerous mononuclear cellular infiltrate on histology, is presented. A clear picture of intestinal obstruction only unfolded terminally. She died within 48 hours of presentation.