Preclinical Evidence for a Drug-Drug Interaction Between Cannabinol and Melatonin.

The worldwide legalization of medicinal cannabis has led to an increased use of products made by commercial operators. These products often contain minor cannabinoids such as cannabinol (CBN) which are advertised to improve sleep. Products are also available in which CBN is combined with conventional therapies, with a common product containing both CBN and the widely used sleep-aid melatonin.

Cannabinoid-like compounds found in non-cannabis plants exhibit antiseizure activity in genetic mouse models of drug-resistant epilepsy.

Objective: The cannabinoid cannabidiol has established antiseizure effects in drug-resistant epilepsies such as Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Amorfrutin 2, honokiol, and magnolol are structurally similar to cannabinoids (cannabis-like drugs) but derive from non-cannabis plants. We aimed to study the antiseizure potential of these compounds in various mouse seizure models.

A sleepy cannabis constituent: cannabinol and its active metabolite influence sleep architecture in rats.

Medicinal cannabis is being used worldwide and there is increasing use of novel cannabis products in the community. Cannabis contains the major cannabinoids, Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), but also an array of minor cannabinoids that have undergone much less pharmacological characterization. Cannabinol (CBN) is a minor cannabinoid used in the community in "isolate' products and is claimed to have pro-sleep effects comparable to conventional sleep medications.

Activation of CB2 Receptors by (-)-Cannabichromene but Not (+)-Cannabichromene.

Cannabichromene (CBC) is a minor constituent of cannabis that is a selective cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonist and activator of TRPA1. To date, it has not been shown whether (-)-CBC, (+)-CBC, or both can mediate these effects. In this study, we investigate the activity of the CBC enantiomers at CB1, CB2, and Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) receptors .

Synthesis and functional evaluation of proteinogenic amino acid-derived synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists related to MPP-5F-PICA, MMB-5F-PICA, and MDMB-5F-PICA.

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) comprise the second largest class of new psychoactive substances (NPS), and typically α-amino acid moieties are incorporated as part of their design. Limited investigation has been performed into elucidating structure-activity relationships around commonly used α-amino acid-derived head groups, mainly with valine and -leucine-derived compounds previously described. As such, proactive synthesis, characterisation and pharmacological evaluation were performed to explore structure-activity relationships of 15 α-amino acid derivatives, with both the natural isomers and their enantiomers at CB and CB investigated using a fluorescence-based membrane potential assay.

Tractional Retinal Detachment: Prevalence and Causes in Nigerians.

Aim: To determine the causes of tractional retinal detachment (TRD) in Nigerians.

Materials And Methods: A prospective, multicentre study evaluating eyes diagnosed to have TRD. History, clinical examination (including visual acuity, intraocular pressure measurement, anterior segment examination and dilated fundoscopy) and systemic evaluation (including previous diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension, sickle-cell disease and others) were performed in TRD eyes out of a cohort of retinal detachment eyes.

Exudative Retinal Detachment in Nigerians: Demographics and Causes.

Background: Exudative retinal detachment (ERD) is a rare type of retinal detachment (RD), and information on its causes and presentation in Nigerians and Black Africans is scarce.

Aim: To report the prevalence, vision at presentation, and causes of ERD in a cohort of RD patients.

Materials And Methods: A prospective, multicentre, hospital-based study.

Prescreened Whole O Blood Group Walking Blood Bank Capabilities for Nontraditional Maritime Medical Receiving Platforms: A Case Series.

Background: Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) guidelines recognize low-titer group O whole blood (LTOWB) as the resuscitative fluid of choice for combat wounded. Utilization of prescreened LTOWB in a walking blood bank (WBB) format has been well described by the Ranger O low-titer blood (ROLO) and the United States Marine Corps Valkyrie programs, but it has not been applied to the maritime setting.

Methods: We describe three WBB experiences of an expeditionary resuscitative surgical system (ERSS) team, attached to three nontraditional maritime medical receiving platforms, over 6 months.

PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH LIGAND 1 (PD-L1) EXPRESSION IN TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER CASES IN BENIN CITY.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) have been particularly challenging to manage due to their lack of intrinsic cellular receptors, with the resultant relatively higher morbidity and mortality. Recently, the programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD- L1) immune checkpoint pathway has become the focus of immunotherapy, especially for TNBCs. This study aimed to determine the pattern of expression of PD-L1 in TNBC cases in Benin City.

The fellow eye of retinal detachment patients: Vision and clinical presentation.

Background: The fellow eye of a retinal detachment is at risk of developing a retinal detachment and other visually debilitating disease.

Aim: To investigate the rate of bilaterality of retinal detachment (RD), the presenting visual acuity (VA), and the presence of ocular morbidity in the fellow eye of patients with RD.

Patients And Methods: A multicenter, prospective, cross-sectional study examining the fellow eye of consecutive patients who were diagnosed with different types of RD.

Outcome of peripapillary polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy treatment using combination therapy intravitreal ranibizumab and thermal retinal laser photocoagulation.

We present the case of a middle-aged female Nigerian diagnosed to have right eye peripapillary polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). At presentation, her right eye Snellen visual acuity was 6/24+ (unaided) and 6/12 (aided) and the left eye was 6/9 (unaided) and 6/6 (aided). Fundus fluorescein angiography showed a hyperfluorescent peripapillary subretinal lesion associated with subretinal fluid demonstrated on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

Thermomagnetic properties and its effects on Fisher entropy with Schioberg plus Manning-Rosen potential (SPMRP) using Nikiforov-Uvarov functional analysis (NUFA) and supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSYQM) methods.

Thermomagnetic properties, and its effects on Fisher information entropy with Schioberg plus Manning-Rosen potential are studied using NUFA and SUSYQM methods in the presence of the Greene-Aldrich approximation scheme to the centrifugal term. The wave function obtained was used to study Fisher information both in position and momentum spaces for different quantum states by the gamma function and digamma polynomials. The energy equation obtained in a closed form was used to deduce numerical energy spectra, partition function, and other thermomagnetic properties.

MEPIRAPIM-derived synthetic cannabinoids inhibit T-type calcium channels with divergent effects on seizures in rodent models of epilepsy.

T-type Ca channels (Ca3) represent emerging therapeutic targets for a range of neurological disorders, including epilepsy and pain. To aid the development and optimisation of new therapeutics, there is a need to identify novel chemical entities which act at these ion channels. A number of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) have been found to exhibit activity at T-type channels, suggesting that cannabinoids may provide convenient chemical scaffolds on which to design novel Ca3 inhibitors.

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting complicated by post-operative coronavirus infection - two similar presentations with dissimilar outcomes.

Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection undergoing surgical procedures have been reported to have increased post-operative complications and mortality. These findings are important when considering cardiac surgical procedures, specifically coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) during this pandemic, since the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) describes most of these operations as 'urgent'. In addition, the majority of cardiac surgical patients are at increased risk of infection and death with COVID-19, as they are frequently of old age, obese, hypertensive, and diabetic, with severe cardiac or pulmonary diseases.

Grow502: Centering Community in Medical Education via a Student-Created Organization Focused on Cultivating a Healthy Community.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disproportionately impact communities of color and expose health inequities. Minoritized communities experience disparities in chronic diseases, premature death, and cancer, and gaps continue to widen; systemic injustice in housing, nutrition, and environment are major contributors. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice movement, students at the University of Louisville School of Medicine created Grow502 to speak truth to the challenges of health disparities in Louisville, Kentucky.

The anticonvulsant phytocannabinoids CBGVA and CBDVA inhibit recombinant T-type channels.

Cannabidiol (CBD) has been clinically approved for intractable epilepsies, offering hope that novel anticonvulsants in the phytocannabinoid class might be developed. Looking beyond CBD, we have recently reported that a series of biosynthetic precursor molecules found in cannabis display anticonvulsant properties. However, information on the pharmacological activities of these compounds on CNS drug targets is limited.

Autopsy-related work experience: An important factor affecting knowledge and attitudes of health personnel toward autopsy.

Background: Despite benefits, autopsy rates continue to fall globally. The effects of education, religion, and culture on autopsy rates are well documented.

Aim: This study examines the knowledge and attitudes of health personnel, aiming to identify other factors affecting autopsy rates in our environment.

Central Nervous System Pathology in Children: A Single-Institution Experience in South-South Nigeria.

Background: Neuropathology is fundamental to neurology, neurosurgery, and neuroscience practice in general. In parts of Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries, Neuropathology is just emerging, and more so Paediatric Neuropathology. Paediatric Neuropathology encompasses diseases of brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscle, affecting infants, children and adolescents, many of which are surgically managed or biopsied for diagnosis.

Olivetolic acid, a cannabinoid precursor in Cannabis sativa, but not CBGA methyl ester exhibits a modest anticonvulsant effect in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome.

Objective: Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), a precursor cannabinoid in Cannabis sativa, has recently been found to have anticonvulsant properties in the Scn1a mouse model of Dravet syndrome. Poor brain penetration and chemical instability of CBGA limits its potential as an anticonvulsant therapy. Here, we examined whether CBGA methyl ester, a more stable analogue of CBGA, might have superior pharmacokinetic and anticonvulsant properties.

Visual Status of Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Multicenter Study.

Aim: To determine the degree of visual loss associated with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in Nigerians at first ophthalmic clinic presentation

Methodology: Multicenter, prospective, cross-sectional study in four collaborating retina clinics within Nigeria between January and December 2018. The primary outcome measure was the World Health Organization’s visual status classification at presentation. Clinical examination, including a Snellen’s visual acuity, refraction, anterior segment examination using a slit lamp biomicroscope, and dilated fundus examination using a +90D or +78D, was done in all consecutive RP patients.

Burden and Presentation of Age-Related Macular Degeneration among Nigerians.

Purpose: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment worldwide, and its prevalence may also be on the increase in Nigeria. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the burden and pattern of presentation of AMD in a developing country.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, prospective study from January to December 2018.

Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy Amongst Nigerians; A Multicenter Study.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and presentation of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in Nigerians.

Methods: A cross-sectional, multicenter, hospital-based, descriptive study. Data were collected prospectively between January and December 2018, from consecutive patients diagnosed to have a retina disease at the general outpatient and retinal clinics of four eye departments in Nigeria.

Retinopathy of Prematurity in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria: An Early Report of a Screening Service.

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an important cause of childhood blindness worldwide. This blindness is avoidable through regular screening of preterm infants and prompt intervention for those with the condition.

Aims/objectives: This study aimed to determine the pattern of presentation of ROP and the risk factors for its development among preterm infants in the Neonatal Unit of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria.

Skull Base Chordoma: A Case Presentation and Review of Literature.

Chordomas are rare, aggressive, bone cancers with notochordal differentiation, a marked predilection for the axial skeleton, and higher incidence in males. Approximately 30% of chordomas occur at the skull base where they make up 0.1-0.

Clinico-pathological Profile of Head and Neck Tumours with Intracranial Extension.

Background: Intracranial extensions of Head and Neck region tumours are a result of direct spread, into the brain and meninges, of tumours arising in the pharynx, paranasal sinuses, orbit, middle ear, scalp, skull and neck tissues. Presenting features may resemble those of an intracranial mass, or the contiguous structure of origin, or both. Delayed diagnosis is not uncommon when patients are not able to afford diagnostic imaging or when the possibility of an intracranial extension is not readily considered in the evaluation of patients with head and neck lesions.