NEWSCAST SERIES

Published on: 29th June, 2023.

A Lay Summary

Knowledge gap: Neurological disorders are diseases that affect the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles. They are very common and cause a lot of suffering and disability worldwide, especially in poor countries. There is not enough attention and resources to prevent and treat these diseases, and to help people recover from them.

Novelty of method: The authors propose a new way of thinking about brain health and neurological disorders, based on four key pillars: surveillance, prevention, acute care and rehabilitation. They call this the neurological quadrangle. They also suggest that brain health is linked to holistic, spiritual and planetary health, which means taking care of the whole person, their beliefs and values, and the environment they live in. They recommend that solutions should be co-designed and co-implemented by different stakeholders, such as patients, carers, health workers, policy makers and researchers.

Published on: 14th June, 2023.

Surgical site infection (SSI) is the commonest complication of surgery. Surgical site infection is unpleasant and harmful for patients, increases the cost of surgical care, contributes to the burden faced by patients and their relatives and it is an avoidable drain on meagre hospital resources. Various interventions have been postulated to reduce the incidence of SSI, but it has been difficult to obtain a magic bullet to end the scourge. Major agencies, such as the World Health Organisation, the Centers for Disease Control (USA) and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (UK), have not been able to make a recommendation of changing sterile gloves and instruments to reduce SSI. This has largely been because most randomised controlled trials on SSI had hitherto been small, with moderate to high risk of bias. This study utilised a cluster randomised design among collaborating hospitals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where the effect of any benefit is likely to be most efficacious and contamination between trial groups can be prevented. This is the largest, most comprehensive randomised controlled trial on SSI involving LMICs. 

Published on: 23rd September, 2022. 

Oral health is a well-recognized key component of the overall health and well-being, yet, suffers neglect in healthcare planning among Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Oral disease constitutes a silent epidemic, especially among disadvantaged populations such as those living in the slums of LMICs. Slums are characterized by crowded, unhealthy places with a high risk of infection and injury while the residents are often marginalized and have limited access to basic services. Slum settlements provide homes for about 1 billion world population and in Nigeria, the population is estimated to be almost half of the entire country. While research points to a higher general disease burden among slum dwellers, compared to their non-slum urban or rural counterparts, little knowledge exists about the slum dwellers' oral disease burden. An understanding of oral disease distribution and severity in different settings can aid the planning of appropriate intervention strategies.

Published on: 10th February, 2023. 

Summary

 There is little available information on how Nigerians who were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and those who were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 responded by producing appropriate protective proteins (antibodies). We also do not know whether age or gender affects the response. We carried out this novel research with a goal of determining the possibility of achieving community protection (herd immunity) against the small microbe causing COVID - 19 and if community studies on the protective response (sero-epidemiological survey) could strengthen immunization policies in Niegria.

  In this study, we evaluated the presence of two protective proteins (IgM and IgG) in the blood samples of the people participating in the research using a cheap and easy-to-use kit that gives results within a few minutes. This novel approach did not require so much expertise, electricity, medical equipment, and laboratory space and is very appropriate for resource- limited countries settings as we have in Nigeria and many other African countries.

Published on: 11th March, 2022.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in verbal and non-verbal expressive speech, deficits in social interaction and hyper-focused repetitive behaviors from childhood. Although the prevalence of the disorder is increasing globally, the causes and pathophysiology of ASD are not fully understood. There is a general agreement that ASD could result from interaction between genetic and environmental factors with oxidative stress as a potential link. Hence, development of oxidative stress especially in the formative years of children has equally gained prominence as the basis of the disorder. Oxidative stress determined by imbalance in oxidant/antioxidant ratio was investigated in children clinically diagnosed for ASD (cases) according to DSM-IV-TR and neuro-typical children (controls). We also determined levels of essential metals [magnesium, zinc, and copper] and toxic metal, lead in the cohort. We found an imbalance of oxidant/antioxidant system causing production of reactive oxygen species (a highly destructively group of free radicals) in the children with ASD compared to the control group. This may be very significant as a precipitating agent of structural damage and attendant disruption in transduction and transmission of signals across neurons especially in sensitive organs like the brain in the developing child.  Findings in this work underscore the need for optimal intake of Zn and Mg especially by pregnant women in order to mitigate consequent damages to sensitive organs like the brain in the developing child.

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