Stroke prevalence amongst sickle cell disease patients in Nigeria: a multi-centre study

Background: Stroke is a life-changing, debilitating complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). Previous studies had recorded high stroke prevalence amongst this group of patients. Nigeria has a large population of people affected by this condition and this study aims to assess the stroke prevalence in this large population.Methodology: Stroke prevalence data from 14 physicians working in 11 tertiary health centres across the country was collated by doctors using the sickle cell registers and patient case notes. This data was then collated and used to obtain the overall stroke prevalence in adult and children.Results: The stroke prevalence in sickle cell disease patients in Nigeria was observed to be 12.4 per 1000 patients. Prevalence in the adult patients was 17.7 per 1000 patients and 7.4 per 1000 patients in children. Twenty three percent of the affected patients had more than stroke episode.Conclusion: The stroke prevalence in Nigeria is lower than previously recorded rates and further studies will be required to investigate other factors which may play a role.Keywords: sickle cell, stroke, Nigeria, prevalenc

Prevalence and Determinants of Endothelial Dysfunction among Adults Living with HIV in Northwest Nigeria

Background: Endothelial dysfunction constitutes an early pathophysiological event in atherogenesis and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, determinants, and degree of endothelial dysfunction in antiretroviral therapy (ART)–treated people living with HIV (PLWH) in northwestern Nigeria using brachial flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). Methods: This was a comparative, cross-sectional study. A total of 200 ART-treated adults living with HIV with no evidence of kidney disease were compared with 200 HIV-negative participants attending a tertiary hospital in Kano, Nigeria, between September 2020 and May 2021. Endothelial function was evaluated by measuring FMD with a high-resolution vascular ultrasound transducer. FMD was calculated as the ratio of the brachial artery diameter after reactive hyperemia to baseline diameter and expressed as a percentage of change. Blood and urine samples were obtained from participants in both arms. Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) was calculated using the 2021 CKD-EPI estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) creatinine-cystatin C equation without the race variable, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was measured using enzymatic method. Results: The overall mean age (± standard deviation) of the study participants was 42 ± 11 years. Participants in the comparison arm were younger than PLWH (38 ± 11 versus 46 ± 10 years, respectively). The median (interquartile range) uACR was 41.6 (23.2–162.9) mg/g for the ART-treated PLWH versus 14.5 (7.4–27.0) mg/g for healthy controls. PLWH had a significantly lower mean percent FMD when compared to HIV-negative participants (9.8% ± 5.4 versus 12.1% ± 9.2, respectively). Reduced FMD was independently associated with HIV infection (β = –2.83%, 95% CI, –4.44% to –1.21%, p = 0.001), estimated glomerular filtration rate (β = –0.04%, 95% CI, –0.07% to –0.01%, p = 0.004) and LDL cholesterol (β = –1.12%, 95% CI, –2.13% to –0.11%, p = 0.029). Conclusion: HIV-positive status, lower estimated GFR, and higher LDL cholesterol levels were independently associated with endothelial dysfunction. Future prospective studies with larger cohorts of persons living with HIV (and age- and sex-matched HIV-negative controls) are needed to gain further insight into these important findings. In the interim, aggressive management of modifiable risk factors is warranted

Determination of Heavy Metals Concentration in Some Fish Samples from River Rima (Kwalkwalawa) in Sokoto State, Nigeria

This research work was conducted to assess the levels of heavy metals namely; Fe, Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn in three fish samples Lates niloticus (Giwanruwa), Hyperupisus bebe occidentalis (kuma) and Clarias geriepinus(kulme), of River Rima (Kwalkwalawa). The analysis was performed using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The results of the analysis suggested that there were high levels of the analyzed metals in Lates niloticus (Fe-0.4369, Pb-0.0102, Cd-0.0530), Hyperupisus bebe occidentalis (Fe-0.2003, Pb-0.0080, Cd-0.00356), and Clarias geriepinus (Fe-0.1888, Cd-0.1050) compared to the WHO/EU standards. However the concentrations of Cu and Zn in all the samples were found to be within the WHO/EU permissible limit. Therefore, the fishes obtained from this river have high concentration of Fe, Pb and Cd beyond the tolerable level, which indicated that as far as these metals are concerned, the fishes are unfit for human consumption. Consequently, close monitoring of metals pollution and the consumption of the fishes of River Rima (Kwalkwalawa) is recommended with a view to minimizing the risk of health of the population that depend on the river for their fish supply

Assessment of river plan changes in Terengganu River using RS and GIS method

River is one of the most multifarious regular systems. The database can help in the appropriate understanding of river plan change and know the stand of Terengganu River, Malaysia. The data collected from Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) database. Analysis of Types of Lateral Activity (TYLAT) techniques and Modes of Meander Movement (MOME) method utilized to identify the advancement of the river arrange changes.  Satellite images of 2010 and 2015 used in the study were sourced from USGS web. TYLAT was suitable in analyzing the advancement of the waterways plan changes where the river is an extensive and width river. The method for examination of MOME is more appropriate to be used in smaller categories of the river as for upper, middle and down ranges of the river. The result proved the recognition of features or classification of the main stream of Terengganu River.Keywords: river plan changes; remote sensing; geographic information system; types of lateral activity; modes of meander movemen