Chronicles of medical history in Africa

Professor and Head of Surgery (1948 – 1958), Beatrice M. Joly was the Foundation Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University College, Ibadan (1948 – 1949). She was born on 14 Dec, 1902; a time when female education was considered unimportant. Beatrice made up her mind very early on what she wanted out of life. She studied Medicine and excelled. She obtained the M.B.B.S. degree in 1930 carting away the best prizes. She went on to pursue a successful postgraduate medical training in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and later in Surgery. She worked briefly as a general physician in 1933 before traveling to India where she became a lecturer and rose to the position of professor seven years after getting her M.B.B.S. degree. In 1947, she came to Nigeria as the first professor appointed to the new University of Ibadan and subsequently contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria’s first University. She was the first Head of department of Surgery and laid the groundwork for subsequent growth of the Department. Beatrice Joly laid the framework for the Department of Surgery which eventually became the 2nd most productive Department in the first 3 decades of the College of Medicine, Ibadan (by publications, 2nd to the Department of Medicine). The Department today is undeniably an asset not only to Nigeria but to Africa. She died on 27th August, 1999. She would always be remembered as a unique woman, a brilliant scholar, an excellent surgeon, and a visionary leader; a pioneer whose contributions have continued to produce excellent specialists who have touched the lives of untold millions all over the continent

First reports of clinical pharmacokinetics in Nigeria

The German Friedrich Hartmut Dost (1910 – 1985) introduced the word Pharmacokinetics. Clinical pharmacokinetics is the direct application of knowledge regarding a drug’s pharmacokinetics to a therapeutic situation in an individual or a population. It is the basis of therapeutic drug monitoring with the ultimate goal of keeping drugs safe. This branch of pharmacology has become the most relevant to the sub-specialty of clinical pharmacology. First reports of Clinical Pharmacokinetics in Nigeria can be credited to two gifted Nigerians, Prof Ayodele O. Iyun and Prof Lateef A. Salako, both of whom were affiliated to the great institutions- University of Ibadan (UI) and the Teaching Hospital, University College Hospital (UCH). Prof A.O Iyun was Nigeria’s first home-trained Clinical Pharmacologist, while Prof L.A. Salako played a most significant role inthe creation of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology, UCH. This edition of the Chronicles highlights a few of the first reports of this exciting branch of pharmacology in Nigeria. This historical review is based on publications listed on the United States National Library of Medicine database (PUBMED)

Great teaching hospitals of Africa: Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana

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The Search for the Genetic Basis of African Keloids

Keloids are benign hyperproliferative growths of dermal fibroblasts characterized by excessive, and often times extensive, deposition of extracellular matrix components especially collagen and fibronectin. First described in the Edward Smith papyrus in Egypt around 1700 BC, theaetiopathogenesis of the disease has become one of the greatest enigmas in modern medicine. Studies have shown that the condition is significantly more common in the coloured races, especially those of African origin. This brief exposition focuses on an exciting and potentially evolutionary study of this condition by the University College Hopital, Ibadan, team of plastic surgeons led by Professor Oluwatosin and collaborators from the University of  Connecticut, USA. The team hopes to uncover the genetic basis of African keloids that may lead to the development of more effective diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic interventions

Artemisinin: The journey from natural product to Nobel Prize

The 2014 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine was announced on 5th October. One-half was awarded jointly to William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ômura “for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites” and the other half to Youyou Tu “for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria. ” The novel therapy that was given this huge recognition was artemisinin, a drug (isolated from the plant Artemisia annua) that has saved millions of lives and rekindled the dream of a world where malaria has been eradicated. This is a brief review of this important landmark in the chemotherapy of malaria; a victory for purified and refined herbal medicines

The Lancet Oncology's Cancer Control in Africa

In April 2013 the Lancet Oncology published a series on cancer control in Africa comprising 7 papers (Lancet Oncology vol 14 number 4). The significance of these papers to Africa’s attempts at tackling the rapidly rising prevalence of cancer cannot be over-emphasized. Potentially, these papers will form the basis of National policies aimed at controlling or managing cancer in Africa for decades to come. University of Ibadan and her teaching hospital (University College Hospital, Ibadan) scores another plus as three of her staff made notable contributions to the series. African nations and researchers are strongly encouraged to implement evidence based global control guidelines, especially those of the WHO, in the fight against the growing burden of cancer

Henrietta Lacks (Aug 1, 1920 – Oct 4, 1951): The Woman and Her Immortal Cells

The most widely used human cancer cell line was obtained from a young woman, Herietta Lacks (Aug 01, 1920 – Oct 04, 1951), who was diagnosed with malignant cervical cancer at John’s Hopkins. Despite surgery and radiotherapy she died 8 months after the diagnosis was made. Her tissue was harvested during surgery and sent to pathology where they showed unique growth characteristics. They provided, for the first time, human cancer cells that grew successfully outside the body without ageing. The cells became the most widely used cells in human cancer research. These cells where called HeLa cells and their use changed oncology in an unforgettable way. These cells were used in the development of Salk polio vaccines. They have been used in almost every other biomedical specialty where cell cultures areperformed, in every country of the World. This is a short history of a poor black woman who died at a young age, unrecognized, but whose cells attained immortality. The benefits of her cells to mankind are unquantifiable, and to date the reason why her cells attained immortality remains unknown

The Evolution of Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Nigeria

This historical review examines developments in anti-retroviral therapy research over the years. International milestones in the treatment of HIV from 1984 to 2011 are described. Using results of a PUBMED literature search, the evolution of HIV therapy in Nigeria is examined. Areas of research  highlighted are the Monitoring of ART, adherence to ART, and highly activeanti-retroviral therapy in Nigeria. From the first report on the PUBMED search by Akanmuet al from Lagos in 2001 to reports in 2013, it is undeniable that HIV scientists in Nigeria have produced a good number of very informative and relevant results in the area of anti-retroviral therapy research in Nigeria.Key words: Medical History, Anti-retroviral therapy, HAART, Nigeri

The Era of HIV Cure Research

Timothy Ray Brown is widely referred to as the first HIV patient to be cured of the disease. He received a CCR5 deficient bone marrow transplant as a treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia, with HAART controlled HIV-1 infection at the background. Seven years after the transplant, and discontinuation of HAART, he has been free of the virus. Several tests conducted to detect elements of the virus have turned up negative. This has suggest renewed and  more determined interest in finding a lasting cure for HIV-AIDS and has given birth to the era of HIV cure research

Intercalibration of Boreal and Tethyan timescales: the magneto-biostratigraphy of the Middle Triassic and the latest Early Triassic from Spitsbergen, Arctic Norway

An integrated bio-magnetostratigraphic study of the latest Early Triassic to the upper parts of the Middle Triassic, at Milne Edwardsfjellet in central Spitsbergen, Svalbard, allows a detailed correlation of Boreal and Tethyan biostratigraphies. The biostratigraphy consists of ammonoid and palynomorph zonations, supported by conodonts, through some 234 m of succession in two adjacent sections. The magnetostratigraphy consists of ten substantive normal–reverse polarity chrons defined by sampling at 150 stratigraphic levels. The magnetization is carried by magnetite and an unidentified magnetic sulphide, and is difficult to fully separate from a strong present-day like magnetization. The bio-magnetostratigraphy from the late Olenekian (Vendomdalen Member) is supplemented by data from nearby Vikinghøgda. The early and mid-Anisian has a high sedimentation rate, comprising over half the ca. 140-m thickness of the Botneheia Formation, whereas the late Anisian and lower Ladinian is condensed into about 20 m. The two latest Boreal Ladinian ammonoid zones are absent due to erosional truncation below the Tschermakfjellet Formation. Correlation to Tethyan bio-magnetostratigraphies shows the traditional base of the Boreal Anisian (base of G. taimyrensis Zone) precedes the base Anisian (using here definitions based on the Desli Caira section in Romania). The Boreal upper Anisian G. rotelliforme and F. nevadanus ammonoid zones correlate to most of the Tethyan Pelsonian and Illyrian substages. The base Ladinian defined in the Tethyan global boundary stratotype and point (GSSP) is closely equivalent to the traditional base of the Boreal Ladinian at the I. oleshkoi Zone. The latest Olenekian to early Anisian magnetic polarity timescale is refined using the Spitsbergen data