Biomedical subjects

A Ba

Publications and source records attributed to A Ba.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1998

[Sociocultural approach to epilepsy in Mauritania].

In Black Africa, treatment of epilepsy is affected by sociocultural attitudes. The purpose of this report is to describe attitudes towards epilepsy in Mauritania and assess repercussions in 150 patients. Most patients were deprived of educational and occupational opportunities. Seventy-seven percent of patients were treated by traditional remedies. Regardless of ethnic origin, a widely held notion was that epilepsy was caused by djinns (evil spirits). An additional cause almost consistently cited by the Moorish population was diet. In these ethnic groups, the term iguindi refers to all clinical manifestations including seizures attributed to excessive eating. Traditional treatment involves ingestion of foods considered as antidotes for iguindi. These findings underline the need for information campaigns to enhance public awareness and understanding of epilepsy.

Attitude↗

PubMed1998

[Clinical criteria for oral pathology in a history of HIV infection].

Oral lesions have been shown to be the first clinical symptom in HIV infection by a large number of studies. A cross prospective study in Infectious Disease and Dental Service of Fann Hospital, the objectives were to evaluate the prevalence of oral lesions and to determinate correlation between oral lesions and CD4 cells count in HIV+ patients. 1.645 patients were examined, 352 were eligible. The prevalence of oral lesions was 62.7% in HIV+ patients. Among those 135 HIV+, 56.15% had a rate of CD4 < 200/mm3. In addition with studies presented in Third International Conference of Oral Lesions in HIV Disease (1996 May), oral lesions can be used as indicators for progression of HIV Disease.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

[Nephronophtisis in Senegal: first 3 cases].

Nephronophtisis is a familial tubulo-interstitial nephropathy with an autosomic recessive mode of transmission. To our knowledge, it has not been yet reported in Black Africa. We report here the case of a 17-year old female from Senegal who presented with renal failure related to a chronic interstitial nephritis characterized by polyuria, hypocalcemia, natriuresis of 23 mmol/l and serum creatinine level of 1070 mumol/l. The parents of this patient were first-degree cousins. Among the 6 siblings, 2 other males were found to have a renal disease. Ultrasound examination of the kidneys showed medullary cysts in the 2 affected brothers and the renal biopsy in one case showed tubular atrophy, with thickening of the basal lamina and an interstitial fibrosis without glomerular involvement. Molecular genetic analysis confirmed the diagnosis of nephronophtisis, with a homozygous deletion of the NPH1 region. In order to recognize this disease early in life, one has to look for it in patients with tubulo-interstitial nephritis, polyuria, childhood enuresia especially when it is associated with growth retardation or tetany. This case raises the issue of consanguinity and endogamy which are frequently encountered in Africa. It also extends the geographic and ethnic distribution of nephronophtisis, being the first cases reported Black Africans.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

[Amoebic liver abscess: echographic aspects].

Amoebic liver abscess is the most frequent location of the extra-intestine amibiasis with an epidemio-endemic repartition in our areas. We are reporting in this study the main echographic patterns that can be found. 117 documents were collected and studied between 1982 and 1988 in the main hospitals of Dakar (SENEGAL). Most of the patients were young, the range of age being between 25 and 55 years old and 83% of them, were male. The diagnosis of the amoebic liver abscess was evocated on the basis of the following clinical and biological symptoms: 54.38% of painful haetomegaly, 42.10% of pleuro-pulmonary and digestive signs, 3.50% of long lasting isolated fever, non specific biological sign of inflammation, 74.57% of positive hemaglutination test. An echographic test was performed before the anti-parasitic treatment with an echotomograph PHILIPS SDR 1500 in real time using a probe of 3 MHZ. The amoebic abscess of liver was detected by the echography in all cases. The unique abscess (83.10%) was the most frequent form. It was localized in the right liver (64%) and had an heterogeneous echostructure (55.70%). The hypo-echogeneous form (36.50%) was the earlier stage of the collecting abscess. The liquid form (07.80%) was observed in the latter stages of the disease. Some difficulties to determine the amoebic abscess may appear when primitive liver cancer or pyogensus abscess are present. In these cases it is necessary to analyse the liquid of ponction to be affirmative.

Adult↗

PubMed1982