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Biomedical subjects

J B Familusi

Publications and source records attributed to J B Familusi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Cerebrospinal fluid folate and cobalamin levels in febrile convulsion.

Folate and cobalamin parameters were studied in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of 40 febrile paediatric patients. Eighteen of these children were in a state of febrile convulsion while the remaining 22 were non-convulsing. The serum folate concentration of all the patients was higher than that of the control group but the highest value was found in the convulsing children. There was no significant difference in the CSF folate levels between the two groups of patients. The serum cobalamin levels of the patients were significantly lower than those of the control children and the lowest mean was observed in the convulsing state. On the other hand, there was no difference in the CSF cobalamin between the convulsing and non-convulsing children. These results confirm that there is an effective blood-brain barrier system for folate even when serum folate levels are higher than normal. There is also a definite decrease in serum cobalamin during pyrexia but this decrease is more apparent in the convulsing state. The role of cobalamin metabolism in convulsion is not clear.

Blood-Brain Barrier↗
PubMed1985

A survey of neonatal jaundice in association with household drugs and chemicals in Nigeria.

A survey was conducted to determine the extent of exposure of women of child-bearing age and their families to household chemicals and medicaments, and the prevalence of neonatal jaundice in the exposed and unexposed families compared. Significant exposures to naphthalene, insecticides, mentholated balms, mentholated powders, and traditional herbs occurred in 45-87% of the families studied. The overall incidence of jaundice did not differ significantly in neonates from households with or without positive history of drugs/chemical exposures. Severe neonatal jaundice, as judged by the need for exchange blood transfusion or death of the infant, was however, significantly more frequent among neonates from families with positive history of naphthalene exposure than in those with negative history. Some household chemicals and medicaments may be important in the pathogenesis of neonatal jaundice in our environment, and health education aimed at eliminating exposure neonates and pregnant women to such agents is urgently necessary.

Female↗
PubMed1985

Salmonella typhi pneumonia without gastrointestinal manifestations.

Salmonella typhi bacilli were isolated from the pleural aspirate and the blood culture of an 8-year-old girl who presented with clinical and roentgenographic alveolar pneumonia. There was no accompanying gastrointestinal manifestation. The literature on pneumonia in typhoid fever is briefly reviewed.

Bronchopneumonia↗
PubMed1984

A prospective study of the role of bacterial infection and G6PD deficiency in severe neonatal jaundice in Nigeria.

109 Nigerian neonates with serum bilirubin of 12 mg% and above, who presented at the Children's Emergency Room of the University College Hospital, Ibadan between November 1980 and February 1981 were investigated for bacterial sepsis and other causes of hyperbilirubinaemia. A detailed history of exposure to drugs likely to be icterogenic was also taken. Of the 109 infants, 67 (62%) were G6PD deficient and 41 (67%) of the latter had no obvious cause for the precipitation of jaundice. However 106 (97%) of the jaundiced infants had been exposed to agents capable of causing haemolysis in G6PD deficiency; 24 (22%) had bacteriologically proven septicaemia and in only five (4.6%) was sepsis the sole cause of hyperbilirubinaemia. There was no significant differences in the frequency of bacteriologically proven sepsis between the infants with normal or deficient G6PD status. Septicaemia however significantly increased the severity of jaundice among G6PD deficient infants. This study suggests that infection is common in severely jaundiced Nigerian infants and there is a need to reassess the role of exogenous agents in the pathogenesis of neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia in our community.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1983

Comparison of folate levels in convulsing and non-convulsing febrile children.

The relationship between folic acid levels and occurrence of convulsion in febrile subjects was studied in thirty-two children aged 8 months to 5 years. Both the serum and red cell folate levels were significantly higher in the febrile children who convulsed than in those who did not convulse. When the period of convulsion was more than thirty minutes, there was a significant rise in the red cell folate. These results suggest that the accumulation of folate in the serum and red cell may be causally related to the development of the convulsing state in febrile children.

Body Temperature↗
PubMed1981

Increase of body temperature and folic acid metabolism.

Folic acid metabolism was studied in forty-four febrile children aged 2 months -9 years by measuring their serum and red cell folate levels. In all the children, there was a significant reduction in red cell folate along with a steady rise in serum folate as the body temperature increased above 39 degrees C. There was no correlation between the folate parameters and the pathological cause of the pyrexia (malaria or broncho-pneumonia). These results suggest that a rise in body temperature causes a breakdown of folate stores, which leads to some disturbance of folate metabolism. The extent of this disturbance is not known but it may have some detrimental effects on growing children.

Child↗
PubMed1980

Rubella immunity in Nigerian children.

A serological survey was carried out to determine the rubella haemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibodies among Nigerian children. The subjects consisted of 100 neonates and 550 children aged one month to 15 years. The study shows that rubella immunity rose with increasing age of the children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Distribution of rubella antibodies in Nigeria.

A total of 1,847 serum samples obtained from human subjects in various areas of Nigeria (North, East and West) were tested for the presence of rubella haemagglutination inhibition antibodies. The results showed that an average of 68% of the Nigerian population studied possessed rubella antibody.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Mother and child health in Africa: the role of health education.

Research and practical experience clearly indicate that most mother and child health problems in Africa are preventable. Most are associated with poor personal hygiene and environmental sanitation, ignorance, poverty, and inadequacy or nonutilization of available health services. Improved health planning can either alleviate or totally abolish many of these problems. Health education is an integral part of mother and child health and other medical care programs. Because the reaction of the individual to medical intervention is largely determined by the sociocultural and community environment, health education should not be directed towards the health-deficient target population alone, but towards the community as a whole.

Africa↗
PubMed1977

Urogenital rhabdomyosarcoma in Nigerian children.

Four cases of urogenital rhabdomyosarcoma in Nigerian children are reported. One of the patients is alive and well six years after surgical excision of a stage 1 tumour. The remaining three children had more advanced neoplasms and died soon after surgery despite adjuvant therapy with one or more cytotoxic agents. The probable value of combination chemotherapy with vincristine, actinomycin D and cyclophosphamide in this tumour type is discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1976

Congenital generalized fibromatosis. An African case with gingival hypertrophy and other unusual features.

What is believed to be the first reported case of congenital generalized fibromatosis in an African infant is described. Features in our patient, which were not noted in previous reports of the disease, include gingival hypertrophy, ankylosis of joints, skeletal hyperostosis, and lymphatic dilation of the ileal villi. Corticosteroid therapy was tried in the patient, but did not produce any beneficial effect.

Ankylosis↗