Spirulina Supplements Improved the Nutritional Status of Undernourished Children Quickly and Significantly: Experience from Kisantu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Aim. Despite high levels of malnutrition, there is still very little information on the nutritional benefits of Spirulina, a natural alga that provides essential amino acids, rare essential lipids, and numerous minerals and vitamins, to undernourished children in the world. Methods. We carried out a prospective study of 50 children aged between six and 60 months. The intervention group consisted of 16 children who received 10 g of Spirulina daily, as well as the local diet administered by the nutritional centre, and the control group of 34 children who just received the local diet. Both groups of children were assessed on day zero, day 15, and day 30. Results. After treatment, the weight-for-age Z scores and weight-for-height Z scores increased significantly in the intervention group. At day 15, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean corpuscular volume, total proteins, and albumin (p < 0.05) in both groups, in favour of the intervention group, and at day 30, this difference extended to all of the studied parameters (p < 0.05). Conclusion. This study found that the nutritional status of undernourished children who received Spirulina supplements as well as the local diet administered by the nutritional centre improved quickly and significantly.

Cherubism in sub-saharan Africa: a first case-report in a child.

Cherubism is rare disease and has been rarely reported in African pediatric population. We report here the case of a 10-year-old child who was referred to our hospital for bilateral jaws swelling. Physical examination revealed bilateral swelling symmetry of the face. Histopathological examination of the biopsy specimen showed loose fibrous stroma, proliferating fibrous connective with tissue interspersed with multinucleated giant cells, small thin walled blood vessels and scattered sparse mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate. Our patient presented cherubism. Cherubism is rarely described in children living in sub-Saharan Africa. Genetic and molecular investigations plays an important role in diagnosis but were not available in poor resources settings in developing countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Retinoblastoma in the democratic republic of congo: 20-year review from a tertiary hospital in kinshasa.

Background. To determine clinical profile and management of retinoblastoma among children at Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo. Patients and methods. The medical records of patients with a diagnosis of retinoblastoma seen at the University Hospital of Kinshasa from January 1985 till December 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic profile, clinical data, modes of treatment and outcome were analysed. Results. A total of 49 children, of whom 40 had adequate data on record were identified as retinoblastoma (28 males and 12 females). Nine cases had bilateral disease. The median age at the first symptoms was 9 months (range, 1 month to 6 years) for unilateral retinoblastoma and 18 months (range, 1 month to 3.5 years) for bilateral retinoblastoma. The median age at the first oncology consultation was 2.4 years (range, 6 months to 6 years) for unilateral retinoblastoma and 2.4years (range, 9 months to 4 years) for bilateral disease. Leukokoria was present in 67.5% of subjects. Seventy-five percent abandoned the treatment. The mortality was 92.5%. Conclusion. In Democratic Republic of Congo, retinoblastoma remains a life threatening disease characterized by late referral to a specialized unit and affordability of chemotherapy; all leading to an extension of the disease and high mortality.