Redefining our priorities. Nigeria. The Hague Forum.

PIP: The recent years of Nigeria's transition to democracy and civil governance led to the imposition of international sanctions against the country. Those sanctions deprived Nigeria of much needed international support and technical assistance to development efforts. Therefore since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Nigeria has not been as successful as it would like to have been in implementing the ICPD program of action. The abrupt withdrawal of donor support adversely affected the country's National Population Program, although the impact would have been worse without the ongoing support of the UNFPA. However, despite these obstacles, some progress has been made in implementing the ICPD program of action in Nigeria, while nongovernmental organizations are being encouraged by donor agencies to develop and implement programs to improve access to reproductive health care services at all levels. The government is working to maintain an available supply of contraceptives. Social goals, women's empowerment, primary health care, HIV/AIDS, funding, and the need to lower fertility levels are discussed.^ieng

Serum calcium levels in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis.

One hundred and two consecutively diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients were recruited and followed up to ascertain the occurrence of hypercalcaemia before and during treatment with the modified short course antituberculosis therapy. Forty-five patients had hypocalcaemia at presentation, four of whom had hypoalbuminaemia. All those with hypocalcaemia had moderate to extensive radiographic disease on enrollment with BMI of less than 20. On commencement of treatment with the modified short course therapy, two of those with extensive cavitary radiographic disease developed transient asymptomatic hypercalcaemia. Although the hypoalbuminaemia and the hypocalcaemia seem to be related to the extent of radiographic disease and the poor nutritional status of the patients at presentation, no specific cause for the transient hypercalcaemia was found.

Mass hysteria: one syndrome or two?

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that mass hysteria can be divided into two syndromes; one with predominant features of anxiety and the other with predominant abnormalities of motor behaviour. In the former condition, prior tension is absent and spread is by visual contact. In the latter, prior tension is present, initial cases can be identified and spread is gradual. METHOD: The development and resolution of neurological symptoms in 156 Nigerian school girls were studied and a diagnosis of 'mass hysteria' made. RESULTS: The signs and symptoms manifested by the school girls during the outbreak of illness had features of both 'anxiety' and 'motor' predominant forms of mass hysteria. CONCLUSIONS: Although there may be two patterns of symptom presentation in mass hysteria, other supposedly discrete features overlap. This weakens the argument that there are two separate syndromes.

Osteoarthritis of the hip and acetabular dysplasia in Nigerian men.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and of acetabular dysplasia and the association between these conditions in 63 male patients (126 hips) aged 60 to 75 years who had undergone intravenous urography for nonarthritic indications at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. METHODS: Two definitions of radiographic OA were employed: the first based on joint space measurement and the second on global assessment of features of OA. Acetabular dysplasia was defined as a center-edge angle of <25 degrees or an acetabular depth of <9 mm. Results were compared with a British study that used similar methods. RESULTS: The prevalence of a minimal joint space < or = 2.5 mm was 7.0% in the hips of Nigerian men compared with 13.2% in the British study. The prevalence of acetabular dysplasia in the Nigerian population based on center-edge angle and acetabular depth was 3.3 and 2.9%, respectively. No dysplastic hip in the Nigerian population, defined by either measurement, showed osteoarthritic change. CONCLUSION: Our study shows a lower prevalence of hip OA in elderly Nigerian men compared with similar aged men in Britain. The prevalence of dysplasia in the 2 populations was similar, and so cannot account for the difference in OA prevalence. Furthermore, shallow acetabula were not associated with OA of the hip in the Nigerian men.