Neural stem cell research in Africa: current realities and future prospects.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are immature progenitor cells that are found in developing and adult brains that have the potential of dividing actively and renewing themselves, with a complex form of gene expression. The generation of new brain cells in adult individuals was initially considered impossible, however, the landmark discovery of human neural stem cells in the hippocampus has been followed by further discoveries in other discreet regions of the brain. Investigation into the current state in Africa of the research and use of NSCs shows relatively limited activities on the continent. Information on the African application of NSCs for modelling disease mechanisms, drug discovery, and therapeutics is still limited. The International Brain Research Organization (IBRO)-African Regional Committee (ARC), with support from the Company of Biologists, and the Movement Disorder Society, sponsored the first African Basic School on NSC in Ibadan, Nigeria, with the vision of bringing together young neuroscientists and physicians across different fields in neuroscience to learn from leaders who have applied NSCs in stem cell research, the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, neuroanatomy, and neurotherapeutics. Twenty early-career researchers in academic institutions at junior and senior faculty cadres were selected from South Africa, Uganda and Nigeria. The students and organizer of the school, who wrote this review on the state of NSCs research in Africa, recommended the following: (1) other African countries can take a cue from South Africa and Nigeria in probing the phenomena of adult neurogenesis in unique animal species on the continent; (2) Africa should leverage the expertise and facilities of South African scientists and international collaborators in scaling up NSC research into these unique species and (3) Centers of Excellence should be established on the continent to serve as research hubs for training postgraduate students, and facilities for African scientists who trained overseas on NSCs.

Thirteen-year social outcome among Nigerian outpatients with schizophrenia.

It has been suggested that the short-term clinical outcome of schizophrenia may be better in developing than in industrialised countries. Little is known of the social outcome of the disorder in the medium term in developing societies. In a study of 120 clinically stable outpatients in a clinic in Nigeria, we examined the social, occupational and residential outcomes of schizophrenia after 13 years. A substantial proportion of patients showed a moderate to severe degree of disability in the areas of occupation and social contact. Four percent were homeless or of unstable abode. While men were particularly disadvantaged in establishing a marital relationship and also evidenced impaired fecundity, women had a more impaired outcome in the domain of frequency and quality of social contact. Poor response to initial treatment and indices of impaired premorbid adjustment were associated with poor outcome 13 years after illness onset. Even though these patients had come predominantly from low social (and occupational) groups, they still manifested a downward drift on the social ladder. In the medium to long term, traditional family networks may be inadequate to prevent patients with schizophrenia in developing societies from acquiring significant and multiple disablement.

Gender and schizophrenia: association of age at onset with antecedent, clinical and outcome features.

OBJECTIVE: There is evidence that gender and age at onset may have a bearing on schizophrenia. The extent to which this differential age at onset influences the clinical features of schizophrenia and its outcome in males and females is not clear. METHOD: One hundred and twenty outpatients with DSM-III-R schizophrenia were studied to determine the association of antecedent, historical, clinical and 13-year outcome features with age at onset in females (n = 64) and in males (n = 56). RESULTS: Males were significantly younger at illness onset but were not otherwise different from females in antecedent features of illness. For males, age at onset bore little relationship to outcome after 13 years. Females with early onset of illness were more likely to have experienced obstetric complications, to evidence poorer premorbid functioning, and to have a worse clinical, social and functional outcome than females with late onset. CONCLUSIONS: Even though females may have a more benign illness than males, among females, those with early age at onset may be characterised by neurodevelopmental deviance and worse illness outcome.

A fatal case of paraquat poisoning in a Nigerian.

A fatal case of paraquat poisoning in an adolescent girl is reported. Death resulted from respiratory failure because of extensive interstitial and intra-alveolar fibrosis.

Premorbid functioning in schizophrenia: a controlled study of Nigerian patients.

We compared the premorbid social adjustment of 38 schizophrenic patients with that of 20 manic patients. Even though the small sample size affected the number of significant differences obtained, schizophrenic patients consistently showed evidence of poorer premorbid functioning than manics at various stages of social development. Schizophrenic men also tended to have functioned more poorly than women. Poor premorbid functioning was associated with negative syndrome, but not with positive or disorganization syndromes. Our findings suggest that poor premorbid adjustment is an early sign of schizophrenic illness even among patient populations who may be characterized by good short-term outcome.

Heritability of schizophrenia. A controlled family history investigation in Nigeria.

Thirty-six consecutively admitted patients with schizophrenia and 20 with mania were studied for the morbid risk of psychosis in their first-degree relatives. Using the family history method of ascertainment, the morbid risk for schizophrenia in the relatives of schizophrenic probands was 4.12% compared with 1.42% in the relatives of manic probands. While this difference was not statistically significant, that between the morbid risk for affective psychoses in the relatives of manic patients (7.81%) was significantly higher than for the relatives of schizophrenic patients (0%).

Early brain trauma and schizophrenia in Nigerian patients.

OBJECTIVE: A number of reports have suggested that early brain trauma, especially obstetric complications, may be associated with schizophrenia. This observation seems at variance with the similar rates of schizophrenia reported for advanced and developing countries when viewed against the high rate of perinatal morbidity in developing countries. Using patients with mania as comparison subjects, the authors investigated the association of early brain trauma with schizophrenia in adult life among Nigerian patients. METHOD: The manic (N = 12) and schizophrenic (N = 26) groups, both diagnosed according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria, were compared in respect to the prevalence of events commonly regarded as definite obstetric complications and the prevalence of childhood brain injury for which hospitalization was required. RESULTS: A history of early brain trauma was associated with an adult diagnosis of schizophrenia. Schizophrenic patients with a history of early brain trauma were more likely than those without early brain trauma to have shown poor scholastic performance in childhood. They also showed mixed cerebral laterality in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Early brain trauma may be a specific risk factor for the later development of schizophrenia. Patients with such a history may evidence other features of neurodevelopmental deviance.