Ahmed H. Hussein

Stroke is a serious condition in which specific area of the brain will loss the blood supply. When blood restored to the ischemic area the risk will be increased and brain cells will undergo cell death by the two known forms of cell death (apoptosis and necrosis). Methionine is an essential amino acid needed by our body for many physiological pathways like synthesis of glutathione which is considered as more important endogenous antioxidant molecules. This study was designed to assess the possible neuroprotective activity of L-Methionine in cerebral I/R injury after bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) in rats. A total of 24 Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were used. They divided equally into four groups (sham, control, control vehicle and L-methionine treated groups). Their brains were removed and prepared by a reported procedure for histopathological study and staining with 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC). It has been found that both histopathological and TTC staining results showed a significant role for L-Methionine as cerebroprotective agent and further studies are recommended to confirm that.

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among children <5 years of age worldwide. To determine the prevalence of severe rotavirus infection in children admitted with acute gastroenteritis attending Mbabane Government Referral Hospital in the Hhohho region and Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital in the Manzini Region of Swaziland, sentinel surveillance was conducted in January 2013 – December 2014. This is hospital based sentinel surveillance study. A total of 331 children under the age of five years with acute diarrhoea were enrolled into the sentinel surveillance system and 302 cases had stool samples tested for rotavirus antigens by enzyme immunoassay ProSpec T Rotavirus kit. The G and P genotypes were established by multiplex nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Rotavirus was detected in 159 (52.6%) of the 302 children with acute diarrhoea that had stool specimens collected and 108 (68%) of positive cases of rotavirus gastroenteritis were between 6-11 months of age and 91% were below the age of two years. Rotavirus infection occurred with peaks between June - August. During the 2013 – 2014 period, 146 samples were subjected for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and genotyping assays. The most common genotypes detected in Swaziland were 82% G2P[4] in 2013 and 93% G1P [8] in 2014. Swaziland would benefit by introducing rotavirus vaccine and hence reduce the hospitalization burden of managing acute diarrhoea cases attributed to Rotavirus. The data from the sentinel hospitals can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of the vaccine once introduced.