BackgroundLeptin levels start increasing from the early stages of pregnancy, irrespective of the maternal body mass index. Leptin levels are increased in pregnant women with preeclampsia (PE) and may precede the clinical onset of the disease, with peaks occurring around 28 weeks of gestation. This study was aimed at determining whether serum leptin concentration and body fat percentage are significantly altered during the first trimester in pregnancies that subsequently develop PE and whether such changes are useful in predicting the disease.Materials and methodsThis was a prospective longitudinal study conducted among pregnant women in Ho municipality. A cohort of 314 pregnant women was monitored from the first antenatal visit to delivery period at the Volta Regional Hospital, Ho, Ghana. Maternal serum leptin and lipid profile were analyzed and body fat percentage determined during first trimester. Body mass index was also calculated.ResultsFirst trimester serum leptin level (P<0.0001) and body fat percentage (P<0.0001) were significantly higher in those who developed PE than those who did not; while triglycerides (P=0.8600), total cholesterol (P=0.5620), high-density lipoprotein (P=0.5880), low-density lipoprotein (P=0.4870) and very low-density lipoprotein (P=0.6540) did not show any significant difference between those with PE and those without PE.ConclusionLeptin levels are increased significantly during the first trimester of pregnancy in obese women with PE, and these increases precede the onset of PE.

Countries of the African ‘meningitis belt’ are susceptible to meningococcal meningitis outbreaks. While in the past major epidemics have been primarily caused by serogroup A meningococci, W strains are currently responsible for most of the cases. After an epidemic in Mecca in 2000, W:ST-11 strains have caused many outbreaks worldwide. An unrelated W:ST-2881 clone was described for the first time in 2002, with the first meningitis cases caused by these bacteria reported in 2003. Here we describe results of a comparative whole-genome analysis of 74 W:ST-2881 strains isolated within the framework of two longitudinal colonization and disease studies conducted in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Genomic data indicate that the W:ST-2881 clone has emerged from Y:ST-175(CC175) bacteria by capsule switching. The circulating W:ST-2881 populations were composed of a variety of closely related but distinct genomic variants with no systematic differences between colonization and disease isolates. Two distinct and geographically clustered phylogenetic clonal variants were identified in Burkina Faso and a third in Ghana. On the basis of the presence or absence of 17 recombination fragments, the Ghanaian variant could be differentiated into five clusters. All 25 Ghanaian disease isolates clustered together with 23 out of 40 Ghanaian isolates associated with carriage within one cluster, indicating that W:ST-2881 clusters differ in virulence. More than half of the genes affected by horizontal gene transfer encoded proteins of the ‘cell envelope’ and the ‘transport/binding protein’ categories, which indicates that exchange of non-capsular antigens plays an important role in immune evasion.

The study was aimed at comparing the estimation of the burden and trends (2012–2016) of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Syphilis infections by the national Sentinel Survey vis-à-vis the use of population-based studies at a single urban site (Municipal Hospital) in Ho, the Volta Region of Ghana. Using blood donors as a proxy of the asymptomatic adult population, a retrospective analysis of secondary data on HIV and Syphilis testing was conducted using Ho Municipal Hospital's archives comprising 4,180 prospective blood donors. Published reports from the National Sentinel Survey for the Ho Sentinel Site comprising 2,452 pregnant women from 2012 to 2016 were used. The cumulative prevalence of HIV and Syphilis infections in the population-based survey was 4.78% and 2.58% while the epidemiology was estimated at 2.75% and 0.24% by the Sentinel Survey for the five-year under review. The new HIV and Syphilis infections were 3.78% and 2.46% in the population-based survey compared to 2.64% and 0.23% in the Sentinel Survey. Gender cumulative prevalence and the yearly trend was found to be higher in the general population compared to the pregnant women. The use of pregnant women to estimate the HIV and Syphilis epidemiology might not be representative of the general population.

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been progressively identified in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Qatar. We aim to characterise NAFLD in IBD patients in Qatar and to determine predictors for its severity. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted on 913 IBD patients in Hamad hospital between January 2008 and December 2017. The prevalence of NAFLD among IBD cases was estimated and associations between two or more qualitative variables were assessed using χ2-test. Quantitative data between two independent groups were analysed using unpaired t-test. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied to determine the predictive values of each predictor for NAFLD among IBD patients. Results Among 913 IBD patients with a mean age of 36.9 ± 13.2 years and BMI 26.9 ± 6.1; 550 were males (60.2%), 383(41.9%) with Crohn’s disease and 530 (58.1%) with Ulcerative colitis. 24 (22.2%) patients had severe steatosis. The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 11.8% (95% CI 9.9, 14.1) and does not differ significantly between CD and UC patients (11.7% vs. 11.9%; p = 0.949). Patients who developed NAFLD were older at baseline, higher BMI and had a higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension. Age &gt;50 years (OR 3.34; 95% CI 1.82, 6.14; p = 0.001), BMI &gt;30kg/m2 (OR 2.87; 95% CI 1.71, 4.84; p = 0.001), the presence of hypertension (OR 1.98; 95% CI 1.16, 3.38; p = 0.01) and diabetes mellitus (OR 3.05; 95% CI 1.87, 4.95; p = 0.001), were all positive and significantly associated with an increased risk whereas gender female associated with significantly decreased risk for NAFLD (OR 0.63; 95% CI 0.41, 0.98; p = 0.04). Multivariate analysis showed age &gt;40 to 50 years (adjusted OR 2.98; 95% CI 1.62, 5.48; p = 0.001), age &gt;50 years (adjusted OR 2.03; 95% CI 1.03, 4.0; p = 0.04), BMI&gt;30 kg/m2 (adjusted OR 2.24; 95% CI 1.28, 3.91; p = 0.01) and diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR 1.98; 95% CI 1.15, 3.4; p = 0.02) significantly associated with an increased risk of NAFLD whereas gender female showed protective effect and have decreased risk (adjusted OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.36, 0.93; p=0.02). The treatment with biologic does not increase the risk of steatosis and the predicted cut-off NAFLD score of ≥ -1.67 had good predictive ability for significant steatosis. Conclusion The prevalence of NAFLD in IBD patients was 11.8% in Qatar. We did not find an association between the medications used and the progression to NAFLD in IBD patients. Older age, high BMI and diabetes mellitus increase its risk. Non-invasive screening using NAFLD Score could help early diagnosis and initiation of interventions in such patients.