International Journal of Anatomy and Physiology

International Journal of Anatomy and Physiology ISSN 2326-7275 Vol. 14 (1), pp. 001-009, January, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Revolutionizing Schizophrenia Assessment: A Stereological Method Using CT Images to Evaluate Ventricle and Brain Volume Fractions

Gul Guven^1, Bunyamin Sahin^2, Gokay Aksaray^3, Hilmi Ozden^1*, Gonul Baylan^3, Baki Adapinar^4, Eyyup Gulbandilar⁵ and Ertugrul Colak⁶

¹Department of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.
²Department of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
³Department of Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.
⁴Department of Radiology, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.
⁵Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Dumlupinar University, Kutahya, Turkey.
⁶Department of Biostatistics, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.

Accepted 21 October, 2024

Abstract

There are several studies that have proposed different criteria for evaluating the volumes of the cerebral hemispheres, the lateral and third ventricles in patients with schizophrenia seen on routine computed tomography (CT) images. These approaches use solely the volume of the cerebrum and/or lateral ventricles, length and width measurements of the ventricles, and ventricle to brain ratio (VBR). In the present study, we proposed a new unbiased approach namely ventricle to brain volume fraction (VBF). CT scans of 23 patients with schizophrenia and 23 matched controls were blindly assessed by three independent observers. VBF, total brain volume and ventricle volumes were calculated and compared. The subjects with schizophrenia showed higher VBF than the control subjects (P = 0.000) with mean (±SEM) VBF values of 2.71±0.16 and 1.62±0.10%, respectively. No gender difference was found. Older subjects had a higher VBF than those younger in controls but not patients. Correlation was observed for VBF estimations made by three independent observers (r = 0.979; P = 0.000). The studies measuring VBR on schizophrenia revealed inconsistent findings. Comparing solely the brain volumes or ventricle volumes between two groups, instead of using volume fraction method, will not provide reliable data. VBF described here easily could be used for the analysis of the brain structures of schizophrenia using standard CT scans not requiring any additional expense. In addition; evaluation of the whole section series gives real ventricular and cerebral volumes.

Key words: Cavalieri method, computed tomography (CT), schizophrenia.
 

International Journal of Anatomy and Physiology ISSN 2326-7275 Vol. 13 (5), pp. 001-006, May, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Evaluation of diagnostic outcomes from bone marrow aspiration procedures at a novel medical facility in Nigeria

Damulak Obadiah Dapus¹* and Damen James G²

¹Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, University of Jos, Nigeria.
²Department of Medical Laboratory Science Technology, University of Jos, Nigeria.

Accepted 27 July, 2023

Abstract

The development of manpower for the tertiary level of health care services in developing countries is inadequate resulting in the establishment of a new centre as soon as the specialist is available. This is usually met by the high health demands from the community in the face of near lack of modern technological diagnostic advancement in the health sector. There is great need to study the morphologic outcome of bone marrow aspiration done in our centre for generation of baseline data and planning. Records of bone marrow Aspiration cytology done in Plateau State Specialist Hospital, Jos, Nigeria between January 2007 and June 2012 were studied. A total of 97 bone marrow aspiration were requested for and done in the Plateau State Specialist Hospital, Jos, within the study period. 55(56.8%) were males while 42(43.2%) were females. Eighty four (87.6%) had pathologic outcome while 13(13.4%) had normal or reactive marrow appearance. Pathologic marrow outcome were 28.6% leukaemias, 33.3% nutrient deficiency anaemias, 11.9% burkitt’s lymphoma, 4.1% multiple myloma, 8.3% bone marrow failure and others 13.I%. Common haematologic disorders in our setting are nutritional anaemias and leukaemias. There is need to expand the scope of laboratory investigations beyond morphology.

Keywords: Bone marrow aspiration, features, outcome.
 

International Journal of Anatomy and Physiology ISSN 2326-7275 Vol. 13 (5), pp. 001-009, May, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper
    
Exploring the age distribution of cancer cases in Malawi: An in-depth analysis of cancer diagnoses and trends 

Humphrey Misiri^1,2* and  Abdi Edriss³

¹Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
²Department of Community Health, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi.
³Bunda College, University of  Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi.

Accepted 18 November, 2023

Abstract

Cancer which is one of the leading causes of death worldwide is emerging as a serious public health problem in Malawi due to the AIDS pandemic. Research has shown that HIV causes the syndrome of premature aging and accelerates carcinogenesis. The objective of this study was to describe age at cancer diagnosis and to fit the age distribution of childhood and adult cancer diagnosis in Malawi. We therefore fitted the normal, gamma, lognormal and inverse Gaussian probability distributions to the data for the 1996–2005 period from the Malawi National Cancer Registry and selected the model of best fit using the Akaike Information Criterion. Additionally, a finite mixture distribution of lognormals was also fitted to the data. According to the analysis for this study, the median ages at diagnosis are at most 42 years for AIDS-defining cancers and at least 46 years for non-AIDS defining cancers. Furthermore, the ages at childhood and adult cancer diagnosis follow lognormal distributions and the distribution of age at cancer diagnosis (all cancers) is a finite mixture distribution of lognormals with estimated mixing proportions equal to 0.071 and 0.929. The estimated means of the mixture distribution are 5.1 and 45.1 years and the corresponding estimated standard deviations are 1.211 and 2.842 years. This analysis suggests that age at cancer diagnosis in Malawi is relatively low and has a bimodal distribution. Therefore, to achieve maximum impact, cancer prevention and control activities should target the 15-50 year age range.

Keywords: Cancer, diagnosis, AIC, finite mixture.

International Journal of Anatomy and Physiology ISSN 2326-7275 Vol. 13 (4), pp. 001-009, April, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Epidemiological analysis of cancer trends in Blantyre, Malawi: A decade-long study (1996-2005) and future projections

Humphrey Misiri^1,2, Charles Dzamalala^3, Abdi Edriss^6, D Max Parkin^4, and Freddie Bray^1,5

¹Department of Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
²Department of Community Health, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi.
³Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi.
⁴CTSU, University of Oxford, UK
⁵Norwegian Cancer Registry, Oslo, Norway
⁶Bunda Collage, University of Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi

Accepted 21 October, 2023

Abstract

As in many sub-Saharan countries, communicable diseases have been given greater public health priority in Malawi, although the magnitude of the cancer burden is increasing as a result of demographic changes, as well as the impact of the HIV pandemic. To be able to describe the patterns of cancer between 1996 and 2005 and to predict the incidence and total burden of cancer for 2015,we analysed data from the Malawi National Cancer Registry for the period from 1996 to 2005. We obtained age standardized incidence rates for the most common cancers in Malawi. Linear trend models were used to predict incidence rates and the burden of cancer for Blantyre for 2015. The most common cancers, in terms of age-standardized (world) incidence rates were Kaposi sarcoma (50.5 per 100,000 for males, 26.4 for females), cervical cancer (49.3 per 100,000), oesophageal cancer (22.3 for males, 14.6 for females), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (6.6 for males, 5.3 for females), eye cancer (4.4 for males, 5.4 for females), and breast cancer (11.9). Predictions based on the rather rapidly increasing trends would yield an upper limit of 2512 cases of cancer in Malawi by 2015; an absolute percentage increase of 193.4 % and 242.7 % among males and females, respectively. Based on our analysis we conclude that incidence rates of cancer in Blantyre have been increasing between 1996 and 2005. Apart from the AIDS pandemic in Malawi, population growth and ageing will also contribute to the projected threefold increase in the number of cancer cases.

Keywords: Cancer, incidence, predictions, time trends

International Journal of Anatomy and Physiology ISSN 2326-7275 Vol. 13 (3), pp. 001-009, March, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper
    
Innovative stereological method for schizophrenia assessment via CT imaging: Analyzing ventricle-to-brain volume ratio

Gul Guven¹, Bunyamin Sahin², Gokay Aksaray³, Hilmi Ozden¹*, Gonul Baylan³, Baki Adapinar⁴, Eyyup Gulbandilar⁵ and Ertugrul Colak⁶

¹Department of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.
²Department of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
³Department of Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.
⁴Department of Radiology, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.
⁵Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Dumlupinar University, Kutahya, Turkey.
⁶Department of Biostatistics, Medical Faculty, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey.

Accepted 21 November, 2023

Abstract

There are several studies that have proposed different criteria for evaluating the volumes of the cerebral hemispheres, the lateral and third ventricles in patients with schizophrenia seen on routine computed tomography (CT) images. These approaches use solely the volume of the cerebrum and/or lateral ventricles, length and width measurements of the ventricles, and ventricle to brain ratio (VBR). In the present study, we proposed a new unbiased approach namely ventricle to brain volume fraction (VBF). CT scans of 23 patients with schizophrenia and 23 matched controls were blindly assessed by three independent observers. VBF, total brain volume and ventricle volumes were calculated and compared. The subjects with schizophrenia showed higher VBF than the control subjects (P = 0.000) with mean (±SEM) VBF values of 2.71±0.16 and 1.62±0.10%, respectively. No gender difference was found. Older subjects had a higher VBF than those younger in controls but not patients. Correlation was observed for VBF estimations made by three independent observers (r = 0.979; P = 0.000). The studies measuring VBR on schizophrenia revealed inconsistent findings. Comparing solely the brain volumes or ventricle volumes between two groups, instead of using volume fraction method, will not provide reliable data. VBF described here easily could be used for the analysis of the brain structures of schizophrenia using standard CT scans not requiring any additional expense. In addition; evaluation of the whole section series gives real ventricular and cerebral volumes.

Key words: Cavalieri method, computed tomography (CT), schizophrenia.

International Journal of Anatomy and Physiology ISSN 2326-7275 Vol. 13 (2), pp. 001-007, February, 2024. © International Scholars Journals

Key words: Tumor, pleomorphic adenoma.