In malaria-endemic areas, reliably establishing parasitaemia for diagnosis of malaria can be difficult. A retinopathy with some features unique to severe malaria with a predictive value on prognosis, has been described. Detection of this retinopathy could be a useful diagnostic tool. This study was designed to determine the diagnostic usefulness of retinopathy on ophthalmoscopy in severe malaria syndromes: Cerebral malaria (CM) and non-cerebral severe malaria (non-CM), i.e. malaria with respiratory distress (RD) and malaria with severe anaemia (SA), in Ghanaian children. Secondly, to determine any association between retinopathy and the occurrence of convulsions in patients with CM.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder that can result in vasculopathy and end organ damage. Angiogenesis has been implicated as a key contributing factor to vascular mediated tissue injury in SCD. The relative plasma levels of angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) greatly influence angiogenesis. Dysregulation of these growth factors, leading to a pro-angiogenic state in SCD patients, has been documented in the developed world but there is very little data in Africa. There is the need, therefore, for studies in Ghanaian SCD patients. The aim of this study was to assess plasma levels of Ang-1, Ang-2, and VEGF in homozygous (HbSS) SCD patients with or without complications and healthy controls (HbAA) in Ghana. The study was a case-control study involving 544 participants: 396 HbSS SCD patients and 148 HbAA healthy controls. The study was conducted at the Center for Clinical Genetics (Sickle Cell Clinic) and Accra Area Blood Centre for National Blood transfusion at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. The plasma levels of Ang-1, Ang-2, and VEGF of study participants were measured with a double sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Complete blood count (CBC) was measured with an autoanalyser. The mean plasma Ang-1, Ang-2, and VEGF were significantly higher in HbSS SCD patients with or without complications than healthy controls (p < 0.001). The Ang-2/Ang-1 ratio was significantly lower in the controls than the HbSS patients (p < 0.001). The Ang-2/Ang-1 ratio was higher in the HbSS patients with leg ulcers as compared with patients with other complications and healthy controls (p < 0.001). There were higher leucocyte counts in HbSS patients than healthy controls. Overall, there was elevated plasma levels of Ang-1, Ang-2, and VEGF in SCD patients. The higher Ang-2/Ang-1 plasma levels in patients with leg ulcers suggests a possible ongoing angiogenesis and response to inflammatory stimuli. The study provides a first report on plasma levels of angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, and vascular endothelial growth factors in homozygous sickle cell disease patients in Ghana.

Lysine is one of the essential amino acids and in cereal based diets it is known to be the most limiting and therefore determines the quality of dietary protein in such diets. This study investigated the effect of lysine supplementation on blood pressure of hypertensive adults in selected peri-urban community in Accra, Ghana. The study was a randomized double-blind controlled study made up of adults men and women assigned to a lysine supplemented group and a placebo-supplemented (control) group. The subjects aged between 18 – 45 years and totaling 180. Total of 50 (28%) of the participating were hypertensive defined as Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) ≥140 mmHg. The mean SBP of lysine-supplemented group significantly dropped from 146.11 ± 11.92 to 128.95 ± 10.44 mmHg (p = 0.02). That of women also dropped from 144.12 ± 10.41 to 132.28 ± 10.69 mmHg, (p = 0.06 while the control group had there SBP remained fairly constant after 112 days of intervention with changes in men from 145.79 ± 12.56 to 142.79 ± 11.07 mmHg (p = 0.32) and women in the control had very little drop from 145.15 ± 14.79 to 145.00 ± 17.93 mmHg (p = 0.96). Lysine supplementation resulted in normalization/reduction of blood pressure of hypertensive subjects who have suboptimal lysine intake.