Mamadou Ndiaye

Medicinal plants and the treatment of diabetes in Senegal: survey with patients

Diabetes is the most common metabolic disorder worldwide and is a major public health problem. Its frequency increases every day in all countries. However, in developing African countries, few people have access to drugs. In addition, in Africa, traditional beliefs induce people to use medicinal plants whenever they have health problems. Thus, many people in these developing countries use plants for the treatment of diabetes. Yet, few studies are focused on the knowledge and attitudes of the users on medicinal plants in Africa in general and in Senegal in particular. Hence we undertook this survey on the use of medicinal plants for the treatment of diabetes in Senegal in order to make recommendations which could contribute to the increase of the value of herbal medicines in developing countries. We did a cross‐sectional survey by direct interview at a university teaching hospital, in Dakar with a representative sample of 220 patients. Forty‐one plants were used by the patients and the two most frequently cited were Moringa oleifera Lam (65.90%) and Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich) Hochst (43.20%). Patients gave several reasons for using medicinal plants (traditional treatment: 40%, efficacy: 32%, low cost: 20%). The principal suppliers of plants were tradesmen in the market (66.8%) and traditional therapists (5%). Sixty‐five per cent of patients think that medicinal plants are efficient for the treatment of diabetes and 20% have reported adverse effects which could be caused by medicinal plants. In conclusion, many people in our study think that medicinal plants are efficient for the treatment of diabetes, which requires research work by scientists in developing countries in this field in order to prove their efficacy and innocuousness.

Antidiabetic properties of aqueous barks extract of Parinari excelsa in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

The aqueous extract of the Parinari excelsa barks at doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg/day for 7 days has a significant antihyperglycemic effect on alloxan-induced diabetic rats. At the same dose the acute oral administration of aqueous extract of the P. excelsa barks (100 and 300 mg/kg) induced a significant decrease of blood glucose on glucose-loaded normoglycaemic rats. Our results seem to confirm the rational bases for its use in traditional medicine.

Benzodiazepines prescription in Dakar: a study about prescribing habits and knowledge in general practitioners, neurologists and psychiatrists

Benzodiazepines are relatively well‐tolerated medicines but can induce serious problems of addiction and that is why their use is regulated. However, in developing countries like Senegal, these products are used without clear indications on their prescription, their dispensation or their use. This work focuses on the prescription of these medicines with a view to make recommendations for their rational use. Benzodiazepine prescription was studied with psychiatrists or neurologists and generalists in 2003. Specialist doctors work in two Dakar university hospitals and generalists in the 11 health centres in Dakar. We did a survey by direct interview with 29 of 35 specialists and 23 of 25 generalists. All doctors were interviewed in their office. The questionnaire focused on benzodiazepine indications, their pharmacological properties, benzodiazepines prescribed in first intention against a given disease and the level of training in benzodiazepines by doctors. Comparisons between specialists and generalists were made by chi‐square test. Benzodiazepines were essentially used for anxiety, insomnia and epilepsy. With these diseases, the most benzodiazepines prescribed are prazepam against anxiety and insomnia and diazepam against epilepsy. About 10% of doctors do not know that there is a limitation for the period of benzodiazepine use. The principal reasons of drugs choice are knowledge of the drugs, habit and low side effects of drugs. All generalists (100%) said that their training on benzodiazepines is poor vs. 62.1% of specialists, and doctors suggest seminars, journals adhesions and conferences to complete their training in this field. There are not many differences between specialists and generalists except the fact that specialists prefer prazepam in first intention in the insomnia treatment where generalists choose bromazepam. In addition, our survey showed that specialists’ training in benzodiazepines is better than that of generalists. Overall, benzodiazepine prescription poses problems particularly in training, and national authorities must take urgent measures for rational use of these drugs.

Estimated impact and cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in Senegal: A country-led analysis.

INTRODUCTION Rotavirus is the leading cause of acute severe diarrhea among children under 5 globally and one of the leading causes of death attributable to diarrhea. Among African children hospitalized with diarrhea, 38% of the cases are due to rotavirus. In Senegal, rotavirus deaths are estimated to represent 5.4% of all deaths among children under 5. Along with the substantial disease burden, there is a growing awareness of the economic burden created by diarrheal disease. This analysis aims to provide policymakers with more consistent and reliable economic evidence to support the decision-making process about the introduction and maintenance of a rotavirus vaccine program. METHODS The study was conducted using the processes and tools first established by the Pan American Health Organizations ProVac Initiative in the Latin American region. TRIVAC version 2.0, an Excel-based model, was used to perform the analysis. The costs and health outcomes were calculated for 20 successive birth cohorts (2014-2033). Model inputs were gathered from local, national, and international sources with the guidance of a Senegalese group of experts including local pediatricians, personnel from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, as well as disease-surveillance and laboratory specialists. RESULTS The cost per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted, discounted at 3%, is US

Comparative methods of spike detection in epilepsy

92 from the health care provider perspective and US

Operation Optimal Dynamics of a Hybrid Electrical System: Multi-agent Approach

73 from the societal perspective. For the 20 cohorts, the vaccine is projected to prevent more than 2 million cases of rotavirus and to avert more than 8500 deaths. The proportion of rotavirus deaths averted is estimated to be 42%. For 20 cohorts, the discounted net costs of the program were estimated to be US

Crystal structure of catena-poly[N,N,N',N'-tetra-methyl-guanidinium [(chlorido-cadmate)-di-μ-chlorido]].

17.6 million from the healthcare provider perspective and US

Essais cliniques à Dakar : enquête sur les connaissances, attitudes et pratiques des principaux acteurs sur une période allant de 2003 à 2007

13.8 million from the societal perspective. CONCLUSION From both perspectives, introducing the rotavirus vaccine is highly cost-effective compared to no vaccination. The results are consistent with those found in many African countries. The ProVac process and tools contributed to a collaborative, country-led process in Senegal that provides a platform for gathering and reporting evidence for vaccine decision-making.

A new multi criteria classification approach in a multi agent system applied to SEEG analysis

Epilepsy is a common neurological condition which affects the central nervous system that causes people to have a seizure and can be assessed by electroencephalogram (EEG). Electroencephalography (EEG) signals reflect two types of paroxysmal activity: ictal activity and interictal paroxystic events (IPE). The relationship between IPE and ictal activity is an essential and recurrent question in epileptology. The spike detection in EEG is a difficult problem. Many methods have been developed to detect the IPE in the literature. In this paper we propose three methods to detect the spike in real EEG signal: Page Hinkley test, smoothed nonlinear energy operator (SNEO) and fractal dimension. Before using these methods, we filter the signal. The Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) filter is used to remove the noise in an EEG signal.

Multi Agent System Application for Electrical Load Shedding Management: Experiment in Senegal Power Grid

Abstract This paper presents a decentralized management system of a hybrid agent paradigm-based electrical system. The management strategy aims at quantifying and controlling production sources to adapt the energy consumed by consumption sources to that supplied by the system renewable production sources while reducing the operating cost of the system. A multi-agent system, where each production and consumption source is modeled by an agent, is proposed to represent the electrical system. The suggested strategy, which is based on an economic model designed to control the energy produced by the production sources and that required by the consumption sources, made it possible to reduce the system production cost. It optimizes the production cost for the operator and improves the energy use without compromising the users energy needs and comfort.