Browsing by Author "Sungura, Richard Erasto"

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The neuroimaging magnitude of pediatric brain atrophy in northern Tanzania
(The Pan African Medical Journal, 2020-05-21) Sungura, Richard Erasto; Spitsbergen, John Martin; Mpolya, Emmanuel; Sauli, Elingarami; Vianney, John-Mary
Introduction: the loss of parenchymal brain volume per normative age comparison is a distinctive feature of brain atrophy. While the condition is the most prevalent to elderly, it has also been observed in pediatric ages. Various causes such as trauma, infection, and malnutrition have been reported to trigger the loss of brain tissues volume. Despite this literature based knowledge of risk factors, the magnitude of brain atrophy in pediatric age group is scantly addressed in most developing countries including Tanzania. The current study aims to understand the magnitude of brain atrophy in children residing in Northern Zone, Tanzania. Methods: a cross-sectional hospital survey was performed in which 455 children who were presented with various brain pathologies from the year 2013 to 2019 and whose brains examined by Computerized tomography (CT)-Scanners were recruited in the study. The brain statuses were examined using three linear radiological methods including the measure of sulcal-width, Evans index, and lateral ventricular body width. Results: results showed a significant number of atrophied brains among children in Northern Tanzania and that the condition was observed to have a 1:1 male to female ratio. The prevalence of pediatric brain atrophy was found to be 16.04%. Conclusion: the cortical subtype of brain atrophy presented as the most prevalent type of brain volume loss. The findings of this study suggest existence of considerable trends of brain atrophy in children which need special attention and mitigation plans.
Novel Multi-Linear Quantitative Brain Volume Formula For Manual Radiological Evaluation Of Brain Atrophy
(Research Square, 2020-06-22) Sungura, Richard Erasto; Mpolya, Emmanuel; Spitsbergen, J. M.; Onyambu, Callen Kwamboka; Sauli, Elingarami; John-Mary, Vianney
The brain is a dynamic organ that develops and involutes in volume. The process of volume loss known as brain atrophy commonly occurs in elderly. However, some conditions have been implicated to provoke this paradoxical process in childhood and making it important to have methods and techniques of quantifying brain volume. Automated quantitative methods are very important in brain atrophy assessment but these tools have limited availability in developing countries. The simplified linear radiological methods are poorly reproducible and hence there is a need to develop an alternative formula that is reproducible and applicable at all healthcare levels.