All patients with a first-ever stroke admitted to the HUSM (Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia) from 1997 to 1998 were included in this study. All risk factors were determined and analysed prospectively. There were 158 cases of stroke admitted during the study period. The majority of the patients were Malays (86.1%), with a male preponderance. The mean age (SD) of the patients with stroke was 59.3 (12.28) years. Hypertension was present in both cerebral infarct and intracerebral haemorrhage patients at almost the same rate (65.2 and 69.2%, respectively). The overall mortality was 37%, and most patients died in the 1st month after stroke (34%). We hope this study will highlight the problems associated with the presentation and management of stroke in Southeast Asia.
Biomonitoring using fish has been a popular method of assessing the toxic effects of cadmium concentrations of cadmium in water bodies and has led to bioaccumulation in fish contributing to various morphological alterations. Among the known effects of these alterations is developmental instability via fluctuating asymmetry (FA). The utilization of FA data is a simple yet effective method to evaluate the toxic effects of cadmium on the stability of development. This study used climbing perch (Anabas testudieneus) to assess the FA in the diameter of the eye because of low-level cadmium exposure. The left and right sides of the traits were measured once every four weeks for 16 weeks. The average measurements from both sides of the traits were used to calculate the FA value. Results found that the highest mean FA for the diameter of the eye was obtained in the highest treatment group, 0.015 mg/L. The results also indicate that increasing concentrations of cadmium exposure had a statistically significant effect on the FA of eye diameter. There was also a statistically significant interaction between the duration of exposure and treatment groups in FA of the diameter of the eye. The results from the study indicate that prolonged exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of cadmium can cause significant effects on the normal development of eyes in Anabas testudineus. This study can add to the body of research regarding fluctuating asymmetry as a tool to study developmental toxicants and assess other bilateral organs.
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