As our great nation is preparing for her golden jubilee celebration, it is important for us to reflect on the suc- cesses so far achieved as a template for the shape of things to come.
It is on this premise that we on the Board of the An- nals looks back into the Archives of Medical History as it has been said that any river which so ever forget his source is indeed preparing to dry up. On the Board, our tradition is to hold our past medical heroes in high esteem as they indeed are our trail blazers.
The article by Professor Isaac Grillo, a retired Cardiothoracic surgeon, is a testimony to the great strides that this our great institution has attained in term of her primary activities, despite limited resources. This piece on the chronicles of open heart surgery in Nige- ria is a must read to set historical perspectives right. It is a note worthy contribution.
As we ruminate on the success of the past, the chal- lenges of the future stares us in the face. Such is the Prenatal Diagnosis of Sickle Cell Anaemia, contrib- uted by Dr. Fadare J.O., a physician with a background in ethics, where he discusses some ethical issues that these novel practices has brought up and different views to similar issues. It is a food for thought.
Our older generations are really a moving bag of wis- dom from which the on-coming generation could learn from, however, how much care do we give them, Dr. Adebiyi, a community physician and his co-authors, in his article highlighted major factors for falls and out- comes amongst old people in a rural community set- ting. Both the extrinsic and intrinsic factors are quite revealing and educative.
In the tradition of the African setting, obesity is seen as a sign of affluence or good living. Dr. Ogunbode A.M., a family physician and her co-author highlighted a multi-dimensional approach to health risks that an obese individual is highly prone to. This will serve as an eye opener to the general public, especially family unit for a rethink on the consumption habits.
Closely related to the problems of obesity, is the issue of Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine tumours; an article in which Dr. O.A. Oladejo, an endocrinolo- gist, discuss various approaches to diagnosis and man- agement of these rare disease entities. It highlights an ever expanding scope of both basic and clinical re- search.
To complete the cycle of life from the cradle to grave, Dr. Fatiregun and others beams their searchlight on the immunization among our younger ones (the chil- dren) in Osun State. The article assesses the training of the Disease Surveillance and Notification officers and evidently shows the need for a regular training for a successful programme to be implemented.
Other regular features in the edition are also very in- teresting and highly educative. Once again, I congratu- lated all other members of the Editorial Team Mem- bers, Editorial Consultants, our Reviewers and Pub- lishers for a job well done.
Thank you all. Dr. K. Adigun
Editor-in-Chief