Fred Stephen Sarfo

Medicine

About

Dr. Fred Stephen Sarfo is a researcher, a clinician and an educator. I practiced as a Neurologist from 2010 to date and hold 2 doctoral degrees in Epidemiology and Molecular Medicine from Durham University, UK and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology respectively. In 2010, I started a Neurology clinic at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi where I lead in providing services for a population of 12 million Ghanaians in the middle and northern sectors of the country as the only practicing neurologist for this sector of Ghana. I am passionate about context-specific research as a way of fashioning out locally relevant solutions to the health challenges of my society.Findings from my research enterprise is used to inform teaching of medical students and residents. To date, I have 193 peer-reviewed publications in Medical journals.

Research Summary

(inferred from publications by AI)

A researcher focused on health science advancements in Sub-Saharan Africa has been concentrating on improving stroke rehabilitation, healthcare mechanisms addressing motor complications, acute ischemic stroke management, COVID-19 impact, Alzheimer's disease research, mycobacterium diagnosis, lipid transport issues, neurological impairments, telemedicine applications, HIV-related health complications, immunocompromhesion, brain-based interventions, and diabetes management. Despite significant progress in stroke rehabilitation, preventive measures, and treatment options for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, acute ischemic strokes remain challenging due to resource limitations and a lack of standardized care strategies. The researcher highlights the need for further research into community engagement, telemedicine tools, and comprehensive healthcare systems to enhance access and outcomes for underserved populations. Additionally, addressing underlying causes such as inflammation, neuroinflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction requires collaboration with neurobiologists and mathematicians to develop targeted interventions.

Research Themes

All (100 Papers)

Health Sciences (91 Papers)

Life Sciences (6 Papers)

Social Sciences (3 Papers)

All Papers

Tele-Rehabilitation after Stroke: An Updated Systematic Review of the Literature(2018)

Pilot trial of a tele-rehab intervention to improve outcomes after stroke in Ghana: A feasibility and user satisfaction study(2018)

Post-stroke depression in Ghana: Characteristics and correlates(2017)

Potential role of tele-rehabilitation to address barriers to implementation of physical therapy among West African stroke survivors: A cross-sectional survey(2017)

Prevalence, Trajectory, and Predictors of Poststroke Fatigue among Ghanaians(2019)

Phone-Based Intervention under Nurse Guidance after Stroke (PINGS II) Study: Protocol for a Phase III Randomized Clinical Trial(2021)

The modern pre-levodopa era of Parkinson's disease: insights into motor complications from sub-Saharan Africa(2014)

Natural history of motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease and the long-duration response to levodopa(2020)

Screening LRRK2 gene mutations in patients with Parkinson’s disease in Ghana(2011)

Dominant modifiable risk factors for stroke in Ghana and Nigeria (SIREN): a case-control study(2018)

Stroke in Africa: profile, progress, prospects and priorities(2021)

Stroke Among Young West Africans(2018)

Phone-based intervention for blood pressure control among Ghanaian stroke survivors: A pilot randomized controlled trial(2018)

Trends in stroke admission and mortality rates from 1983 to 2013 in central Ghana(2015)

PINGS (Phone-Based Intervention Under Nurse Guidance After Stroke)(2017)

Long-Term Outcomes of Stroke in a Ghanaian Outpatient Clinic(2017)

Patient-level and system-level determinants of stroke fatality across 16 large hospitals in Ghana and Nigeria: a prospective cohort study(2023)

Phenotyping Stroke in Sub-Saharan Africa: Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network (SIREN) Phenomics Protocol(2015)

Burden and Predictors of Poststroke Cognitive Impairment in a Sample of Ghanaian Stroke Survivors(2017)

Stroke in Indigenous Africans, African Americans, and European Americans(2017)

Multilingual Validation of the Questionnaire for Verifying Stroke-Free Status in West Africa(2015)

Incident stroke among Ghanaians with hypertension and diabetes: A multicenter, prospective cohort study(2018)

Knowledge, attitudes and practices related to stroke in Ghana and Nigeria: A SIREN call to action(2018)

Improving the quality of care for people who had a stroke in a low‐/middle‐income country: A qualitative analysis of health‐care professionals’ perspectives(2020)

Differential Impact of Risk Factors on Stroke Occurrence Among Men Versus Women in West Africa(2019)

Conceptual framework for establishing the African Stroke Organization(2020)

Validation of the 8-item questionnaire for verifying stroke free status with and without pictograms in three West African languages(2016)

Assessing Mobile Health Capacity and Task Shifting Strategies to Improve Hypertension Among Ghanaian Stroke Survivors(2017)

Administration of a pictorial questionnaire to screen for stroke among patients with hypertension or diabetes in rural Ghana(2017)

A Novel Afrocentric Stroke Risk Assessment Score: Models from the Siren Study(2021)

Effect of an Educational Intervention for Primary Stroke Risk Reduction in Ghana and Nigeria: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial(2023)

Global Impact of COVID-19 on Stroke Care and IV Thrombolysis(2021)

COVID-19 and stroke: Experience in a Ghanaian healthcare system(2020)

Dementia in Africa: Current evidence, knowledge gaps, and future directions(2021)

Clinical Efficacy of Combination of Rifampin and Streptomycin for Treatment ofMycobacterium ulceransDisease(2010)

Rifampicin and clarithromycin (extended release) versus rifampicin and streptomycin for limited Buruli ulcer lesions: a randomised, open-label, non-inferiority phase 3 trial(2020)

Recent advances: role of mycolactone in the pathogenesis and monitoring ofMycobacterium ulceransinfection/Buruli ulcer disease(2015)

Immunosuppressive Signature of CutaneousMycobacterium ulceransInfection in the Peripheral Blood of Patients with Buruli Ulcer Disease(2009)

Effectiveness of Routine BCG Vaccination on Buruli Ulcer Disease: A Case-Control Study in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Togo(2015)

Mycolactone Diffuses into the Peripheral Blood of Buruli Ulcer Patients - Implications for Diagnosis and Disease Monitoring(2011)

Clinical and Bacteriological Efficacy of Rifampin-Streptomycin Combination for Two Weeks followed by Rifampin and Clarithromycin for Six Weeks for Treatment of Mycobacterium ulcerans Disease(2013)

Kinetics of mycolactone in human subcutaneous tissue during antibiotic therapy for Mycobacterium ulcerans disease(2014)

Sensitivity of PCR Targeting Mycobacterium ulcerans by Use of Fine-Needle Aspirates for Diagnosis of Buruli Ulcer(2009)

Buruli Ulcer Control in a Highly Endemic District in Ghana: Role of Community-Based Surveillance Volunteers(2014)

Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification for Laboratory Confirmation of Buruli Ulcer Disease—Towards a Point-of-Care Test(2015)

Microbiological, Histological, Immunological, and Toxin Response to Antibiotic Treatment in the Mouse Model of Mycobacterium ulcerans Disease(2013)

Clearance of viable Mycobacterium ulcerans from Buruli ulcer lesions during antibiotic treatment as determined by combined 16S rRNA reverse transcriptase /IS 2404 qPCR assay(2017)

Detection of Highly Prevalent Hepatitis B Virus Coinfection among HIV-Seropositive Persons in Ghana(2010)

Liver Fibrosis by Transient Elastography and Virologic Outcomes After Introduction of Tenofovir in Lamivudine-Experienced Adults With HIV and Hepatitis B Virus Coinfection in Ghana(2015)

Outcomes of starting first-line antiretroviral therapy in hepatitis B virus/HIV-coinfected patients in Ghana(2012)

Factors associated with uncontrolled blood pressure among Ghanaians: Evidence from a multicenter hospital-based study(2018)

Prevalence and predictors of chronic kidney disease among Ghanaian patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus: A multicenter cross‐sectional study(2019)

Regional Patterns and Association Between Obesity and Hypertension in Africa(2020)

Healthcare system barriers and facilitators to hypertension management in Ghana(2024)

Phone-based Intervention under Nurse Guidance after Stroke (PINGS): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial(2016)

Factors associated with hypertension among stroke‐free indigenous Africans: Findings from the SIREN study(2021)

Post-intervention qualitative assessment of mobile health technology to manage hypertension among Ghanaian stroke survivors(2019)

African Control of Hypertension through Innovative Epidemiology and a Vibrant Ecosystem (ACHIEVE): novel strategies for accelerating hypertension control in Africa(2023)

Health systems interventions for hypertension management and associated outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review(2023)

Recent patterns and predictors of neurological mortality among hospitalized patients in Central Ghana(2016)

Quality of life among patients with moderate to advanced chronic kidney disease in Ghana - a single centre study(2019)

Novel functional insights into ischemic stroke biology provided by the first genome-wide association study of stroke in indigenous Africans(2024)

Stroke genomics in people of African ancestry: charting new paths: review article(2015)

Tele-neurology in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of the literature(2017)

Pharmacogenetic associations with plasma efavirenz concentrations and clinical correlates in a retrospective cohort of Ghanaian HIV-infected patients(2013)

Hepatitis E virus infections in HIV-infected patients in Ghana and Cameroon(2013)

Profile of neurological disorders in an adult neurology clinic in Kumasi, Ghana(2016)

Prevalence and predictors of post-stroke epilepsy among Ghanaian stroke survivors(2020)

Telemedicine for Individuals with epilepsy: Recommendations from the International League Against Epilepsy Telemedicine Task Force(2023)

Current trends in admissions and outcomes of cardiac diseases in Ghana(2017)

Incidence and determinants of diabetes-related lower limb amputations in Ghana, 2010–2015- a retrospective cohort study(2019)

Interleukin–6 ( IL-6 ) rs1800796 and cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor ( CDKN2A/CDKN2B ) rs2383207 are associated with ischemic stroke in indigenous West African Men(2017)

Helicobacter pylori Infection Is Associated with Higher CD4 T Cell Counts and Lower HIV-1 Viral Loads in ART-Naïve HIV-Positive Patients in Ghana(2015)

Helicobacter pyloriCoinfection Is Associated With Decreased Markers of Immune Activation in ART-Naive HIV-Positive and in HIV-Negative Individuals in Ghana(2015)

High prevalence of renal dysfunction and association with risk of death amongst HIV-infected Ghanaians(2013)

Characteristics of hypertension among people living with HIV in Ghana: Impact of new hypertension guideline(2019)

Burden of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis and vascular risk factors among people living with HIV in Ghana(2018)

Prevalence and incidence of pre‐diabetes and diabetes mellitus among people living with HIV in Ghana: Evidence from the EVERLAST Study(2020)

Unraveling the risk factors for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage among West Africans(2020)

Predictors of glycemic control in type-2 diabetes mellitus: Evidence from a multicenter study in Ghana(2018)

Secular Trends in Admissions and Mortality Rates from Diabetes Mellitus in the Central Belt of Ghana: A 31-Year Review(2016)

Prevalence and Prognostic Features of ECG Abnormalities in Acute Stroke: Findings From the SIREN Study Among Africans(2017)

APOL1, CDKN2A/CDKN2B, and HDAC9 polymorphisms and small vessel ischemic stroke(2017)

Factors associated with performing tuberculosis screening of HIV-positive patients in Ghana: LASSO-based predictor selection in a large public health data set(2016)

Lower prevalence of Blastocystis sp. infections in HIV positive compared to HIV negative adults in Ghana(2019)

Biobanking in a Challenging African Environment: Unique Experience from the SIREN Project(2018)

Unraveling the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Neurobiobanking and Stroke Genomic Research in Africa: A Study Protocol of the African Neurobiobank for Precision Stroke Medicine ELSI Project(2020)

Biological sample donation and informed consent for neurobiobanking: Evidence from a community survey in Ghana and Nigeria(2022)

Frequency and determinants of thyroid autoimmunity in Ghanaian type 2 diabetes patients: a case-control study(2017)

High Frequency of Active HCV Infection Among Seropositive Cases in West Africa and Evidence for Multiple Transmission Pathways(2014)

Estimated glomerular filtration rate predicts incident stroke among Ghanaians with diabetes and hypertension(2018)

Prevalence and factors associated with severe depressive symptoms in older west African people living with HIV(2020)

The Nairobi Declaration—Reducing the burden of dementia in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs): Declaration of the 2022 Symposium on Dementia and Brain Aging in LMICs(2023)

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of West Africans on genetic studies of stroke: Evidence from the SIREN Study(2018)

Prevalence and predictors of statin utilization among patient populations at high vascular risk in Ghana(2020)

A multi-center prospective cohort study to evaluate the effect of differential pricing and health systems strengthening on access to medicines and management of hypertension and diabetes in Ghana: A study protocol(2018)

Polypill Programs to Prevent Stroke and Cut Costs in Low Income Countries: Moving From Clinical Efficacy to Pragmatic Implementation(2023)

Transforming Parkinson's Care in Africa (TraPCAf): protocol for a multimethodology National Institute for Health and Care Research Global Health Research Group project(2023)

Collaboration Network

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Research Collaboration Map

Collaboration Frequency

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About This Profile

This profile is generated from publicly available publication metadata and is intended for research discovery purposes. Themes, summaries, and trajectories are inferred computationally and may not capture the full scope of the lecturer's work. For authoritative information, please refer to the official KNUST profile.