Today the ANNALS OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES RESEARCH (AMHSR) is born. History was made possible by the collective resolve to satisfy the genuine aspiration of the entire doctors in Enugu state. In developed scientific society, thousands of researches take place every day leading to breakthrough in new scientific ideas and methods. Enugu is the centre of South East, Nigeria and has the utmost concentration of doctors; with two tertiary health institutions training medical students and specialist. As a result, scientific outputs are enormous. Accordingly, the need to increase the number of publishing outfits for these new findings cannot be overemphasised. The AMHSR is therefore complementary to the existing journals; thus acts as adjunct in realising the dreams of numerous researchers in Nigeria and the rest of the world.

In this maiden edition, Nneli and colleagues highlighted the need for the estimation of some haematological indices in maternal blood and cord blood of neonates in Owerri, Imo state. This may be of immense importance considering the enormous benefits this base line data will provide during banking of cord blood for stem cell transplantation.

What are pulp stones and what are the factors related to their occurrence. Udoye and Sede analysed these factors and recommended that care givers should pay special care to case selection and biomechanical coronal instrumentation. Female genital mutilation has remained a problem in Nigeria and indeed other African countries. Interestingly, Ezenkyaku and colleagues were able to ascertain that majority of the women in South East Nigeria are speaking against its practice and indeed would like a legislation against this harmful traditional exercise against women.

Monosodium glutamate popularly known as Aginomoto. is widely used in Nigeria as a food additive to enhance palatability. However, Eweka and colleagues, working in Benin discovered the some deleterious effects on the liver and ovaries of Wister rats. Considering the many cases of unexplained an-ovulatory infertility and chronic liver disease, epidemiological studies should be conducted on chronic consumers of this product to determine any possible casual relationship. Ezeja et al., working in Umuahia, demonstrated the excellent analgesic properties of Dialium Guineense (WILD).

Menopause is associated with physical, vasomotor and psychological symptoms. Ikeme and colleagues argue that these symptoms should not be mistaken for underlying organic disease. Thus wasteful laboratory investigations should be avoided especially in our poor socioeconomic environment.

Neonatal malaria is common in areas of stable malaria transmission. Obu and Ibe highlighted this phenomenon in neonates seen in The Gambia nearly a decade ago. Neurological diseases are common in our environment as demonstrated by Onwuekwe and Ezealla. However there is dearth of neurologist to address this problem.

Maternal malnutrition continues to be a major contributor to adverse reproductive outcome in developing countries, despite long standing efforts to fortify foods and distribute medicinal supplements to pregnant and lactating mothers. Ejezie and colleagues reported that maternal and breast milk zinc concentration declines progressively during pregnancy and lactation. They thus suggested routine supplementation in pregnant and lactating mothers. However, in another study, they reported that preterm breast milk is rich in iron and discouraged supplementation for mothers and her babies.

The rate of Caesarean section is increasing in Nigeria. Ugwu and colleagues reviewed all the caesarean sections performed in a tertiary health facility in Enugu over a five-year period and suggested that Trial Of Labour After two previous Caesarean sections (TROLAC) should be encouraged in well selected cases. Mgbokwere et al., reported that the knowledge of dental implant as a choice in thereplacement of edentulous jaw is low among health workers in Enugu. Still on dental issues, Folaramni and Okeke reported that class 1 malocclusion is very common amongst orthodontic patients.

Anaesthetists encounter oodles of problem during pre-operative visits. Ezike and colleagues suggested that these difficulties must be overcome by the right attitude and equipment. They went ahead to advocate the need for pre-operative anaesthetic clinic. In a rare case of multiple sclerosis occurring in a Nigerian alcoholic, Onwuekwe and Ekenze suggest the need for clinicians to increase their index of suspicion and make accurate diagnosis with Magnetic Resonance imaging when available.

Cardiovascular diseases are not uncommon. Regrettably, lipid lowering drugs appear unreachable to majority of our people. Thus, the need to look for cheaper and readily available alternatives cannot be overemphasised. Udem and colleagues have set the ball rolling in this regard by demonstrating the hypolipidemic and hypocholesterolemic activity of the aqueous extract of C. patens.Oxidative stress has been linked to the aetiopathogenesis of several disorders. Ikekpeazu et al., notedthat this phenomenon also occurs in diabetic Nigerians. What will thus be the effect of adjuvant antioxidant therapy to glycaemic control? Can a randomised controlled trial solve this puzzle?

As we publish this maiden edition, we encourage you to submit your article via our website @ www.amhsr.org or as e-mail attachment to editor@amhsr.org. Our ultimate goal is to publish 12 volumes in a year. Please assist us realise this dream. We want to thank all our authors, reviewers and indeed members of the formidable editorial team. We also express our gratitude to the executive council of the Enugu state branch of NMA for their human and material support. We promise to do everything within our powers to hoist this journal to international standards.