Serum testosterone levels of HbSS (sickle cell disease) male subjects in Lagos, Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infertility is a major problem in sickle cell disease patients, especially in males. In addition to low serum testosterone, other abnormalities involving the accessory sex organs, such as the seminal vesicles and the prostate gland, as well as marked decrease in ejaculate volume may be observed in male HbSS patients. Hence, the need to study the role of sex hormones as a cause of infertility in male HbSS patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An unmatched case-control study was performed using seventy-five consenting subjects from Lagos University Teaching Hospital. These included 47 patients with haemoglobin phenotype SS from the Sickle cell clinic and 28 volunteered medical students and members of staff with haemoglobin phenotype AA. Demographic data were obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 5 mls of blood was collected from each subject between 9.00 am & 11.am, and assayed for serum testosterone concentration.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The concentrations of serum testosterone in HbSS patients ranged from 0.2 to 4.3 ng/ml with a mean of 1.28 ± 0.72 ng/ml whilst the values in HbAA controls ranged from 1.2 to 6.9 ng/ml with a mean of 2.63 ± 1.04 ng/ml. Seven (25.0%) of the 28 controls had serum testosterone concentration lower than the quoted reference (normal) range whereas 44 (93.6%) of the 47 HbSS subjects had serum testosterone concentration lower than the reference range.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, subjects with HbSS have significantly lower mean serum testosterone than HbAA controls.</p

Assessment of Agroforestry Practices by Farmers in Lagelu Local Government of Oyo State, Nigeria

The study examined the Agroforestry practices among farmers in Lagelu local government area of Oyo state, Nigeria. Three of the four Zones of Oyo state ADP (Agricultural Development Programme): Olorunda, Lalupon and Oyedeji were purposively sampled for the study because of the dense population of trees and the predominance of agroforestry in the Zones. Five farmer’ groups were randomly sampled in each Zone and thirteen farmers were randomly selected in each of the farmer’ groups, giving a total of one hundred and ninety five respondents. Structured questionnaire and oral interviews were used to collect information from the respondents. Frequency counts, percentages, pie chart and bar chart were used to analyze the data. Majority of the respondents (66.2%) were males while (33.8%) were females. Mixed Farming which is a common farming system in the South West of Nigeria is predominant in the study area. Theobroma cacao (cocoa) 15.7% and Chrysophylum albidium (African Star apple) 14.9% took the lead among the tree species used in Agroforestry. The major constraint encountered by the farmers in practising agroforestry is limited access to land and lack of financial assistance. The problem of insufficient land and the consequential land fragmentation is reflected in small farm sizes and many farm locations. The study recommends that sufficient land should be made available for farming; farmers should be financially assisted in their farming enterprises with low interest loans. Extension education in the area of agrofrorestry should also be intensified.Key words: Agroforestry, farming systems, tree crops, extension educatio