Exposure to cigarette smoke altered the cytoarchitecture and anti-oxidant activity of the frontal cortex in Wistar rats

This study was designed to determine the effects of cigarette smoke on the body weights of Wistar rats, anti-oxidant activity and the histology of the frontal cortex. Sixteen Wistar rats with mean weight of 131.40 ± 4.43 g were used. They were grouped into four. Group A had a stick of cigarette (Pall Mall brand ®) daily, group B had two sticks and group C had three sticks daily, while Group D served as the control group. They were exposed at 1800 hrs each day for thirty five days, and their weights were monitored. After sacrifice by cervical dislocation, the tissues were processed for histological and biochemical studies. The results showed minimal weight change in the exposed groups compared to the marked increase in the control group. The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) enzyme increased while there was decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) activity. The histology also showed decreased staining of the nucleic acids as well as increased vacuolations in the exposed groups. The authors suggested these findings could alter brain functions particularly those related to the frontal cortex.Keywords: Cigarette smoke, frontal cortex, GPx, MDA, nucleic acids

Pattern of prostate cancer among a Nigerian population: A study in a single tertiary care centre

Background: Prostate cancer has become a global health challenge because of its rising morbidity and mortality in males.It is the second cause of cancer death following lung cancer in men.It is rare under the age of 40 and its incidence has been shown to increase exponentially with age. Previously, Prostate cancer was thought to be a disease rare in blacks owing to the fact that not so much was known of the disease.Aim and objectives: The objective of the study was to review the prevalence, pattern of presentation and clinic-pathologic findings of prostate cancer in the Department of Radiotherapy,Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH),between January 2001 to December 2010 in comparison to previous and recent studies globally.Methodology: Data collection for all patients histologically diagnosed with Prostate cancer at the Department of Radiotherapy,LUTH,from 1st of January 2001 to 31st of December 2010 was done.Results: A total of 144 cases with histologically confirmed Prostate cancer seen during the ten year study were analysed.The highest frequency was seen in the year 2010 with 34 cases.The age range was 41 to 81years with a mean of 66.19 ±7.30years.Adenocarcinoma was the commonest histological type with 98.6%.9(6.3%) patients had a positive family history of prostate cancer out of which 3(33.3%) had their brother affected the malignancy. 51(35.4%) patients presented with stage IV disease.18(12.5%) patients had a Gleason's score of 6,10(6.9%) patients had a Gleason's score of 7 and 2(1.4%) patients had a Gleason's score of 10. The most common presenting complaints were bone pains seen in 51(35.4%) patients, frequent night urine and difficulty with micturition seen in 50(34.7%) and 42(29.2%) patients respectively.Conclusion: This study showed that prostate cancer is not as rare as it used to be.Reasons attributed to its rarity then were lack of awareness,poor screening facilities and poor diagnosing technique.Keywords: prostate cancer,presentation,tumour characteristics,Nigeri

Cytotoxic potentials of thiocyanate administration on the liver of male wistar rats (RattusNorvegicus)

The use of thiocyanate as an anti-sickling drug is currently on the increase among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. The continuous use of this substance without sufficient toxicity data does not guaranty continuously functional and healthy  internal organs among the SCD patients that are susceptible to multi-organ failure such as hepatic failure. Hence this study was performed to elucidate the  consequence(s)of thiocyanate administration on the liver of adult male wistar rats.Twenty adult male wistar rats with an average weight of 234.5g were used. The rats were grouped into four (A, B, C & D) with five animals in each group. Group A represented the control and was given only 1ml of distilled water daily while B,C,&D received 1ml of thiocyanate solution at doses of 10mg/Kg/day, 20mg/Kg/day, & 30mg/Kg/day for twenty-eight (28) days. The administration was carefully done with the use of an oral cannula. Thereafter, the rats were sacrificed via cervical dislocation. The rats were dissected and blood samples were immediately collected from the apex of the heart for the analysis of serum total bilirubin. A fraction of the liver was cut to prepare homogenates for biochemical enzymes (alanine   aminotransferase-ALT, aspartate aminotransferase- AST) analysis. Thereafter the animals were wholly perfused with normal saline and then fixed with 4%   paraformaldehyde. The fixed liver tissues were then taken for histological   assessments. The slide sections (H&E and PAS stains) in the treated groups  showed varying degrees (mild to severe disruption of hepatocellular morphology plus prominence and widening of sinusoids) of thiocyanateinduced liver damage. But hepatocellular appearance was normal in the control group. Biochemical assays of serum total bilirubin and tissue AST increased fairly with increasing dose although this was not significant. The increase in tissue level of ALT in group B was also not significant with respect to the control. But increase in ALT level was found to be significant in groups C&D when compared with the control. Therefore, this study can be used to infer that SCN use in sickle cell disease management regimen can cause hepatocellular damage in wistar rats.Key Words: Thiocyanate,Biochemical enzymes,Hepatocellular morphology,  Anti-sicklin

Acute gastroenteritis and the usage pattern of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications for its management in a Nigerian community

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is the highest cause of mortality worldwide in children under the age of 5 years, with the highest mortalities occurring in low-to-middle income countries. Treatment can involve use of unregulated herbal medication and antibiotics. A cross sectional study was carried out to investigate the use of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications in the management of AGE among Yòrùbá-speaking communities in Kwara State, Nigeria. Our findings suggest habitual use of antibiotics (54.6%) and herbal medication (42.5%) in the management of AGE with high levels of self-prescription of antibiotics (21.7%) and herbal medications (36.2%) within the community. Ethanolic extracts of selected herbal plants reported (i.e. Aristolochia ringens, Azadirachta indica, Chromolaena odorata, Etanda Africana, Ficus capensis, Ficus vogelii, Mangifera indica, Momordica charantia, Ocimum gratisimum, Senna alata, Sorghum bicolor and Vernonia amygdalina) were investigated for antibacterial properties, using bacteria known to be causative agents of AGE. Our findings showed that, with exception of Ficus vogelii, which enhanced bacterial growth, the plant extracts reported all showed some antibacterial activity. We further discuss our findings within a regulatory context, with the aim to guide the use of traditional and herbal medication in low-to medium income countries (LMICs) and reduce the potential risks associated with the development of antimicrobial resistance

HTLV-1 and HIV-2 Infection Are Associated with Increased Mortality in a Rural West African Community

BACKGROUND: Survival of people with HIV-2 and HTLV-1 infection is better than that of HIV-1 infected people, but long-term follow-up data are rare. We compared mortality rates of HIV-1, HIV-2, and HTLV-1 infected subjects with those of retrovirus-uninfected people in a rural community in Guinea-Bissau. METHODS: In 1990, 1997 and 2007, adult residents (aged ≥15 years) were interviewed, a blood sample was drawn and retroviral status was determined. An annual census was used to ascertain the vital status of all subjects. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate mortality hazard ratios (HR), comparing retrovirus-infected versus uninfected people. RESULTS: A total of 5376 subjects were included; 197 with HIV-1, 424 with HIV-2 and 325 with HTLV-1 infection. The median follow-up time was 10.9 years (range 0.0-20.3). The crude mortality rates were 9.6 per 100 person-years of observation (95% confidence interval 7.1-12.9) for HIV-1, 4.1 (3.4-5.0) for HIV-2, 3.6 (2.9-4.6) for HTLV-1, and 1.6 (1.5-1.8) for retrovirus-negative subjects. The HR comparing the mortality rate of infected to that of uninfected subjects varied significantly with age. The adjusted HR for HIV-1 infection varied from 4.0 in the oldest age group (≥60 years) to 12.7 in the youngest (15-29 years). The HR for HIV-2 infection varied from 1.2 (oldest) to 9.1 (youngest), and for HTLV-1 infection from 1.2 (oldest) to 3.8 (youngest). CONCLUSIONS: HTLV-1 infection is associated with significantly increased mortality. The mortality rate of HIV-2 infection, although lower than that of HIV-1 infection, is also increased, especially among young people

A functional Kv1.2-hERG chimaeric channel expressed in Pichia pastoris.

Members of the six-transmembrane segment family of ion channels share a common structural design. However, there are sequence differences between the members that confer distinct biophysical properties on individual channels. Currently, we do not have 3D structures for all members of the family to help explain the molecular basis for the differences in their biophysical properties and pharmacology. This is due to low-level expression of many members in native or heterologous systems. One exception is rat Kv1.2 which has been overexpressed in Pichia pastoris and crystallised. Here, we tested chimaeras of rat Kv1.2 with the hERG channel for function in Xenopus oocytes and for overexpression in Pichia. Chimaera containing the S1-S6 transmembrane region of HERG showed functional and pharmacological properties similar to hERG and could be overexpressed and purified from Pichia. Our results demonstrate that rat Kv1.2 could serve as a surrogate to express difficult-to-overexpress members of the six-transmembrane segment channel family

Normal corneal endothelial cell density in Nigerians

Temitope Ewete,1 Efeoghene Uchenna Ani,2 Adegboyega Sunday Alabi1 1MeCure Eye Center, Lagos, 2Department of Ophthalmology, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Aim: The aim of the study was to describe the corneal endothelial cell density of adults at the MeCure Eye Center and to determine the relationship between age, sex, and corneal endothelial cell density. Methods: This study was a retrospective study looking at those records of individuals who had undergone specular microscopy or corneal endothelial cell count measurement at the MeCure Eye Center. Results: The endothelial cell characteristics of 359 healthy eyes of 201 volunteers were studied. The mean corneal endothelial cell density (MCD) was 2,610.26±371.87 cells/mm2 (range, 1,484–3,571 cells/mm2). The MCD decreased from 2,860.70 cells/mm2 in the 20–30-year age group to 2,493.06 cells/mm2 in the >70-year age group, and there was a statistically significant relationship between age and MCD with a P-value of <0.001. There was no statistically significant correlation between sex and corneal endothelial cell density (P=0.45). Conclusion: This study shows that endothelial cell density in Nigerian eyes is less than that reported in the Japanese, American, and Chinese eyes, and is comparable to that seen in Indian and Malaysian eyes. Keywords: corneal, endothelial cell density, Nigeria

Fiqh al-lughah wa sirr al-arabiyyah, 3rd.1st. ed./ Abi Manshur as-Sa alabi

416 hal.; 422 hal.; 25 cm