Does Trichomoniasis Play Any Role in The Pathogenesis of Cervical Carcinoma?

Trichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of trichomoniasis, a common cause of vaginitis. Despite being a readily diagnosed and treatable sexually transmitted disease (STD), trichomoniasis is not a reportable infection and its control has received relatively little emphasis from public health STD control programs. It is one of the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infections worldwide. It is associated with potentially serious complications such as preterm birth and human immunodeficiency virus acquisition and transmission. Even though several studies have demonstrated the correlation between cervical cancer and trichomonas vaginalis, the pathophysiology of this relationship is still ambiguous. This review was carried out to determine the relationship between Trichomoniasis and cervical cancer

African Traditional Medicine (ATM) Day 2022

No abstract

Invasive fungal infections and COVID-19: a review

Invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) are major causes of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients all over the world with a global prevalence of 15%. Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported on February 27, 2020, in Nigeria, it had been discovered across all geopolitical zones in Nigeria. As the medical community confronts the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, determining whether patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop fungal complications, especially invasive aspergillosis, is crucial. This review aimed to highlight the fungal co-infections that might be associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and modalities for their diagnosis, prevention, and management, with the view to reducing the high mortality associated with these infections

Gut fermentation syndrome

Fungi have not been recognized to cause such notable syndromes until very recently. It has been documented among few individuals who became intoxicated after consuming carbohydrates, which became fermented in the gastrointestinal tract. These claims of intoxication without drinking alcohol, and the findings on endogenous alcohol fermentation are now called Gut Fermentation Syndrome. This review will concentrate on understanding the aetiology, clinical manifestations, laboratory diagnostic options and treatment of the syndrome.Keywords: Gut Fermentation Syndrome, Fungi, Yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Marburg haemorrhagic fever: recent advances

Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a group of etiologically diverse viral diseases unified by common underlying pathophysiology. These febrile diseases result from infection by viruses from four viral families: Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae, and Flaviviridae. The viruses in the four families are all RNA viruses. All share the feature of having a lipid envelope. Survival and perpetuation of the viruses is dependent on an animal host known as a natural reservoir, but humans are not the natural reservoir. With the exception of a vaccine for yellow fever and ribavirin, which is used for treatment of some arenaviral infections, no specific chemotherapy for viral hemorrhagic fever exists. Only supportive treatment is possible The filoviruses, Marburg virus (MARV) and Ebola virus (EBOV), have been associated with hemorrhagic fever (HF) that produce severe disease and high mortality rates among infected humans and non-human primates. MARV and EBOV are also considered potential biological weapons. Although much progress has been made in developing preventive vaccines and postexposure interventions that can protect laboratory animals and nonhuman primates against lethal challenge with MARV, none of these has been approved for humans. Because MARV haemorrhagic fever, when it occurs, has the potential to spread to other people especially health care staff and family members who care for the patient, there is need for periodic review of recent developments relating especially to its diagnosis and treatment. This would help to increase awareness among health-care providers and limit the spread of the disease during outbreaks.Keywords: Marburg virus, viral haemorrhagic fever, recent advance

A review of the possible prognostic values of biochemical changes in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections

Because of high mortality and long-term hospital stay among patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections, it is important to search for biochemical changes in different organs and systems that could be useful in diagnosis and prognosis of COVID-19. We conducted a literature search of online databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Google scholar for relevant materials on biochemical changes in SARS-COV-2 infections published between December 2019 and March 2021. The review shows that SARS-COV-2 uses the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for attachment and entry into host cells. These ACE2 are abundantly expressed by the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract and moderately expressed by the epithelial cells of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, ileum, rectum, cholangiocytes, liver  hepatocytes, pancreatic beta cells, and kidney tubular cells. This explains the systemic nature of SARS-COV-2 infection, and the high morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19. Although, tests to assess biochemical changes are not specific enough for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, they may be useful for predicting outcome of COVID-19. This review highlights biochemical parameters that are significantly elevated or reduced in SARS-COV-2 infections, and which can be used as predictive factors of the severity and prognosis in COVID-19 patients.   French title: Un examen des valeurs pronostiques possibles des changements biochimiques chez les patients infectés par le SRAS-CoV-2 En raison de la mortalité élevée et du séjour à l'hôpital à long terme chez les patients infectés par le SRAS-CoV-2, il est important de rechercher des changements biochimiques dans différents organes et systèmes qui pourraient être utiles pour le diagnostic et le pronostic de COVID-19. Nous avons effectué une recherche documentaire dans des bases de données en ligne, notamment PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus et Google Scholar, pour rechercher des documents pertinents sur les changements biochimiques dans les infections par le SRAS-COV-2 publiés entre décembre 2019 et mars 2021. La revue montre que le SRAS-COV-2 utilise l'enzyme de conversion de l'angiotensine 2 (ACE2) pour la fixation et l'entrée dans les cellules hôtes. Ces ACE2 sont abondamment exprimés par les cellules épithéliales des voies respiratoires et modérément exprimés par les cellules épithéliales de l'oesophage, de l'estomac, du duodénum, de l'iléon, du rectum, des cholangiocytes, des hépatocytes du foie, des cellules bêta pancréatiques et des cellules tubulaires rénales. Cela explique la nature systémique de l'infection par le SRAS-COV-2, ainsi que la morbidité et la mortalité élevées associées au COVID-19. Bien que les tests pour évaluer les changements biochimiques ne soient pas assez spécifiques pour le diagnostic de l'infection par le SRAS-CoV-2, ils peuvent être utiles pour prédire l'issue du COVID-19. Cette revue met en évidence les paramètres biochimiques qui sont significativement élevés ou réduits dans les infections par le SRAS-COV-2, et qui peuvent être utilisés comme facteurs prédictifs de la gravité et du pronostic chez les patients COVID-19

A review of the anti-viral effects of ivermectin

Ivermectin is an avermectin which is a group of pentacyclic sixteen-membered lactone (macrocyclic lactone disaccharide) derived from the soil bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis. It is a semi-synthetic broad-spectrum anti-helminthic, anti-viral and anti-cancer agent. It has a wide safety margin with low adverse effects when it is used orally. It has, however, so far only been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a broad spectrum anti-parasitic agent. Because ivermectin also has broad activities as an anti-viral agent, we herein review its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic activities, as well as the in vitro and in vivo studies conducted on the drug. It is hoped that this work will pave way for ivermectin being seriously considered as an addition to the drugs available for the management of patients with COVID-19. Keywords: ivermectin; pharmacokinetics; pharmacodynamics; broad-spectrum anti-viral; COVID-1

Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants: a mini-review

SARS-CoV-2 has evolved over time with several mutations, especially on the spike protein, which has led to emergence of various variants. With the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 come new challenges in surveillance, effectiveness of preventive and treatment strategies, and outcome of the disease.  Despite the lockdowns, mask mandates and other preventive measures put in place, in addition to over 10 million vaccine doses that have been  administered globally as of February 2022, COVID-19 cases have risen to over 435 million and resulted in over 5.9 million deaths, largely as a result  of the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants. To review the evolution of these variants, we searched different online database sources using keywords  such as “source of SARS-CoV-2”, “SARS-CoV-2 origin”, “evolution of SARS-CoV-2”, “SARS-CoV-2 variants”, “variants of concern”, “variants of interest”,  and “variants of high consequence”. This was to enable us give a good report about the various variants of SARS-CoV-2 that have emerged so far,  and the public health challenges posed by them

Pathologic changes in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2: a review

Severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters cells using the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which are expressed by the respiratory tract endothelium, epithelial cells of the stomach, duodenum, ileum, rectum, cholangiocytes, and hepatocytes. Pathological examinations of these organs are not feasible method of diagnosis but can explain pathological changes, pathogenesis of the disease, and the cause of death in COVID-19 cases. In this review, we performed a literature search for COVID-19-related pathological changes seen during post-mortem examinations in different organs of the body including the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney, skin, heart and blood. Our findings showed that SARS-CoV-2 has damaging effects on many organs, probably due to the host immune responses to the presence of the virus. It is recommended that both antiviral and immunomodulatory agents should be considered in the management of COVID-19 patients for better prognosis, and clinical outcome.   French title: Changements pathologiques chez les patients infectés par le SRAS-CoV-2: une revue Le syndrome respiratoire aigu sévère-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pénètre dans les cellules à l'aide de l'enzyme de conversion de l'angiotensine 2 (ACE2), qui est exprimée par l'endothélium des voies respiratoires, les cellules épithéliales de l'estomac, du duodénum, de l'iléon, du rectum, des cholangiocytes, et les hépatocytes. Les examens pathologiques de ces organes ne sont pas une méthode de diagnostic réalisable, mais peuvent expliquer les changements pathologiques, la pathogenèse de la maladie et la cause du décès dans les cas de COVID-19. Dans cette revue, nous avons effectué une recherche bibliographique sur les changements pathologiques liés au COVID-19 observés lors d'examens post-mortem dans différents organes du corps, notamment les poumons, le tractus gastro-intestinal, le foie, les reins, la peau, le coeur et le sang. Nos résultats ont montré que le SRAS-CoV-2 a des effets néfastes sur de nombreux organes, probablement en raison des réponses immunitaires de l'hôte à la présence du virus. Il est recommandé que les agents antiviraux et immunomodulateurs soient pris en compte dans la prise en charge des patients COVID-19 pour un meilleur pronostic et des résultats cliniques. &nbsp

Use of dexamethasone in the management of respiratory tract infections

Dexamethasone is a potent synthetic member of the glucocorticoid class of corticosteroid drugs that has been useful for the management of some pathological disorders because it affects a protean number of signaling pathways. It is used as adjunct therapy in the management of sepsis, arthritis, cardiac transplant, blood, hormone/immune system disorders, allergic reaction, skin, eye conditions, cancer and other pathologic disorders and as a mainstay of therapy in autoimmune hepatitis. With the advent of COVID-19, there have been investigations of its use as antiinflammatory agent in severely ill patients. This present review elucidates the various studies on the use of dexamethasone in the management of severe respiratory tract infections, with the ultimate aim of reducing mortality amongst severely ill patients, including COVID-19. Keywords: dexamethasone; adjunctive therapy; respiratory infections; COVID-19   English Title: Utilisation de la dexaméthasone dans la prise en charge des infections des voies respiratoires La dexaméthasone est un membre synthétique puissant de la classe des corticostéroïdes glucocorticoïdes qui a été utile pour la gestion de certains troubles pathologiques car elle affecte un nombre protéiforme de voies designalisation. Il est utilisé comme traitement d'appoint dans la prise en charge de la septicémie, de l'arthrite, de la transplantation cardiaque, du sang, des troubles hormonaux/du système immunitaire, des réactions allergiques, des affections cutanées, oculaires, du cancer et d'autres troubles pathologiques et comme pilier du traitement de l'hépatite auto-immune. Avec l'avènement du COVID-19, des études ont été menées sur son utilisation comme agent anti-inflammatoire chez des patients gravement malades. Cette revue présente les différentes études sur l'utilisation de la dexaméthasone dans la prise en charge des infections sévères des voies respiratoires, dans le but ultime de réduire la mortalité chez les patients gravement malades, y compris le COVID-19. Mots clés: dexaméthasone; thérapie d'appoint; infections respiratoires; COVID-1