Effect of Dennettia Tripetela (MMIMI) Seed intake on the IOP of Normotensive Emmetropic Nigerian Igbos

Dennetia Tripetala is a well known forest fruit from the family annonacea and spicy indigenous plant and has been found to contain lots ofminerals, vitamins, alkaloids and trace elementswhich are ofmedicinal importance. The study was aimed at investigating the effect of DennetIaTripetala (D. Tripetala) on the intraocular pressure of normotensive emmetropic Igbos of Eastern Nigeria. Forty volunteers (meanage 23.36±3.60yrs) were usedfor the study.The 10P of each subject was measured pre and post ingestion of 0.75g of seed at 30mins interval for 120 minutes.The findings showed peak reduction of IOP after 60mins (11.20mmHg, representing25.64% reduction) of consumption and increased towards baseline (15.6mmhg). Results also showed slight reduction of IOP at the 90mins (12.96mmHg induced value) and 120mins (14.40mmHg induced value) post ingestion.The peakeffect of D. Tripetala was found to be statisticallysignificant (p>0.05). It is recommended that intake of seed be encouraged especially among glaucomatous individuals. Keywords: Dennetia Tripetala flavonoids, oleoresins, intraocular pressure, glaucoma

Capsaicin-Induced Changes in LTP in the Lateral Amygdala Are Mediated by TRPV1

The transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) channel is a well recognized polymodal signal detector that is activated by painful stimuli such as capsaicin. Here, we show that TRPV1 is expressed in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA). Despite the fact that the central amygdala displays the highest neuronal density, the highest density of TRPV1 labeled neurons was found within the nuclei of the basolateral complex of the amygdala. Capsaicin specifically changed the magnitude of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the LA in brain slices of mice depending on the anesthetic (ether, isoflurane) used before euthanasia. After ether anesthesia, capsaicin had a suppressive effect on LA-LTP both in patch clamp and in extracellular recordings. The capsaicin-induced reduction of LTP was completely blocked by the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor L-NAME and was absent in neuronal NOS as well as in TRPV1 deficient mice. The specific antagonist of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), AM 251, was also able to reduce the inhibitory effect of capsaicin on LA-LTP, suggesting that stimulation of TRPV1 provokes the generation of anandamide in the brain which seems to inhibit NO synthesis. After isoflurane anesthesia before euthanasia capsaicin caused a TRPV1-mediated increase in the magnitude of LA-LTP. Therefore, our results also indicate that the appropriate choice of the anesthetics used is an important consideration when brain plasticity and the action of endovanilloids will be evaluated. In summary, our results demonstrate that TRPV1 may be involved in the amygdala control of learning mechanisms

Assessment of the effectiveness of intervention strategies in the control of endemic dracunculiasis in Ebonyi state, Nigeria

An assessment study of the effectiveness of intervention strategies in the control of endemic dracunculiasis amongst farming communities of Ezza north, Ebonyi State, Nigeria was carried out. A total of 2,226 persons were physically examined during the initial study prior to the application of intervention measures. A total of 426 (19.1%) subjects had either Dracunculus ulcers or emergent worms. About 18.5% and 20.2% males and females were infected respectively. Infection varied among communities with Iyere (47.9%) and Ekka (43.9%) being significantly higher than others (