Molecular mechanisms of aluminium neurotoxicity in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia that affects one patient every seven seconds. With over 35 million people currently affected worldwide, it has been projected that the disease will affect about 115 million people by 2050. The disease is characterized by dysfunctional cellular and molecular networks and/or genomic and epigenomic interactions that affect the normal function of brain cells, leading to a defective cellular communication and function, and ultimately neurodegeneration. Aluminium (Al3+) is the third most abundant ubiquitous element in the earth crust which has gained easy access to humans and extensively used in daily life. It is an essential component of many materials used in households, such as clays, glasses, and alum. An increasing body of evidence implicates Al3+ in the progression of events that lead to neurodegenerative diseases, some of which remains controversial, but it is widely accepted that Al3+ is a recognised neurotoxin that could cause neurodegenerative diseases such as AD. The pathophysiological changes induced in Al3+ neurotoxicity leading to AD result in critical impairments of the central nervous system functions, which are essential for healthy brain ageing. These changes include; axonal transport, neurotransmitter synthesis and synaptic transmission, disruption of calcium homeostasis, alteration of energy metabolism, phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of proteins, protein degradation, gene expression, formation of reactive oxygen species and inflammatory responses, inhibition of DNA repair system, activation of glial cells, reduction of activities of antioxidant enzymes, alterations of pathways of NF-kB and JNK, binding DNA, cell death, motor and cognitive decline. These multi-faceted pathways provide a link between Al neurotoxicity and AD by modulating both tau and amyloid beta hypotheses of AD.Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Aluminium chloride, Amyloid beta, Tau, Animal model

Electrolyte and oxidative stress profile of healthy adult population in Zaria, Nigeria, and their relationship with experimental pain response

Background: Electrolyte imbalance and oxidative stress (OS) are known to impair physiological functions, which can alter health and wellbeing. The reactive species produced due to OS are detoxified by endogenous antioxidants to maintain homeostasis. This study investigated the electrolyte and oxidative stress profile of a healthy adult population in Zaria, Nigeria and their relationship with experimental pain outcome. Method: Participants were apparently healthy adult volunteers between the ages of 20 to 65 years and drawn from the city of Zaria and its environs. Experimental pain was induced using pressure algometry. About 5 ml of blood was collected for determination of serum electrolytes, malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Result: The results showed that serum concentrations of sodium, potassium and chloride as well as oxidative stress profile did not vary with sex, age and ethnicity among the studied population. There was a significant negative correlation between pressure pain threshold and serum concentration of potassium (r = 0.2330, p = 0.003) and chloride (r = 0.2126, p = 0.007), while serum sodium correlated positively (r = 0.3439, p = 0.000). Serum MDA, SOD and GSH did not show statistically significant correlation with pressure pain threshold (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Serum electrolytes, but not oxidative stress markers, correlate significantly with experimental pressure pain threshold among healthy adult population in Zaria, Nigeria Keywords: Electrolytes, oxidative stress, pressure pain, sex, age, ethnicit

Factors Affecting Medication Dispensing and Counselling Practices in Hospital Pharmacy Settings in Northwest Nigeria

Background: Medication dispensing and counselling are routine but very important activities carried out by pharmacists in a wide variety of healthcare settings. While these processes are often overlooked when issues around the rational use of medication are being considered, any mistake(s) in one or both processes can seriously undermine patient care.Objective: To assess selected factors, and identify problems affecting medication dispensing and counselling in outpatient hospital pharmacies in northwest Nigeria.Methods: Mixed methods were used to collect data from 19 outpatient pharmacies in eight public hospitals located in Kaduna and Kano states from November 2019 to March 2020. Quantitative data was generated from a survey, while qualitative data was collected from key-informant interviews with heads of the pharmacies. Data collected from the survey were analyzed to generate descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages), while interview data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic/content analysis.Results: Only two pharmacies (10.5%) had dispensing standard operating procedures, and only one (5.2%) had a completely private counselling area. Pharmacy technicians were present in most of the pharmacies (84.2%), and students were widely involved in medication dispensing and counselling activities (73.7%). Identified problems from the interviews included issues with prescribers and medication availability, inadequate staffing levels and absence of materials and/equipment required for dispensing and counselling.Conclusion: There is an urgent need for multi-faceted interventions to improve on several of these findings and enhance the quality of care provided to patients

Evaluation of anticonvulsant activities of ethanol leaf extract of Hymenocardia acida Tul (euphorbiaceae) in mice and chicks

No AbstractKeywords: Hymenocardia acida, MEST, PTZ, 4-AP, Strychnin