The Age and Sex Incidence of Keloids / Hypertrophic Scars in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State from 2001-2006

Hypertrophic scars and keloids have been seen to occur frequently among burnt and accident patients. Keloids and hypertrophic scars result from excessive collagen deposition. They are dermal fibro proliferative disorders unique humans and occur as a complication of healing of wounds following trauma, inflammation, surgery, burns and sometimes occur spontaneously. Clinically, these scars can be disfiguring functionally and aesthetically or both. A retrospective study of patients with keloids and hypertrophic scars was carried out in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) using medical records of 41 patients that were diagnosed and / or treated. Sex, age, provisional diagnosis, manifestations and treatment procedures were extracted from their folders. The result of the study was statistically analyzed which revealed that keloids and hypertrophic scars increase with years and occur a little more in females than in males (M:F ratio = 48.8%:51.2%). The age range that was mostly affected was 15 to 45 years. Keywords: keloid, hypertrophic scar, sex, age, trib

The Human Mammary Odour Factor: Variability and Regularities in Sources and Functions

International audienceIn the course of evolution, human mothers have been, and still are, under strong selective pressure to induce their newborns’ colostrum ingestion promptly after birth. As a concentrate of nutrients, passive immunity, antioxidants, growth factors and symbiotic microbiota, colostrum functions as the evolved antidote to ubiquitous pathogens and threats of neonatal exhaustion. Under such constraints, any means to speed up colostrum/milk intake can only have been beneficial to neonatal viability and adaptive life onset along evolutionary time. The areolar-nipple areas of human lactating females emit lacteal substrates conveying chemostimuli that are attractive and release mouthing and sucking in infants. Current information about areolar glands of Montgomery is summarized here, in terms of variability/regularity in number and distribution, of behavioural activity of their secretion, and of the adaptive value of their occurrence. It is concluded that a majority of lactating women investigated so far bear from 1 to >40 glands/areola, among which some emit a visible secretion. Reciprocally, a majority of neonate infants react to the odour of these secretions. The number of areolar glands correlates with infants’ behaviour at the breast, indicating that areolar phenotypic variability has potential fitness consequences on the infant and the mother. Ideas for future studies are outlined to advance our understanding of how human areolar phenotypic variability relates to life history characteristics