An overview of anti-diabetic plants used in Gabon: Pharmacology and Toxicology

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Ethnopharmacological relevance: The management of diabetes mellitus management in African communities, especially in Gabon, is not well established as more than 60% of population rely on traditional treatments as primary healthcare. The aim of this review was to collect and present the scientific evidence for the use of medicinal plants that are in currect by Gabonese traditional healers to manage diabetes or hyperglycaemia based here on the pharmacological and toxicological profiles of plants with anti-diabetic activity. There are presented in order to promote their therapeutic value, ensure a safer use by population and provide some bases for further study on high potential plants reviewed. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical studies were sourced using databases such as Online Wiley library, Pubmed, Google Scholar, PROTA, books and unpublished data including Ph.D. and Master thesis, African and Asian journals. Keywords including ‘Diabetes’ ‘Gabon’ ‘Toxicity’ ‘Constituents’ ‘hyperglycaemia’ were used. Results: A total of 69 plants currently used in Gabon with potential anti-diabetic activity have been identified in the literature, all of which have been used in in vivo or in vitro studies. Most of the plants have been studied in human or animal models for their ability to reduce blood glucose, stimulate insulin secretion or inhibit carbohydrates enzymes. Active substances have been identified in 12 out of 69 plants outlined in this review, these include Allium cepa and Tabernanthe iboga. Only eight plants have their active substances tested for anti-diabetic activity and are suitables for further investigation. Toxicological data is scarce and is dose-related to the functional parameters of major organs such as kidney and liver. Conclusion: An in-depth understanding on the pharmacology and toxicology of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is lacking yet there is a great scope for new treatments. With further research, the use of Gabonese anti-diabetic plants is important to ensure the safety of the diabetic patients in Gabon.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

A Review of Vulvar and Vaginal Cancers in Ibadan, Nigeria

The objectives of this study are to give an update on the previous studies on vulvar and vaginal cancers from the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria, to elucidate any changes in pattern, and to enumerate some of the factors affecting the management of these cancers at the UCH today.  All the cases of cancer of the vulva and vagina seen at the UCH between January 1981 and December 2008 were reviewed and re-classified according to the World Health Organization (WHO) histological classification of 2004.  The results are as follows: Vaginal and vulvar cancers were the 4th (1.4%) and 5th (1.2%) most common of the 5913 gynecological cancers seen. The mean age was 49.7 years.  Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was the most common histological type.  Notably, vulvar cancer is more common than vaginal cancer in the US and the UK and this opposes our findings. We studied time periods before and after the year 2000, and found vaginal cancer to be more common before and vulvar cancer after the year 2000.  We suggest that this may be related to the introduction of the FIGO guidelines in 2000. We conclude that it is important to strictly adhere to the FIGO guidelines in determining the primary site of origin of these cancers in patients with advanced local disease as this distinction has implications for clinical management.[N A J Med Sci. 2013;6(2):76-81.   DOI:  10.7156/najms.2013.0602076

The Clinicopathologic Pattern of Prostatic Carcinoma in Lagos, Nigeria

This is a review of the clinicopathological pattern of prostatic carcinoma in Lagos, Nigeria. The mean age was 68.48 years.  20% of our patients were asymptomatic at presentation, significantly higher than values from most previous Nigerian studies, likely due to an established PSA screening program.  This however did not appear to translate to better disease outcomes, likely because radical prostatectomy was not offered as a treatment option for early disease.  68.6% of symptomatic patients presented with lower urinary tract symptoms, and 4.4% had a family history of prostate cancer. The median PSA value at presentation was 58.90ng/ml.  Clinical stages II and III disease were most common, 42.5 and 30% respectively.  Gleason scores 6 and 8 were the most common (23.3 and 20% respectively).  The clinical stage and the age showed the best correlation with disease progression evidenced by increased PSA 2 months after treatment (PSA progression) and metastasis during follow up.  The Gleason score also showed good correlation with these parameters while the pre-treatment PSA showed poor correlation, possibly due to the high incidence of urogenital infections and prostatitis in this environment.  The incidence of PSA progression and metastasis were 0.35 and 0.54 per patient year of follow up respectively. 

Correlation between Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology and Histology for Palpable Breast Masses in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution

Background. Management of breast lumps can be challenging in resource poor settings. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) especially when used with cell block can help improve affordability for the patients. Objective. To determine the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC of palpable breast lesions within a 5-year period. Methods. The findings obtained from FNAC of palpable breast lumps seen at the FNAC clinic of our department from January 2007 to December 2011 were retrieved and correlated with findings on histology of excisional biopsies. Results. A total of 1790 patients had FNAC of breast lumps during the 5-year period; 436 of them subsequently had biopsies. Our results compare favourably with the measures of test performance of the UK NHS Breast Screening Programme shown in brackets: absolute sensitivity 95.4% (>70%), complete sensitivity 99.2% (>90%), full specificity 88.9% (>65%), positive predictive value 99.6% (>99%), false-negative rate 0.8% (<4%), false-positive rate 0.4% (<0.5%), inadequate rate 3.2% (<15%), and suspicious rate 10.2% (<15%). Conclusion. Breast FNACs compare very well with histology of excisional biopsies and in experienced hands are extremely useful in the management of breast lumps. Further studies assessing the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC and cell blocks in our setting are recommended

Correlation between Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology and Histology for Palpable Breast Masses in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution

Background. Management of breast lumps can be challenging in resource poor settings. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) especially when used with cell block can help improve affordability for the patients. Objective. To determine the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC of palpable breast lesions within a 5-year period. Methods. The findings obtained from FNAC of palpable breast lumps seen at the FNAC clinic of our department from January 2007 to December 2011 were retrieved and correlated with findings on histology of excisional biopsies. Results. A total of 1790 patients had FNAC of breast lumps during the 5-year period; 436 of them subsequently had biopsies. Our results compare favourably with the measures of test performance of the UK NHS Breast Screening Programme shown in brackets: absolute sensitivity 95.4% (>70%), complete sensitivity 99.2% (>90%), full specificity 88.9% (>65%), positive predictive value 99.6% (>99%), false-negative rate 0.8% (<4%), false-positive rate 0.4% (<0.5%), inadequate rate 3.2% (<15%), and suspicious rate 10.2% (<15%). Conclusion. Breast FNACs compare very well with histology of excisional biopsies and in experienced hands are extremely useful in the management of breast lumps. Further studies assessing the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC and cell blocks in our setting are recommended

Neonatal neuroblastoma with adrenal primary and metastasis to the liver: A case report and a review of literature

We report the case of a 23-day-old neonate with neuroblastoma (NBL) in the right adrenal gland and widespread metastases to the liver. This raises the possibility of foetal NBL, which was missed during periodic ultrasonography done during the mother's pregnancy. We hope that this report would increase the awareness of physicians about foetal, congenital and neonatal NBL; and of sonographers about space-occupying lesions in the foetus. The clinicopathologic features and the management of neonatal NBL are discussed