Hearing loss molecular analysis

In the past it was difficult to identify children with hearing loss, and many newborns remained undiagnosed, but since early 2000, when Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) came into place and made successful strides in hearing loss research and have been able to provide screening of hearing loss at an early age of one month, hence they have been able to receive comprehensive treatment. UNHS also tracks infants for further follow up and wherever necessary. The two main methods used in newborn screening are otoacoustic emission and automated auditory brain stem response. Medical evaluation should begin as soon as possible when hearing loss is suspected, so as to complete prenatal, medical, and family history. Demands have been made to use DNA testing in detecting the molecular basis of hereditary hearing loss. The identification of genes and gene defects faces a lot of challenges due to the fact, there is tremendous genetic heterogeneity, but despite that, there has been successful genetic studies of hearing loss in isolated populations and consanguineous families. Hearing loss is common in patients with mitochondrialdisorders, affecting over half of all cases at some time in the course of the disease. Hearing loss has seen some research undertaken to the point now that deafness can be treated and this is through cochlea implantation

Determinants of prostate specific antigen screening test uptake in an urban community in North-Central Nigeria

Background: Despite the increasing incidence of Prostate cancer, there has not been any focused screening policy or strategy in sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria.Objectives: To assess the level of awareness and uptake of PSA screening test and their determinants in a Nigerian community.Methods: A cross-sectional population survey of men with no prior history of prostate cancer was carried out. Logistic re- gression analysis was used to determine the effect of identified variables in predicting awareness and uptake of prostate cancer screening.Results: Mean age was 51.5±9.8 years; a few men (31, 16.9%) had ever heard of the screening test and most got the information from health centers. A low proportion (8, 4.4%) had taken the screening test. Men with incomes above poverty line (OR = 11.7 2.8–50.1, p = .001) or those with health insurance (OR = 2.7 1.2–6.5, p = .023) were significantly more likely to be aware of the test. Only the men with higher incomes (OR = 25.6 5.8–114.2, p = .0001) were significantly more likely to have taken the test.Conclusion: Higher incomes and health insurance status impact screening awareness but only income status determines if men subsequently proceed to take the PSA screening test.Keywords: Prostate cancer; PSA screening; sub-Saharan Africa; Nigeria

Determinants of prostate specific antigen screening test uptake in an urban community in North-Central Nigeria

Background: Despite the increasing incidence of Prostate cancer, there has not been any focused screening policy or strategy in sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria. Objectives: To assess the level of awareness and uptake of PSA screening test and their determinants in a Nigerian community. Methods: A cross-sectional population survey of men with no prior history of prostate cancer was carried out. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the effect of identified variables in predicting awareness and uptake of prostate cancer screening. Results: Mean age was 51.5\ub19.8 years; a few men (31, 16.9%) had ever heard of the screening test and most got the information from health centers. A low proportion (8, 4.4%) had taken the screening test. Men with incomes above poverty line (OR = 11.7 2.8\u201350.1, p = .001) or those with health insurance (OR = 2.7 1.2\u20136.5, p = .023) were significantly more likely to be aware of the test. Only the men with higher incomes (OR = 25.6 5.8\u2013114.2, p = .0001) were significantly more likely to have taken the test. Conclusion: Higher incomes and health insurance status impact screening awareness but only income status determines if men subsequently proceed to take the PSA screening test. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i1.42 Cite as: Bello JO, Buhari T, Mohammed TO, Olanipekun HB, Egbuniwe AM, Fasiku OK, et al. Determinants of prostate specific antigen screening test uptake in an urban community in North-Central Nigeria. Afri Health Sci. 2019;19(1). 1665-1670. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ ahs. v19i1.4

Comparative susceptibility of two developmental stages of hide beetle (Dermestes maculatus Degeer, 1774) to ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) essential oil

The pesticidal effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) essential oil (GEO) against two developmental stages (adult and larva) of Dermestes maculatus De Geer, a key pest of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) was evaluated under laboratory condition (32 ± 2 °C temperature and 70 ± 3% relative humidity). At 6 h after exposure (HAE), 25.80 and 36.23% mortality in 0.99 and 1.33 μl/ml air respectively was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than 9.2% mortality observed in 0.33 μl/ml air. Percentage mortality observed in 0.99–1.33 μl/ml air at 12 and 18 HAE was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than mortality observed in other lower doses of GEO. The results of the larval bioassay follow the same trend as observed in adult bioassay except that higher percentage mortality was observed in larva than in adult. At 6–18 HAE, 28.25–90.00% larval mortality at application doses of 0.33–1.33 μl/ml air was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than 4.60% mortality observed in the control. The LD50 of GEO against larva at 6 HAE {2.74 (2.17–3.81) μl/ml air} was different from 1.69 (1.32–2.03) μl/ml air and 1.36 (1.05–1.63) μl/ml air LD50 for 12 and 18 HAE respectively. For adult bioassay, 2.80 (2.50–3.19) μl/ml air was significantly higher than 1.85 (1.49–2.21) μl/ml air being LD50 for 12 and 18 HAE. The study reveals that D. maculatus larva was more susceptible to GEO than adult. Keywords: Ginger, Essential oil, Dermestes species, African catfish, Lethal dos