African Journal of Biomedical Research

Analysis of the Mutational Landscape for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Africans

E. Okoturo — 2023-05-31

Reports suggest that there may be differences in the genetic causes of cancer based on ethnic variations in mutations. However, there is a lack of research on the mutational landscape of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in African populations to determine if there are any differences among African patients. This study aims to analyze the mutational landscape of HNSCC in Africans by reviewing available data and identifying any unique mutational patterns or distinctions compared to Caucasian data. The search methodology was based on the PRISMA guidelines checklist. MeSH terms and keywords were used and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) portal was used to analyze data related to the study objective. The TCGA study evaluated 48 African HNSCC samples. The PIK3CA hotspot mutations E545K, E542K and H1047R recorded the highest mutation implicated in Caucasian cohort but were almost non-existence in the African cohort. Equally relevant were the CDKN2A and TP53 mutations recorded amongst the Caucasian cohort were not detected in the African cohort, rather the African cohort recorded no R80* and one R85* - CDKN2A mutations and none of the TP53 mutations seen in Caucasian. In conclusion, studies on HNSCC candidate genes needs to be undertaken in Africa with more of these studies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Geographical Variation, Gender and Interleukin 8 Relationships with Appendicitis in Residents of Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

S. Beredugo — 2023-05-31

Appendicitis is characterized by inflammation of the vermiform appendix accompanied by systemic inflammatory response in humans. In most cases, emergency surgical intervention is required becauseit is the leading general surgical cause of death. Nevertheless, accurate diagnosis is still a challenge because of the variation in its manifestations. This work evaluated the role of gender, seasonal variation and the immunohistochemical expression of IL-8 cytokine in appendicitis patients attending Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa. A total of 313 appendicitis patients were recruited for the study from January 2015 to December 2020. Results shows that seasonal variation affect appendicitis outcome with statistically significant increase in number of cases recorded in summer compared to winter. Females presented with more cases than males among subjects studied, accounting for 56.9% (n = 178) and males 43.1% (n=135) of survey subjects. Interleukin 8 was markedly expressed in the appendicitis tissue across age, gender and seasons. The study observed the clinical relevance of interleukin 8 in the prediction or diagnosis of appendicitis within the population studied. Risk factors should be monitored more in summer to reduce the occurrence of appendicitis in human population.

Prevalence of Malaria and Associated Risk Factors in Pregnant Women in Mbaitoli Local Government Area, South-east Nigeria

G.I.A. Okoroiwu — 2023-05-31

Malaria infection during pregnancy is a significant public health problem with substantial risks for the pregnant woman, her fetus and the newborn child.This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of malaria parasite infection and associated risk factors among pregnant women in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State. A total of 300 pregnant women were sampled for malaria parasites infection using thick and thin film smears. Venous blood samples of 1ml were collected from pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Primary Health Care Centres and hospitals using needles and syringes to determine the presence of malaria parasite. Questionnaires were also filled. Data was analysed using simple percentages, Odd ratios and Chi-square analytical statistical tools. An overall prevalence of 63.7% was recorded in the study, while the proportions of women infected were highest within the 26-30 years age cohort (73.5%) . The burden of malaria infection among pregnant women in Mbaitoli Local Government Area is significant across the various examined depended variables which implies that malaria remains one of the highest prevalent diseases facing pregnant women. Age, Educational status, Occupational status, presence of stagnant water around the surrounding residence, overgrown weeds/bushes around the residence, non-use of mosquito insecticide nets, staying late-night , not attending antenatal care and health education sessions are significantly associated with malaria infection in the area. Effort should be geared towards improving their environmental conditions and educational backgrounds. Insecticide treated mosquito nets should be provided.

Involvement of Teenagers in E-Waste Activities on Major Landfills in Lagos

U.U. Jimoh — 2023-05-31

The study examines the involvement of teenagers in e-waste activities on major landfills in Lagos state. Survey research design was adopted while both primary and secondary data were utilized for this study. A set of pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered to a purposively selected respondents (100) drawn from the three main landfills with 50 from Olusosun landfill, being the largest in size and 25 each from Abule–egba(Oke Odo) and Igando (Solous) respectively. Both descriptive and inferential (chi square) statistics were used to analyze the data at p≥0.05. The study revealed dominance (82%) of male across the landfills. more than two-thirds (69.0%) was Hausa. The roles of respondents on the job were self-employed (36.0%); apprenticeship (36.0%) while 26.0% works with their parents/guardians. Less than half (43.0%) of the respondents got paid through the sales of e-waste collected, Majority (44.0%) of the respondents received stippen from their bosses, parents/ guardian. There is statistically significant difference in physical health challenges faced by children workers on landfills (X2= 45.359). The government and other relevant local and international organizations should gear their efforts towards ending child labor in their state, and specifically in the country at large.

Detecting Hotspots Clusters of Malaria Prevalence Among Pregnant Women in Jigawa State, North-West, Nigeria

Ismaila Yakudima — 2023-05-31

Malaria during pregnancy is considered a serious public health challenge in tropical and subtropical regions. In 2020, there were an estimated 33.8 million pregnancies in the WHO African Region, of which 11.6 million (34%) were at risk of malaria infection during pregnancy, and the West African sub-region bears the highest prevalence (39.8%) of exposure to malaria during pregnancy. Due to the high prevalence of malaria infection among pregnant women, this study aimed to explore the pattern of malaria prevalence among pregnant women using clinically confirmed hospital data from 2014 to 2019 in Jigawa State, Northwest Nigeria. ArcGIS version 10.3 was used for database development and spatial data analysis. Spatial statistics namely Global Moran’s I and Local Getis-Ord statistics (Gi*) were used to conduct data analysis. The former was employed to detect the existence of clusters while the latter was used to show the location of clusters. Results show that there is a statistically significant cluster pattern of malaria prevalence from the year 2014 to 2018, while the year 2019 had a random distribution. The clustering was strongest in the year 2016 with Moran’s I 0.387680, Z-score 3.946283, and P value 0.000079. The detected hotspots concentrate in the central part of the study area while cold spots occurred in the northern part. The study suggests that proper attention should be given to hot spot locations in the allocation of resources for malaria control

Urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and Creatinine levels in Confirmed and Suspected Substance abusers in a Nigerian Tertiary Institution

O.O. Odewusi — 2023-05-31

Drug abuse, a patterned use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others, is a form of substance-related disorder causing health and social problems, violence, suicides, physical dependence or psychological addiction. As drug abuse has been a cause of physiological or biochemical distortion, this work was primarily set to assess Oxidative genotoxicity and neuronal damage in confirmed and suspected substance abusers. This study included 71 subjects -21 were subjects that exhibited behaviors of drug users, tested and confirmed positive for illicit drugs, 30 were subjects that had stopped using drugs but still exhibited the behaviors of drug users, tested and confirmed negative for illicit drug. The remaining 20 subjects that did not have history of drug abuse served as control. Both 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and creatinine were estimated in urine of all subjects. and 8-OHdG was expressed per mg creatinine. The parameters were compared in all groups and gender. Student t-test was used in comparing means, correlation was also done at p≤ 0.05. Oxidative DNA damage (8-OHdG) and neuronal damage were significantly higher in both group 1 (behavioral positive-drug positive subjects) and group 2 (behavioral positive-drug negative subjects) compared to controls and also when group 1 was compared to group 2. DNA and neuronal damage sequel to drug abuse could be as a result of the biochemical, physiological or pathologic conditions characteristic of drug abusers. This finding may help in designing better management of substance abuse.

Food Environment and Nutritional Status of Children Living in Orphanage Homes in Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria

N.C. Ajuzie — 2023-05-31

Children living in orphanage homes world-wide often present with nutritional deficiencies. This can be attributed to lack of proper food environment which encompasses the availability, accessibility and affordability of food. This study examined the food environment and nutritional status of children living in orphanage homes in Ogun State. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey that adopted the survey research method with 200 children both males and females aged between 5-11years were randomly selected from 4 Orphanage homes in Ogun State. Among the children surveyed, 3.2%, 10%, 0.5%, 3.5% were normal nutritional status wasted, stunted, underweight, and overweight respectively. There were more girls stunted and wasted than boys, more boys were underweight than girls and more girls were overweight than boys. This study showed that food is affordable, accessible, and available in the orphanage homes and the food environment does not affect the nutritional status of the children living in orphanage homes in Ogun State. In this study, high prevalence of malnutrition was observed among children between 5 to 7 years old. The findings of this study showed that prevalence of malnutrition among children living in orphanage homes in Ogun State is low.

Knowledge of Human Papilloma Virus Self-sampling and Cervical Cancers Screening Uptake among Gynaecology Clinic Attendees in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

L.C. Oyedero — 2023-05-31

Cervical cancer remains a significant contributor to global cancer-specific morbidity and mortality, despite being one of the most preventable and treatable cancers. Uptake and knowledge of cancer screening has remained low in developing countries. Therefore, this study investigated the level of knowledge Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Self-sampling and Cervical cancers screening uptake among gynaecology clinic attendees in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. A cross-sectional design was employed in the study. A total of 256 respondents were selected using simple random sampling technique from two tertiary institutions in Osun State, Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the knowledge of HPV Self-sampling and cervical screening uptake from the respondents. Data were analysed and presented in percentages and association between variables were tested with logistic regression, chi-square and fisher’s exact test at 0.05 level of significance. The mean age of the respondents was 35.8±9.7 years, age of sex initiation for almost half (48.2%) of the respondents was between 21 and 25 years. Also, 66% of the respondents had not been screened of cervical cancer and 62.9% do not have enough education on self-sampling. However, 75.4.0% had poor knowledge on HPV self-sampling while 21.5% believed only sexually active women can only engage in self-sampling. There was a significant association between socio-demographic, utilisation and knowledge of self-sampling for HPV. The study revealed poor knowledge on Human Papilloma Virus self-sampling and low screening uptake. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the self-sampling knowledge among women for future screening.

Self-Esteem and Assertiveness among Basic Nursing Students, Southeast Nigeria

O.T. Madu — 2023-05-31

Quality patient care demands nurses to have assertive skills which depends on the level of self-esteem, however, the level of self-esteem and assertive skills and its relationship among nursing students remain understudied. This study assessed the level of self-esteem and assertive skills and their correlation among 126 Basic nursing students in Southeast, Nigeria. This was a cross sectional and correlational study. The respondents were selected using multi staged sampling technique. A questionnaire consisting of the researcher developed Socio demographic characteristics, standardized Rosenberg Self-esteem scale and Rathus assertive schedule were used for data collection. Data analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 23.0 software. Majority 87(69%) of the students had moderate and low 34(27%) self-esteem, only 5(4%) had high self-esteem and their average RSES scores were 17.80±4.32. Majority 95(75.4) were unassertive and their average RAE score was -.68±20.19. There was a significant positive correlation between the level of self-esteem and assertiveness (r = 0.241, p> 0. 006). Given the significant positive correlation of these variables, measures to enhance these skills in nursing student programs should be encouraged by nurse educators and managers to guarantee competent future nurse professionals.

Family Structure Moderates the Relationship between Parenting Styles and Psychological Well-being among Nursing Students

S.A.J. Nwagwu — 2023-05-31

Psychological well-being as a positive mental state defines an individual's self-acceptance, positive connection with others, environmental mastery, autonomy, life purpose, and self-awareness, all of which improve one's quality of life. The mental state of healthcare providers is often overlooked or given little attention in low-and middle-income countries; however, this area of exploration remains a major concern in Nigeria. This study aims to investigate whether family structure moderates the relationship between parenting styles and psychological well-being among nursing students in Imo State, Nigeria. Three hundred and thirty-eight (338) nursing students selected from two different nursing institutions in Imo State were sampled in this study. The participants' age ranges from 18–50 years (M = 36.82 and SD = 10.46). The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. Two research instruments were used for data collection: the Parenting Style Rating Scale (PSRS) and the Psychological Wellbeing Rating Scale (PWR). Moderated regression analysis was conducted using Process Macro version 4.1 to analyse the data. The result revealed that family structure significantly predicted psychological well-being. Also, parental styles positively and significantly predicted psychological well-being. Furthermore, family structure positively and significantly moderates the relationship between parenting styles and psychological well-being. The study emphasizes the need for adequate measures to improve the psychological well-being of nursing students by developing a grass-roots advocacy and sensitization program for student-parents or sponsors that would encourage parental involvement or participation in their child’s quality of life.

Malaria Illness Experiences and Health-Seeking Behaviours among In-school Adolescents in Ibadan North Local Government Area, South-west Nigeria

J.D. Famoyegun — 2023-05-31

The burden of malaria among In-School Adolescents (ISAs) is enormous; yet, their malaria-related illness experiences and health-seeking behaviours have not been adequately explored. The study investigated malaria-related illness experiences and health seeking behaviours among ISA in Ibadan North Local Government Area (IBNLGA), Oyo State, Nigeria. The study was conducted in both private and public secondary schools located in IBNLGA, Oyo State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted and a four-stage sampling technique was used to select 430 ISAs from 12 secondary schools. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test and logistic regression at p=0.05. Respondents’ age was 14.5±2.2 years and 82.7% were from public schools. Most (99.8%) respondents had ever-experienced malaria and 51.8% of them reportedly had malaria within the three months preceding the study. Majority (83.1%) claimed to own a mosquito net; however, only 48.5% use it daily. Treatment pathways adopted by respondents during malaria episodes included: visiting hospital to receive treatment (76.1%); using drugs purchased from patent medicine vendors (70.7%), and use of herbs (66.9%). Significant associations were noted between respondents’ sex, age and class and their health seeking behaviour with their respective p-values being 0.023, 0.001 and 0.013. Malaria is a common disease among the in-school adolescents; yet use of mosquito nets among them was not overwhelming. Furthermore, unreliable malaria treatment practices were common among them. Health education interventions including training and advocacy relating to consistent use of net and appropriate malaria-related health-seeking behaviours are recommended.

Validation of Wound-QoL Questionnaire among Patients with Acute Wounds in Enugu, South-east Nigeria

C.J. Anetekhai — 2023-05-31

Globally, health related quality of life (HRQoL) has become an essential wound outcome measure in evaluating holistic care, clinical practice and research. In Nigeria, there is a dearth of validated studies on standardised instruments to assess quality-of-life in patients with acute wounds. This study validated the Wound-QoL questionnaire in Nigeria. It was a single-blinded randomized controlled study, carried out amongst 42 participants using simple blocked randomization to assign patients to different groups (Biodress, honey and povidone-iodine). Wound-QoL was used for data collection with due ethical consideration and data analysis. The median age of the participants was 32.5 years, with a slight male preponderance (52.4%). The global score was above 0.7 at both times tested with the subscale scores ranging from 0.420 to 0.754. The mean values for both Wound-QoL global scores (T0: 0.83, T1: 0.79) and two subscale scores (body: T0: 1.28, T1: 1.17, everyday life: T0: 0.61, T1: 0.58) decreased over time while the psyche subscale remained unchanged (T0: 0.53, T1: 0.53). On item selectivity, the global score was significantly correlated to each of the items and the subscales. This result showed that acute wounds affect patients’ quality of life. It also indicates that the Wound-QoL questionnaire has positive psychometric properties. The Wound-QoL is a valid and reliable tool in assessing quality of life of people with acute wounds in Nigeria. A large-scale study in different regions of the country is recommended bearing in mind the cultural differences.

Efficacy, Safety and Pharmacokinetics of a Triple Combination of Artemether-Lumefantrine and Amodiaquine in Laboratory Rodents

O. Nwaiwu — 2023-05-31

Presently artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) are now widely recommended as first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria, however there are some reports and evidence of treatment failure despite adequate drug concentrations. Addition of a second long-acting partner drug to the existing single partner artemisinin-based combination therapy may delay the development of resistance. The objective of the present study is to determine the efficacy, of a triple combination of artemether-lumefantrine and amodiaquine in laboratory rodents. The blood schizonticidal activity of the proposed triple combination of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and amodiaquine (AQ) was evaluated in a rodent model of Plasmodium berghei. Animals were treated orally with standard doses of artemether-lumefantrine (AL), amodiaquine (AQ) or the triple combination (ALAQ). Parasitological activity and survival of the animals were assessed over 24 days. Safety and plasma concentrations of artemether, amodiaquine and lumefantrine were determined both in the standalone and in the triple combination treatment groups using uninfected but treated albino rats There was a progressive significant decline in parasitemia in all therapeutic groups with the triple combination (ALAQ) achieving a 100% suppression of parasites by day 16. ALAQ resulted in significant elevations in total white blood cell counts, platelet counts, alanine transaminase and urea levels. There were significant reductions in blood pressure and heart rate. Compared to artemether-lumefantrine administered alone the triple combination (ALAQ) showed lower plasma artemether levels and area under the curve (AUC) values at 72hours with low day 7 lumefantrine plasma levels in the triple combination (ALAQ). These preliminary results showed that the triple therapy‘s efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics are quite encouraging. Human studies are required to confirm the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetic findings in this study.

The Antimalarial Effects of Novel Chloroquinoline Acetamide Hybrid Molecules

F. Kathrada — 2023-05-31

The widespread resistance to current antimalarial agents adds to the great burden of malaria. This study evaluated the antimalarial activity of novel compounds against the Plasmodium falciparum NF54 chloroquine-sensitive strain individually and combined with quinine using the parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) assay. Furthermore, toxicity screening was carried out to evaluate the safety profile of the derivatives. All twenty-seven chloroquine acetamide hybrids possessed antimalarial activity (IC50 range: 1.29 – 53.98 µM), while proving to show no toxicity against host red blood cells. The derivatives showed a good safety profile with low toxicity to human embryonic kidney epithelial cells (% inhibition average: 1.93-53.85%) and minimal lethality to brine shrimp (0-4.7%). None of the compounds demonstrated inhibitory effects on the Anopheles arabiensis mosquito larvae. The two most active derivatives displayed favorable ionization properties and synergistic activity in combination with quinine. In morphological studies carried out over a period of 48 hours, the most active derivative showed similar schizonticidal activity as the standard quinine with a lag in progression from the trophozoite stage. The most active derivative CQPA-26 has good antimalarial activity and low toxicity worth being explored with further structural modifications which may increase antimalarial activity.

Mutational Screening of DHFR and DHPS Target Genes in Plasmodium falciparum Isolated from Out-patients with Febrile Conditions

D.O. Obasi — 2023-05-31

Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is no longer recommended for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria due to its increasing failure rate, but is still being used as preventive treatment during pregnancy and in chemoprevention. SP targets either dihydrofolatereductase, dhfr and dihydroptereoate synthase, dhps involved in folate biosynthesis in the parasite. This study screened for mutation in SP target genes, dhfr and dhps in Plasmodium falciparum among out-patients in Awka South, Anambra State. Blood samples were obtained from 210 patients aged 5-64 years with febrile conditions. The blood samples were screened for malaria parasites using blood smear stained with giemsa. The dhfr and dhps genes were amplified using PCR and sequenced using dideoxy chain termination method. The overall prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in this study was 74.8 % (157/210) out of which 19.1 % (30/157) had high parasite count of ≥ 4000 asexual parasite /µL of blood. Out of this number, 14.6% [23/157] with high yield and purity of ≥50 ng/µL and ≥1.7 respectively were considered good for downstream PCR.The result showed that dhfr alone was detected in 8/23 [34%], dhps alone was seen in 7/23 [30%] while both dhfr and dhps genes were seen in 4/30 [13%]. In all [8/23] parasites where dhfr was detected, mutations at Asn-108, Ile-51 and Arg-59 were present. Additional mutation was seen in 75% [6/8] at position Leu-164. Gly-581, Phe-436 and Thr-613 mutations were seen in all isolates where dhps were detected. Rare Leu-164 and Thr-613 mutants were seen in dhfr and dhps respectively. These mutants may be responsible for SP resistance in this region, suggesting an increased compromise over the efficacy of SP in malaria treatment.

Resveratrol Ameliorates Male Reproductive Dysfunction Induced By Pirimiphos-methyl In Rats

E.O Faloye — 2023-05-31

Exposure to Pirimiphos-methyl (POM) has been reported to adversely affect sperm functions, leading to male infertility. This study seeks to investigate the effect of resveratrol on POM induced male reproductive dysfunction. Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 165g – 200g were randomly divided into four groups of control, the POM group (received 62.5mg/kg POM/ b.w), POM + RES (received 62.5mg/kg POM and 20mg/kg body weight of resveratrol, and the RES group (received 20mg/kg body weight resveratrol) for 65 days. The results showed a significant decrease in body weight gain in the POM group, POM +RES group compared to the control. The relative liver weight of the POM group was also significantly increased compared with the control (p<0.05). RES + POM significantly increased the epididymal sperm count, motility, morphology, and testosterone level compared to the POM group. POM increased MDA and reduced SOD, GSH, and catalase activities, while POM + RES only reversed this trend in the MDA, catalase, and SOD levels. There was a significant increase in the cholesterol concentration of the POM group compared to the control while there were no significant differences in the HDL, LDL, and triglyceride levels across all the groups. There was distortion in the POM group's cytoarchitecture of the liver and testes compared to the control and RES groups. In conclusion, the results showed that POM disrupts sperm functions and caused hepatotoxicity in rats’ livers. This study also shows that RES improves sperm parameters impaired by POM.

Effects of Vernonia amygdalina Delile and Baccharoides tenoreana Olive on Biochemical and Histological Markers of Liver and Kidney damage in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

S.C. Attama — 2023-05-31

This study assessed the status of the liver and the kidneys following injury by alloxan monohydrate and treatment with Vernonia amygdalina (VA) and Baccharoides tenoreana (BT). Total of 30 male Albino Wistar rats assigned into 6 groups (A-F) of 5 rats per group were used. Forty-eight hours following administration of alloxan monohydrate to groups B-F rats, groups C-E were treated with VA, BT and combination of VA and BT respectively while group F rats received glibenclamide. Both groups A and B were administered distilled water. The treatments were daily for 21 days. On day 21, serum samples for determination of hepato-renal biochemical indices were collected. The liver and kidney tissues were also collected. The results indicated significantly elevated activities of ALT, ALP and levels of Creatinine and urea in group B rats (induced untreated) compared to the normal control group while the groups treated with the extracts especially VA showed significantly reduced activities and levels of the analytes when compared to those of the induced untreated group. Liver and kidney photomicrographs of induced untreated rats showed degenerations and necrosis of the hepatocytes and tubular epithelial cells respectively while those of the rats treated with the extracts appeared comparable to those of the normal control rats. Both VA and BT protected the liver and kidney against injury by alloxan monohydrate separately; however, combination of VA and BT did not offer a better protection.

Protective Effects of Quercetin on Hepatotoxicity Induced by Cyanide in Male Wistar Rats

K.F. Ola-Mudathir — 2023-05-31

Increased generation of reactive oxygen species has been reported during cyanide exposure, and quercetin, a flavonoid present in onions, has been proven to protect against it. Following sub-acute cyanide exposure, the protective effect of quercetin was investigated in the livers of rats in this study. Thirty male Wistar rats were grouped into 5 groups (n=6). Group 1 was administered conoil (control). Groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 were administered 7mgKCN/kgbwt/day, 60mg quercetin/kgbwt/day, 60mg Quercetin/kgbwt/day + 7mgKCN/kgbwt/day, and 600mg Na₂S₂O₃/kgbwt/day+ 7mgKCN/kg bwt/day respectively for 2 weeks. Groups 4 and 5 were pre-administered with 600mg Na₂S₂O₃/kg bwt/day and 60mgQuercetin/kgbwt/day respectively for 2 weeks. Activities of enzymes; Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) in serum were measured as indicators of liver function. Liver malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant parameters were assessed as indices of oxidative stress. When cyanide-treated rats were compared to control rats, serum ALT, AST, GGT, and liver MDA were considerably higher. Antioxidant parameters decreased significantly as a result of this. When quercetin and Na₂S₂O₃ were given together, the liver function indices, liver MDA, and antioxidant markers all improved. Finally, the findings imply that quercetin protects the liver against cyanide-induced oxidative stress. These might be linked to an increase in the antioxidant state of the liver in cyanide-exposed rats

Glycine Exerts Renal Antioxidant Effects and Restores Hemodynamic Alterations in Rats Treated with Diclofenac Sodium: Roles of Renal Angiotensin Converting Enzyme, Angiotensin II Receptor and Mineralocortocoid Receptor

A.S. Akinrinde — 2023-05-31

Diclofenac (DIC) is known to alter renal function in the form of hemodynamically-mediated acute renal failure. This study evaluated the protective role of the amino acid, glycine (Gly) on nephrotoxicity and acute hemodynamic alterations induced by DIC (9 mg/kg) in male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into four groups (n=7/group) including Group A (control); Group B (DIC-treated), Groups C (DIC + Gly1, 250 mg/kg) and Group D (DIC + Gly2 500 mg/kg). Systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP) and mean arterial (MAP) blood pressures were significantly (p<0.05) reduced in rats treated with DIC alone, compared to control. Kidneys from DIC-treated rats showed altered histology with significantly (p<0.05) increased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl contents, but decreased glutathione (GSH) glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. Immunohistochemistry revealed down-regulation of renal angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), but increased expressions of angiotensin type II receptor (AT2R) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in DIC-treated rats. However, pre-treatment with Gly reversed most of the aforementioned effects of DIC. The present results suggest that oral glycine protected kidney tissues and restored DIC-induced hemodynamic changes by modifying renal expression of the renin-angiotensin-mineralocortocoid pathway and/or renal oxidative stress

Prevalence Of Ehrlichia Canis in Dogs in Makurdi Metropolis Using Methanol Leaf Extract of Lawsonia inermis, Giemsa and Romanwsky (Differential Quick) Staining Methods

C.I. Ogbaje — 2023-05-31

The important of quality stain for proper diagnosis of haemoparasites cannot be overemphasized in parasitology. Natural stains are safer and more eco-friendly than synthetic ones. Henna leaves methanolic extract solution was optimized and used alongside Giemsia and Romanowsky stains to study prevalence of canine ehrlichiosis in Makurdi. Henna leaves methanol extract solution was optimized, 10% for 45 minutes stain was used independently alongside Giemsia and Romanowsky stains to study prevalence of Ehrlichia canis in dogs. One hundred dogs of three different breeds were sampled from four different locations within Makurdi and examined under microscope. The study revealed that henna is not a good stain for haemoparasites since it cannot be picked by the surface glycoprotein of the cell membrane of the parasites. Romanowsky stain revealed 3% prevalence while others recorded zero prevalence. Adult, male and exotic breed of dogs recorded higher prevalence than young, female and other breeds of dogs. The prevalence recorded agreed with the previous reports from western Nigeria but was at variance with reports from other part of the world. Low sensitivity of the method used and the stages of the disease may be possible reasons for low prevalence observed in the study. Henna is not recommended as a good stain for diagnosis of haemoparasites. Breed and age are predisposing factors to the disease, but sex has no significant association with the disease. A more sensitive method and different period of the year should be used for future similar study.

Cancer Awareness Campaign in Ghana

Kofi Adesi Kyei — 2023-08-09

There is a wide variety of health conditions that are associated with high disease burden that require significant attention in the Ghanaian community. Of all these pressing issues, cancer stands out as the most rapidly advancing cause of morbidity and mortality. Cancer is the abnormal growth of cells that has the potential to invade adjacent structures and spread to distant sites especially if not detected and treated early. In this study,we discuss developmental tools that are needed to gain recognition of cancer, to create the necessary awareness and provide education for all community members by describing the disease,its signs, symptoms, treatment modalities as well as where to seek treatment. With such education, the Ghanaian populace would be more informed and the knowledge gained will influence the training and socialization of the target audience