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The potential use of O6-Benzylguanine, and O6-Methylguanine for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, and T. brucei group trypanosomes infections
Get PDFVery recently we had published a paper entitled ‘The Potential Development Sulfonylhydrazines for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease’ [1]. Our paper was a development from an observation by others from 1997, where a remarkable remission in Dementia was observed in cancer patients following treatment with the chemotherapeutic agent BCNU (Carmustine, 1,3-Bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea) [2]. </p
Recommendations for removing access barriers to effective Sexual/Reproductive Health Services (SRHS) for young people in South East Nigeria: A systematic review
Get PDFYoung people’s Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services in Nigeria are limited and there are issues of affordability and accessibility of these health services. Also, there are limited studies in Nigeria on the barriers to accessing and utilizing SRHS in the Nigerian healthcare sector. Furthermore, even when the services are provided they are not sensitive to the needs of young people. Hence, this study aims to assess the barriers to the availability and accessibility of sexual reproductive health services (SRHS) for young people living with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Abia State, Nigeria.Study Aim: To make recommendations for removing assess barriers to effective sexual and reproductive health services for young people living with STIs in southeast Nigeria.Methodology: A systematic review of 14 studies comprising 9 qualitative studies, 3 mixed methods, 1 quantitative and 1 cross-sectional study. The inclusion criteria were primary studies written in the English language which assessed barriers to SRH services while the exclusion criteria were the secondary studies and primary studies which did not access barriers to accessibility and availability of SRHS for young people. A total of 4, 705 participants from different African countries formed the sample size.Findings: Results showed that young people have little or no insight into STIs and their services. Moreover, they experienced different levels of barriers ranging from the negative and judgmental attitude of healthcare providers, stigma, cost, availability and accessibility of healthcare services as well as lack of integration of services and privacy and confidentiality. These are the major barriers that discourage young people from accessing SRH services. Also, experiences of fear and shame were reported as common barriers to utilizing care. Conclusion: Sensitizing the SRH needs of young people can enhance access to healthcare services. Therefore, there is a need to improve uptake and address the negative attitude of healthcare providers, as well as the issue of confidentiality, which will help to improve SRH service utilization among young people. Also, it is recommended that teaching health care professionals about these STI prevention centers will be the main solution to improve the preventive practice to reduce STI incidence in young people in Nigeria. </p
Strange structured elements in consumer’s honey
Get PDFIn order to obtain a better resolution of honey and bee pollen quality, it is essential to study them in nature, avoiding any chemical treatment. Besides pollen grains, trichomes, vegetable druses, mites, charcoal, fragments of plant tissues, amorphous brownish organic material, starch, finely granulate, dispersed gray vegetal material and oils are frequently detected. These elements interfere with the nutritional value of the products.</p
Regulation of enzymes with identical subunits on the example of Transketolase
Get PDFThe molecule of transketolase is a dimer with structurally and functionally identical subunits. Its active sites are located in the region of intersubunit contact, which has been shown also for other thiamine enzymes. This leads to the reciprocal influence of active sites in the binding of cofactors and during catalysis. In this review, it is shown that the functional non-equivalence of the active sites of transketolase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is initially formed upon the binding of the first cofactor, a divalent cation, not thiamine diphosphate, as previously thought. An attempt was made to find the reason for the differences between catalytic measurements and crystallographic data on the possible part-of-the-sites reactivity of the functioning of transketolase. At the same time, the difference in the amplitudes of dichroic absorption during the binding of reversibly and irreversibly splitting substrates has nothing to do with the flip-flop mechanism. It was also shown that with an increase in the concentration of substrates, a sharp decrease in activity occurs, which is explained by a switch from the simultaneous binding of the substrate in two active sites to its alternate binding both in one-substrate and two-substrate reactions. This fact could also be the reason for the rejection of the flip-flop mechanism of catalysis by transketolase. The mechanism may be similar to human transketolase, which may have clinical application. </p
Pilot experimental study; Effect of environmental stimulation consisting of sound with high-frequency components, aromas, and light exposure from organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) toward rest-activity rhythm in institutionalized patients with dementia
Get PDFEnvironmental stimulation is expected to have a positive impact on night sleep, psychological or functional states in dementia. The objective of this pilot study was to examine the effects of environmental stimulation consisting of sounds with high-frequency components, aromas, and light exposure from organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) to create comfortable living spaces for persons with dementia. Subjects (n =6) were recruited from elderly persons admitted to a single nursing home in Akita Prefecture, Japan, between August and September 2020. The night-time sleep state, the rest-activity rhythm, and the light exposure of the subjects living in environments with or without environmental stimulation consisting of sounds with high-frequency components, aromas, and light exposure from OLEDs were measured for 46.3 consecutive days using wrist activate devices under free-living conditions in a nursing home. In a period of environmental stimulation depending on the presence or absence of sounds with high-frequency components, reduction of the fragmented rest-activity rhythms was significantly observed in the subjects (p < 0.05). However, changes in the night-time sleep state had no significant difference during the study period. In conclusion, these preliminary results suggest that future examinations are warranted not only to inform effective or comfortable living conditions for elderly persons with dementia but also to improve the disruption of rest-activity rhythms in persons with dementia.</p
Application of the standard case definition in the case of Congo-Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan
Get PDFIn the presented case, a typical example of CCHF is described, a patient who lives in an endemic territory and had risk factors for infection – cattle keeping and tick bite. The patient sought medical help in a timely mannert, but his diagnosis of CCHF was made late, due to underestimation of the risk factors for CCHF infection and non-use of the standard case definition. The correct diagnosis was made only after the appearance of the hemorrhagic syndrome. The appearance of bleeding in patients with CCHF presents a high risk of infection for others. But timely isolation and intensive treatment allowed for the prevention of infection of contact persons and save the patient’s life.</p
<i>HPA-3</i> and <i>C807T</i> polymorphisms are associated with laboratory biomarkers of coronary artery disease in Brazilian women
Get PDFReports describe the association between platelet activation, adhesion, and aggregation, as well as polymorphisms in genes encoding platelet membrane glycoproteins with a predisposition to coronary artery disease (CAD). This study investigates associations between HPA-1, -3 and C807T polymorphisms and CAD. A cross-sectional study involving 114 women who underwent coronary angiography was performed. The CAD+ group consisted of 63 women while the CAD- group of 51 women. Hematological and biochemical parameters were evaluated by electronic methods. Polymorphisms were investigated by PCR-RFLP and PCR-SSP and participants answered an epidemiological questionnaire and provided anthropometric data. Blood pressure was also measured. Statistical analyses were performed using EpiInfo v. 7.0 software. Results showed that age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia were associated with CAD. In addition, CAD+ women showed elevated glucose, TG, and VLDL-c levels and reduced HDL-c levels. No significant difference was observed between the allelic and genotypic distributions of the polymorphisms HPA-1, -3, and C807T in CAD+ and CAD- groups. However, CAD+ women carriers of the variant 3b allele had elevated TG and sP-selectin levels while the carriers of the variant 807T allele had reduced CT and LDL-c levels. Hence, our data suggest that the polymorphism HPA-3 increases, indirectly, the risk of CAD development and occurrence while polymorphism C807T reduces this effec.</p
Assessment of malaria parasitemia in people living with HIV/AIDS in Kumba, Cameroon
Get PDFBackground: Malaria parasitemia and HIV infections are globally important public health concerns. People residing in regions where these two infections are endemic are prone to develop co-infection. Sub-Saharan Africa has the greatest burden of both diseases and Cameroon particularly the South West Region has been reported as one of the regions with the highest malaria and HIV prevalence. Hence, there is a need for continuous monitoring and epidemiologic inquiry to generate updated data on the burden of malaria parasitemia on HIV/AIDS. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malaria parasitemia and the association between viral load and malaria parasite density in people living with HIV/AIDS in Kumba, Cameroon. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 250 people living with HIV/AIDS selected from five main Community Based Organizations in Kumba during a period of 5 months from April to August 2021. Participants’ consent was obtained followed by socio-demographic and other useful data via a standardized questionnaire. Capillary blood samples were collected and Giemsa-stained blood films were examined to detect malaria parasitemia. The recent viral loads were collected from the participants’ medical files. Pearson’s chi-square was used for the comparison of proportions and correlation analysis to determine the association between parasite density and viral load. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.Results: An overall prevalence of malaria parasitemia in people living with HIV/AIDS in Kumba was 27.2%; [95% CI: 21.8% – 33.2%]. Among 215 participants who were HAART-experienced, 49(22.79%); [95% CI: 17.6% – 27.9%] were found to be positive for malaria parasitemia while 19(54.29%); [95% CI: 48.1% – 60.5%] out of the 35 HAART naïve individuals were positive for malaria parasitemia. This difference in prevalence was statistically significant (X2 = 15.078, df = 1, N = 250, p < 0.000). Also, malaria parasite density was significantly dependent on viral load (X2 = 61.065, df = 6, N = 49, p < 0.000). HAART-experienced participants with high viral load(>1000copies/ml) had significantly higher malaria parasite density(>400trophozoites/µL) than HAART-experienced participants with ‘not detectable’ viral load. Conclusion: The prevalence of malaria parasitemia in the study population was 27.2%. HAART naïve individuals had significantly higher malaria parasitemia prevalence and malaria parasite density than HAART-experienced individuals. Malaria parasite density was significantly dependent on viral load in HAART-experienced individuals.</p
High dose Levothyroxine in combination with transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of severe resistant subthreshold rapid cycling bipolar disorder; A case report
Get PDFBipolar Disorder (BD) is a common psychiatric condition. There is an overall agreement across treatment guidelines of BD type I and BD type II however, there is far less certainty regarding the treatment of subthreshold presentations including Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder. We present a patient with treatment-resistant rapid cycling Bipolar Disorder type I who deteriorated on Ketamine treatment but reached full remission with repetitive Transcranial magnetic stimulation, High Dose Levothyroxine, Lurasidone and Lithium Carbonate. This case highlights the previously demonstrated safety and effectiveness of the combined protocol of High Dose Levothyroxine and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for this population. </p
Antimicrobial resistance: The next probable pandemic
Get PDFEven as the world continues to grieve for those lost to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, another pandemic is brewing that has the potential to kill hundreds of millions of people in a century or less. In the far future, patients’ lives are being cut short in hospital wards by the stealthy but widespread epidemic of antimicrobial resistance. Unfortunately, the global health community is now confronting the silently growing pandemic that could threaten some of the most significant advancements in contemporary medicine. Considering that current medical professionals will eventually pass the torch to their students, who will hopefully lead to further improvements in antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic usage, medical students have the opportunity to contribute to a long-term solution to this problem. Future medical professionals, then, need to be better equipped to make prudent and economical use of antimicrobials.</p