Immunological effect of aqueous extract of Vernonia amygdalina and a known immune booster called immunace® and their admixtures on HIV/AIDS clients: a comparative study

Objective

To investigate the immunological effect of Vernonia amygdalina (V. amygdalina) leaf extract and immunace^® on HIV infected patients taking highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Methods

Fresh V. amygdalina leaves were collected within Nsukka area in Enugu State. The leaves were rinsed with distilled water. Two handful of cleaned fresh leaves were soaked in 200 mL water and squeezed gently by hand to a mixture. Clients were divided into four groups and each group was given different combination. They took the medication for four weeks. The immune effect was tested against marketed immune booster in some retroviral clients.

Results

The mean absolute CD4 count was increased in the client who took the extract or supplement. And the clients who took both the extract and supplement had a greater increase in the CD4 count. The increased CD4 was significant as compared with the control group (P<0.05). The skin rashes were also improved in the entire groups.

Conclusions

It can be concluded that the aqueous extract of V. amygdalina and immunace or both have immunological effect on HIV infected patients. Therefore, we suggest that the V. amygdalina extract or immunace or both could be used as adjuvant in the management of HIV/AIDS clients.     

Phasic coronary flow pattern and flow reserve in patients with left bundle branch block and normal coronary arteries

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether scintigraphic myocardial perfusion defects in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) and normal coronary arteries are related to abnormalities in coronary flow velocity pattern and/or coronary flow reserve. BACKGROUND: Septal or anteroseptal defects on exercise myocardial perfusion scintigraphy are common in patients with LBBB and normal coronary arteries. METHODS: Thirteen patients (7 men, age 61+/-8 years) with LBBB and normal coronary arteries underwent stress thallium-201 scintigraphy and cardiac catheterization. In all patients and in 11 control subjects coronary blood flow parameters were calculated from Doppler measurements of flow velocity in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) before and after adenosine administration. RESULTS: The time to maximum peak diastolic flow velocity was significantly longer both for the seven patients with (134+/-19 ms) and for the six without (136+/-7 ms) exercise perfusion defects than for controls (105+/-12 ms, p < 0.05), whereas the acceleration was slower (170+/-54, 186+/-42 and 279+/-96 cm/s2, respectively, p < 0.05). Coronary flow reserve in the patients with exercise perfusion defects (2.7+/-0.3) was significantly lower than in those without (3.7+/-0.5, p < 0.05) or in the control group (3.4+/-0.5, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with LBBB have an impairment of early diastolic blood flow in the LAD due to an increase in early diastolic compressive resistance resulting from delayed ventricular relaxation. Furthermore, exercise scintigraphic perfusion defects in these patients are associated with a reduced coronary flow reserve, indicating abnormalities of microvascular function in the same vascular territory.     

大鼠坐骨神经分支选择结扎切断模型的建立及脊髓背脚N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸受体检测

目的采用免疫组织化学方法,观察SNI模型大鼠脊髓背角神经元NMDAR的表达。方法健康雄性SD大鼠15只,随机分为3组：对照组（C1组）、假手术组（C2组）和生理盐水组（NS组）,每组5只。C1组不做任何处理,其他2组均根据改良Yaksh法进行鞘内置管。置管5d后,NS组按Woolf等方法建立神经病理性疼痛模型（SNI）,C2组除不损伤神经外处理同NS组;制模2d后,C2组和NS组用微量注射器鞘内注射20μL生理盐水,然后用生理盐水冲管（共20μL）。在30min后,C2组、NS组均进行疼痛行为学观察。3组均在注药后2h处死大鼠,用免疫组化法观察大鼠腰5节段水平脊髓背角NMDAR的表达。结果C1组和C2组在各时点均无机械性异常疼痛出现,热刺激后爪退缩潜伏时间差异也均无统计学意义（P〉0.05）;NS组在SNI手术后第1天和第2天出现明显的痛觉过敏（机械性异常疼痛痛阈降低）,与C1组比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0.01）,但对热刺激的后爪退缩潜伏时间与C1组比较差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）;NS组大鼠脊髓背角NMDAR免疫阳性细胞数量与C1及C2组比较明显增加,两者之间差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）;NS组的脊髓背角NMDAR免疫阳性细胞数密度值与C1,C2组相比显著增高（P〈0.05）,NS组的阳性细胞光密度值较C1组和C2组增高（P〈0.05）。结论SNI模型可引起大鼠损伤侧肢体机械性痛觉过敏,但对热刺激不敏感;SNI模型引起大鼠脊髓背角神经元NMDAR表达上调。     

Evaluation of the systematic set-up errors using electronic portal image device in the radiotherapy procedures

Objective： The aim of this work was to quantify the extent of set-up errors to conduct a quality assurance （QA） aspect of treatment delivery, verification of the treatment field＇s position on different days using electronic portal. Methods： This study was carried out on 12 patients, treated for pelvis tumor; and total of 240 images obtained by electronic portal image device （EPID） were analyzed. The EPIs acquire using EPID attached to the Siemens linear accelerator. The anatomy match- ing software （Theraview） was used and displacement in two dimensions were noted for each treatment field to study patient setup errors. Results： The percentages of mean deviations less than 5 mm in X direction were 65% ＆ 92%, from 5-10 mm were 31% ＆ 19% and more than 10 mm were 11% ＆ 9% forNP and lateral direction respectively. The percentages of mean deviations less than 5 mm in Y direction were 65% ＆ 63%, from 5-10 mm were 33% ＆ 28% and more than 10 mm were 22% ＆ 29%. The mean deviations in 2D-vector errors were 〈 5 mm in 47% and 46%, 5-10 mm in 36% and 37% and 〉 10 mm in 37% and 37% of images in the NP and lateral direction respectively. Conclusion： The results revealed that the ranges of set up errors are immobilization method to improve reproducibility. The observed variations were not within the limits..     

Ultrastructural characteristics of the sporogenesis of genus Myxobolus infecting some Nile fishes in Egypt

This study presents the ultrastructural characteristics of sporogenesis in the genus Myxobolus which infects four economically important Egyptian fishes: Oreochromis niloticus niloticus, Barbus bynni, Labeo niloticus and Hydrocynus forskalii, specimens of which were collected at Giza city. Although the cysts were observed in different organs, the pattern of sporogenesis was the same. Moreover, the sporogenesis found in the present study followed the usual pattern valid for most of the myxosporean genera studied.     

Alzheimer's disease associated with mutations in presenilin 2 is rare and variably penetrant

Missense mutations in the presenilin 2 (PS-2) gene on chromosome 1 were sought by direct nucleotide sequence analysis of the open reading frame of 60 pedigrees with familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). In the majority of these pedigrees, PS-1 and beta-amyloid precursor protein (beta APP) gene mutations had been excluded. While no additional PS-2 pathogenic mutations were detected, four silent nucleotide substitutions and alternative splicing of nucleotides 1338-1340 (Glu325) were observed. Analysis of additional members of a pedigree known to segregate a Met239Val mutation in PS-2 revealed that the age of onset of symptoms is highly variable (range 45-88 years). This variability is not attributable to differences in ApoE genotypes. These results suggest (i) that, in contrast to mutations in PS-1, mutations in PS-2 are a relatively rare cause of FAD; (ii) that other genetic or environmental factor modify the AD phenotype associated with PS-2 mutations; and (iii) that still other FAD susceptibility genes remain to be identified.      

Assessment of left ventricular ejection dynamics in patients with coronary artery disease during dipyridamole-stress Doppler echocardiography

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the contribution of Doppler-echocardiographically derived aortic indexes of left ventricular systolic function during dipyridamole-stress to the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). DESIGN: This was a clinical study. METHODS: Echocardiographic studies under baseline and peak dipyridamole stresses were performed on 15 normal subjects and 32 patients with angiographically confirmed CAD. Peak Doppler velocity, acceleration, and acceleration time of the ascending aorta, as well as segmental left ventricular wall motion, were analyzed. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of wall-motion abnormalities induced by dipyridamole for the detection of CAD were 62.5, 100, and 74.5%, respectively. When wall-motion abnormalities were combined with the percentage changes in peak aortic velocity and acceleration, the overall sensitivities were 84.38 and 78.15%, respectively, the specificities were 66.7 and 80.00%, respectively, and the accuracy was 78.72% for both models. When all three parameters were combined, the sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of the method were 87.5, 86.7, and 87.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Doppler-echocardiographically derived aortic indexes of left ventricular systolic function during dipyridamole stress could be a useful adjunct to two-dimensional echocardiography by improving its sensitivity in the diagnosis of CAD.     

Bacteria etiological agents causing respiratory tract infections in children and their resistance patterns to a panel of ten antibiotics

ObjectiveTo study the bacteria etiological agents of respiratory tract infection among 280 school children in South East Nigeria, and to determine their antimicrobial resistance patterns to a panel of ten antibiotics.MethodsThroat swabs (280) were collected from students in four boarding schools located in Enugu and Onitsha metropolis. Standard microbiological procedures were used to screen these swabs to determine the prevalence of respiratory pathogens while the disc diffusion test was used to determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns of the recovered isolates.ResultsOf the 280 samples screened, 57.1% were positive. Haemophilus influenzae was the most prevalent (16.1%), followed by Streptococcus pyogenes (13.9%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (12.5%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (6.8%), Staphylococcus aureus (5.4%) and Corynebacterium diphtheriae (2.5%). More isolates were recovered in the two male schools investigated. However, there was no significant difference in the overall prevalence of isolates according to sex or school location of the subjects. Greater number of isolates (56%) was recovered from those aged 11–14 years. This was statistically significant (P<0.05), compared to the other two age groups (15–18 years and 19–23 years). The pattern of resistance varied according to the bacteria species. There were multi-resistant isolates. Since these students stand the risk of contracting respiratory tract infection particularly from reservoirs among them, there is need to increase surveillance and develop better strategies to curb the increasing prevalence of respiratory tract infection in this and other similar regions of Africa.ConclusionsThe spectrum of bacteria causing respiratory tract infection is still wide in Nigeria. Many isolates showed appreciable levels of antibiotic resistance apparently due to antibiotic abuse. Development of new strategies to curb this increasing prevalence of respiratory tract infection is warranted.     

A homoallelic FECH mutation in a patient with both erythropoietic protoporphyria and palmar keratoderma

Background Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is a hereditary disorder caused by the deficiency of ferrochelatase (FECH) in the haem biosynthetic pathway. In the majority of families, EPP is transmitted as a pseudodominant trait. Autosomal recessive form of EPP is found in only about 3% of the families. Objectives In this study, we describe a 6‐year‐old boy who suffered from both EPP and palmar keratoderma. Methods and Results A novel homoallelic missense mutation (p.Ser318Tyr) was identified in the FECH gene. In addition, a region of homozygosity of approximately 6.8 Mb was observed in chromosome 18 of the patient by both microsatellite and SNP array. The parents of the patient, both of Palestinian (Jordanian) origin, were heterozygous for the S318Y mutation, although no history of consanguinity was known. Microsatellite genotyping identified a partial haplotype from each parent that corresponds to the region of homozygosity in the patient. Assuming S318Y is a founder mutation, the number of generations separating the two parents from their common ancestor from whom they inherited S318Y was estimated as 21.7 (95% CI 3.42–69.7). Conclusion EPP was therefore inherited as an autosomal recessive trait in the family. This study confirms the association between palmar keratoderma and autosomal recessive EPP.