Revista de Bioanálise e Biomedicina

Background: Prostate disorders (prostatitis, BPH and Pca) can contribute to renal impairment. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and renal impairment (RI) such as chronic kidney disease are important public health problems in older men. The present study aimed to assess serum levels of prostate specific antigen, urea, creatinine, protein and uric acids in subjects with BPH at Federal Medical Center, Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria. A population-based sample of one hundred and ten (110) men aged (51-70) years were conveniently recruited and divided into three groups designation A= BPH with RI, (n=35) B=BPH without RI, (n=35) and C=Control, (n=40).

Methods: Blood samples were collected from all the participants and serum separated and stored at -20ËšC until analyzed for prostate specific antigen using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and colorimetric assay method for creatinine, urea, protein and uric acid. Data were analyzed using SPSS software application (version 17.0). Pearson correlation and Receiving Operating Characteristics of the groups were done.

Results: The result showed that urea and creatinine levels were significantly higher in BPH subjects with or without renal impairment when compared with controls (p<0.05 respectively). Similarly, total prostate specific antigen (tPSA), free prostate specific antigen (fPSA), complex prostate specific antigen (cPSA) and percent free prostate specific antigen (%fPSA) were significantly higher in BPH subjects with or without RI when compared with controls (p<0.05 respectively). Urea, creatinine and uric acid were significantly higher while total protein was significantly lower in BPH with RI when compared with BPH without RI (p<0.05 respectively).

Conclusion: The significantly higher urea, creatinine and uric acid levels in BPH subjects showed that BPH subjects with RI may have decrease excretion and accumulation of uric acid by the kidney suggesting possible risk of progression to CKD while BPH subjects without RI tends to be more prone to developing renal dysfunction. The significant correlation between %fPSA, creatinine and urea shows an association between BPH and renal diseases. Using receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curves to assess diagnostic performance of various parameters in various groups for the prediction of BPH with or without renal disease, there was evidence that fPSA and %fPSA have higher predictive value in the diagnosis of BPH while uric acid, urea, creatinine and protein have higher predictive value in the diagnosis of renal disease. It is therefore, recommended that people with prostate disorders should be screened for renal diseases and vice versa.

Lung cancer is the most widely recognized disease and it is the main reason of cancer demise in men and the second driving reason for tumor passing, after breast cancer, in ladies. Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has categorized particulate matter, a large element of air pollution, as cancer-causing to people, supported adequate proof that exposure is related to associate multiplied risk of lung carcinoma. Urban particles consist of three modes: ultrafine particles (UFPs), accumulation mode particles and coarse particles. UFPs (<0.1 μm diameter) contribute very little to the total mass, but are very high in number in the urban air. The potential of particles to cause unfavorable health effects is connected to their capability to enter the lungs, probably carrying variety of cytotoxic compounds with them. UFPs have vital health effects as a result of their terribly high alveolar deposition fraction, massive extent, chemical composition, ability to initiate inflammation and potential translocate to the circulation. Over the previous years there has been an increasing assortment of clinical and medical specialty information associated with air pollution health effects and proof linking exposure to urban air pollutants. In particular, link between particulate matter (PM10 or PM2.5) with lung cancer is generally consistent, although formal statistical significance was not always reached. However, knowledge and awareness remain limited, regarding the carcinogenic effects of UFPs and some clinical studies are still unrecognized. Our purpose, during this review, is to review and synthesize the literature relating to the malignant neoplastic disease impact of UFPs, particularly the associations between the exposure to UFPs and risk for carcinoma.

To achieve glycemic control in patients with Diabetes, various medicines are prescribed; however, some may affect blood glucose concentration, requiring dose adjustment. Studies with small sample size, reported that propranolol and hydrochlorothiazide may change glycemic levels but this data are conflicting. The aim this study is evaluating if propranolol and hydrochlorothiazide change glycemic control in elderly hypertensive diabetics compared to diabetics without hypertension. We conducted a cross-section study and included hypertensive diabetics of both genders from 18 yrs to 90 yrs of age, using propranolol and hydrochlorothiazide (DHPH) taken orally either together or separate. The group of diabetics without hypertension was composed of patients of both genders from 18 yrs to 90 yrs of age. Clinical parameters being fasting blood glucose, postprandial glycaemia and glycated hemoglobin from the last six months was collected from medical records. The differences between groups were compared by the Student’s t-test (continuous variables) and the X2-test (categorical variables). Logistic regression analyses were used to compare the influence of variables in glycemic control in both groups. The per capita income (<0.01), age (<0.01), complexity of pharmacotherapy (<0.01), number of medicines taken (<0.01) and comorbidities (<0.01) in the DHPH group was significant. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the comorbidities (<0.01), number of drugs taken (<0.01) and age (<0.01), influence fasting blood glucose in the DHPH group. Fasting blood glucose levels of elderly hypertensive diabetics taking propranolol and hydrochlorothiazide are influenced by age, number of medicines taken and number comorbidities.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of total lesion glycolysis (TLG) in 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) to predict the response to steroid therapy for cardiac sarcoidosis (CS).

Methods: Thirty-six patients with clinically suspected CS who had undergone 18F-FDG PET/CT were retrospectively analysed. Of the 36 patients, 21 were diagnosed as having CS according to Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare guidelines and divided into 12 responders and 9 non-responders after steroid therapy by the mean follow-up period of 19 months. SUVmax and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) for the left ventricle (LV) on 18F-FDG PET/CT were compared between responders and non-responders using the Wilcoxon test. The predictability of response to steroid therapy was analysed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

Results: TLG for the LV wall was significantly higher in non-responders [1082 ± 715 g (mean ± SD)] than in responders (452 ± 385 g, p=0.02), while there was no difference in the SUVmax for the LV wall between the two groups (responders 8.6 ± 2.3 vs. non-responders 11.4 ± 3.8). Use of an optimal TLG cut-off of 1070 g differentiated responders from non-responders with a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 55.6%, an accuracy of 81.0% and area under the curve of 0.80.

Conclusion: The non-responders to steroid therapy for CS showed a high level of TLG on 18F-FDG PET/CT. TLG of 18F-FDG PET/CT can be a predictor of response to steroid therapy in CS.

Background: There is limited information on if HIV infection induces stress in pregnancy. HIV can possibly contribute to the alterations in some fetal viability hormones thereby lead to adverse pregnancy outcome. The present study aimed to assess the possible changes in maternal cortisol, Adrenocorticotropic (ACTH), Pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) hormone concentrations in HIV-infected pregnant women and their pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: A cross sectional study of 80 (Eighty) volunteer pregnant women aged (18-49) years recruited during routine antenatal clinics in Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Nigeria was conducted. The participants were divided into groups: 40 (forty) apparently healthy pregnant and 40 (forty) HIV-infected pregnant women. 5 ml of morning blood samples were collected from each subject in their 1st and 2nd trimesters for estimation of Cortisol, ACTH, AFP and PAPP-A using ELISA method.

Results: The result showed that the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures (mmHg) of HIV pregnant women were significantly higher than control (p<0.05 respectively). The mean value of cortisol (ng/ml) in HIV pregnant women was significantly higher when compared with control subjects (p<0.05). Cortisol showed inverse significant correlation with AFP in HIV-infected pregnant women. Maternal outcomes showed thatt HIV-infected pregnant women had significantly higher incidence of miscarriages and preeclampsia with higher incidence of perinatal outcomes such as low birth weight babies (LBW), preterm delivery, spontaneous abortion, still birth and low Apgar scores when compared with apparently normal pregnant women (P<0.05 respectively).

Conclusion: the significantly higher cortisol level and BP in HIV pregnant women is indicative of oxidative stress due to perceived stress by HIV infection which might predispose the affected women to hypertension and preeclampsia. The highest adverse reactions observed in HIV pregnant women might be related to the damaged immune system by HIV infection however, the placental defect associated with increased placental permeability to AFP and the activity of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is not related to the activity of stress thereby do not influence their birth outcomes.

An accurate and reliable ultra-violet spectrophotometric method was developed based on the Quality by Design framework, for the determination of sertaconazole nitrate in solid oral dosage form. Sampling interval and scanning speed were the two critical method variables, which were also evaluated by design of experiment approach, for establishing method robustness using optimization technique. Sertaconazole shows absorption maximums at 260 nm, 293 nm and 302 nm, respectively using methanol as solvent. Good linearity was obtained for sertaconazole over concentration of 10-60 μg/ml with R2 >0.99 at all the three wavelengths. The results of validation study were within acceptance limits as per ICH guidelines. The QbD instigated method for determination of sertaconazole nitrate can be highly effective for routine analysis purpose.

Middle molecular weight pharmaceuticals and peptide drugs are now becoming attractive strategy for developing new medicines. Several peptide display techniques, such as phage display and mRNA display, are used for drug discovery. Membrane proteins, such as G-protein coupled receptors, ion channels and transporters are important pharmaceutical targets. Animal peptide toxins contain many type of naturally occurring ligands which effect on several types of membrane proteins. Animal peptide toxins are suitable for a template of peptide display technique against membrane proteins. Along with several peptide display techniques, cost-effective peptide display technique against membrane protein has been developed, named intra periplasm secretion and selection (PERISS). In the PERISS technique, Escherichia coli periplasmic space is used for peptide display, and target membrane proteins are actively expressed inner membrane of Escherichia coli. In this review, several peptide templates for peptide display and application of PERISS technique are discussed.