African health sciences
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African health sciences · Jun 2012
Prevalence and risk factors of erectile dysfunction in Niger delta region, Nigeria.
Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is one of the major social problems causing significant distress in men. Despite the increasing difficulty in management, knowledge, and understanding of factors responsible for its development are important for prevention and care. ⋯ ED is a common problem among men in Niger Delta region. Therefore, efforts must be made to reduce the incidence by dealing with the factors responsible for its development.
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African health sciences · Jun 2012
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism and breast cancer risk in Moroccan women.
Methylenetetrahydrofolate (MTHFR) enzyme plays an important role in folate metabolism which is involved in DNA methylation, repair, and synthesis. ⋯ In the light of our preliminary study, 677T allele and 677CT MTHFR genotype may represent a genetic determinant increasing breast cancer risk in Moroccan women. A larger study including a larger sample size and more information is needed to confirm our conclusions.
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African health sciences · Jun 2012
Causes of visual disability among Central Africans with diabetes mellitus.
Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) remains a common and one of the major causes of blindness in the developed and western societies. The same situation is shown in emerging economic areas (5,6). In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) however, the issues of visual disability due to diabetes mellitus (DM) are overshadowed by the presence of the prevalent and common nutritional deficiency diseases and eye infections ⋯ The risk of visual disability is 4 times higher in patients with diabetic retinopathy and 2 times higher in females with DM. Therefore, to prevent further increase of visual disability, the Congolese Ministry of Health should prioritize the eye care in patients with DM.
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African health sciences · Jun 2012
Predicting mortality and length-of-stay for neonatal admissions to private hospital neonatal intensive care units: a Southern African retrospective study.
To predict neonatal mortality and length of stay (LOS) from readily available perinatal data for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions in Southern African private hospitals. ⋯ Apgar score at one minute, birth weight, and delivery mode significantly influence the odds of neonatal death and are associated with significant effects on LOS.
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African health sciences · Jun 2012
Association of paraoxonase activity and atherosclerosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
The hepatitis B virus is a significant pathogen that causes cirrhosis, and hepatocellular cancer as a result of the damage it causes to liver cells. Its infection affects more than 400 million people globally. Although there is an effective vaccine and treatment methods, almost 1, 000, 000 people die every year. ⋯ The diminution in the paraoxonase-1 and arylesterase activities could contribute to the accelerated development of atherosclerosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.