ABSTRACT
Background: Surrogate markers have been identified to play significant role in the pathogenesis and prognosis of HIV infection. However, there is limited data on the utility of neopterin estimation in HIV infection. Therefore, the study sought to measure and ascertains the trends of serum neopterin and other biochemical parameters as indicators of predicting HIV disease progression and treatment response among HIV seropositive individuals Methods: A cross-sectional study with 298 HIV seropositive individuals consisting of 165 HIV on highly active antiretroviral treatment and 136 naïve highly active antiretroviral patients. Venous blood was drawn for the assay of neopterin and the other biochemical parameters.Results:Neopterin was significantly lower (P<0.0001) in patients in the highly active antiretroviral therapy than those in the naïve highly active antiretroviral therapy group. Serum neopterin increased as the disease progresses and decreased as the duration of the therapy treatment increased (p=0.0001). At a cut of point of 54.5nmol/L, neopterin gave a sensitivity of 97.5%, specificity of95.9% and an area under the curve of 0.99.Conclusion: Neopterin has shown to be to be good marker in predicting HIV disease progression especially in patients with CD4 counts less than 200mm-3and a useful indicator of patient’s response to therapy treatment.
ABSTRACT
Aims: To assess the semen characteristics of primary and secondary male infertile couples in the Kumasi metropolis. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi; between February 2012 and May 2013. Methodology: The study involved 150 men whose female partners reported to the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Komfo Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Ashanti Region of Ghana for infertility treatment. Semen of the respondents were examined for various characteristics (viscosity, pH, volume, presence of RBC and bacteria, motility, etc). Results: Eighty-eight partners involved in the study representing 59% of total respondents were partners of primary infertile couples whereas 41% were partners of secondary infertile couples. Semen abnormalities were reported in terms of sperm motility, sperm concentration, pH and presence of bacteria and these were significantly different among primary and secondary infertile couples. Conclusion: Sperm abnormalities influence infertility among males of infertile couples. There is the urgent need to include male partners in the screening, detection and treatment of infertility among couples.