Climate Change, Pollution, Tropical Season, Hiv-Positive, Hiv-Negative And High Frequency Of Hypovitaminosis D In Patients From Kinshasa, Drc

Background: The main source of vitamin D from the human skin and synthetized by violets B rays emitted by the sun. Environmental factors such us season, climate change, diets, and pollution, are therefore likely to inuence the levels on vitamin D. Furthermore, High frequency of vitamin D deciency is now observed among HIV-infected patients. There is no published data about HIV and Vitamin D despite few scientic articles on HIV and vitamin D status reported by other African countries.Objective:This study sought to determine specically increased prevalence of vitamin D deciency and environmental factors associated with HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative.Methods:Patients followed in Kinshasa hospitals, DRC, where evaluated between the October 2015 and November 2017 period. Serum levels of vitamin D were measured in adult HIV-positives and HIV-negatives during the dry season and the rainy season in the context of climate change and pollution of the megacity of Kinshasa. Results:Five hundred and six patients were enrolled. The prevalence of moderate (≤29 and≥20 ng/mL) and severe (<20 ng/mL) 25-OH vitamin D deciency was12% (n=64) and 54,6% (n=273) respectively, 34,4 %had normal status. 62,4% (n=316) and 4,2% (n= 21) of patients with deciency (<30 ng/ml) 25-OH vitamin D were HIV-positive and HIV-negative respectively. Water pollution, air pollution, dry season, and cold season La Niña we resignicantly associated with 25-OH vitamin D deciency (P<0.0001 and <0,05, respectively). Conclusion:Overall, vitamin D deciency was very high whereas vitamin D deciency was epidemic among HIV-positives in comparison with HIV-negatives. Dry season and La Niña season /climate change-variability related to ultraviolet light and oxidative stress-ecotoxicity related pollution might be considered in the prevention and the treatment of HIV-infection in Kinshasa, DRC, Central Africa.

Feasibility of iFISH patterns in hematologic malignancies among Congolese patients at Kinshasa University clinics

Objective To analyze the feasibility of detecting Ph

Incidence and Predictors of Hand-Arm Musculoskeletal Complaints among Vibration-exposed African Cassava and Corn Millers

BACKGROUND: Cassava and corn milling is a growing small-scale enterprise in Africa. We aimed to determine the incidence of hand-arm musculoskeletal complaints among vibration-exposed Congolese cassava and corn millers in the previous 12 months. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted, prior to a follow-up study, from March to May 2013 among cassava/corn millers in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, in which 365 millers age-matched to 365 civil workers anonymously answered a questionnaire. RESULTS: Overall incidence of hand-arm musculoskeletal complaints was 25.8% in millers (vs. 5.2% in civil workers; p 8 hours; vs. those working < or = 8 hours; OR = 3.56; 95% CI: 1.93-3.61; p = 0.026); and 7.4 times higher in young millers (vs. older millers, OR = 7.39; 95% CI: 1.29-75.52; p < 0.001). Smoking, number of cigarettes, and daily exposure duration were positively correlated with musculoskeletal complaints. CONCLUSION: This study revealed a relatively high incidence of musculoskeletal complaints among African cassava and corn millers. The use of anti-vibration protective equipment and the regulation of this hazardous occupation may reduce the burden of musculoskeletal disorders in millers.

Basal cortisol levels and correlates of hypoadrenalism in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection

To determine the frequency of occurrence of hypoadrenalism in patients with human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection and document the clinical correlates of hypoadrenalism for this group of patients. A descriptive study was carried out on 66 hospitalized HIV patients in a semi-urban setting of South Africa. Hypoadrenalism was diagnosed based on a basal cortisol level of less than 400 nmol/l with or without overt signs and symptoms. Clinical and biochemical parameters of hypoadrenalism were compared between subjects with suboptimal and normal cortisol levels. Statistical analysis included Student's t test, ?[2] and Pearson's correlation coefficient tests. The prevalence of hypoadrenalism was 27% with a high occurrence of contributory factors [cytomegalovirus infection in 100% and tuberculosis in 68.2% of the study subjects]. Typical features of hypoadrenalism included: hyponatremia, 19.6%; hyperkalemia, 6.1%; mucosal hyperpigmentation, 12%, and loss of axillary hair, 15%. Comparison of clinical and biochemical parameters of hypoadrenalism did not show a correlation between CD4 count and cortisol levels [r = 0.1 and p = 0.3]. The prevalence of hypoadrenalism in our patients with HIV infection was high and the clinical features were comparable in subjects with normal and subnormal cortisol levels

Histomorphometric and radioimmunoassay studies of the rat endometrium following peanut oil treatment

The pregnancy rate during in-vitro fertilization [IVF] following progesterone supplement still remains very low at around 20%. To investigate the effects of peanut oil itself on the endometrial receptivity, the pregnancy success rate and fertility during the peri-implantation time in hyper stimulated and normal rats. Thirty-six adult Sprague Dawley rats with at least four regular oestrus cycles were randomly divided into 4 groups: two groups were hyper stimulated by human chorionic gonadotropin [hCG] and treated with progesterone or with peanut oil; the two other groups were not hyper stimulated and treated with saline solution or peanut oil. On day 5.5 of pregnancy, the uterine horns were removed and blood was collected for histomorphometric and serum progesterone evaluation. 12 rats were allowed to continue the presumed pregnancy to term. Analysis of variance [ANOVA] and student t-test were used to compare the means of morphometric and radioimmunoassay data between groups. p-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The mean values of morphometric parameters and serum progesterone varied significantly between the groups [ANOVA, p<0.0001]. The lowest values of progesterone parameters were observed in the hyperstimulated groups that did not deliver pups; both hyperstimulated groups had deleterious luminal epithelium with varying degrees of mucosal projections. There were isolated decidualised zones observed in hyper stimulated peanut oil group, whereas peanut oil group had the highest number of implantation sites and deliveries. The results show that hype stimulation reduces the endometrial receptivity, while peanut oil increases endometrial receptivity, pregnancy rates and fertility by triggering decidualisation