Serum leptin levels in antiretroviral therapy Naive HIV?1 infected patients in Zaria, Nigeria

This study aimed at determining serum leptin levels in ART naive HIV-1 infected adults in relation to body mass index [BMI], CD4 cell count and presence or absence of symptomatic HIV disease or features of AIDS. This cross sectional study was undertaken in 2008 among patients, attending Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital. Serum leptin levels by ELISA were determined in 40 consecutive sex matched, HIV infected adults [20 normal weight and 20 underweight] and 26 sex matched HIV negative, healthy, normal weight controls. Symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV infected patients as well as AIDS and non-AIDS patients with similar BMI were compared. CD4 cell counts were correlated with leptin levels. The median leptin levels of healthy controls and asymptomatic normal weight patients were not significantly different. Female patients tended to have lower leptin values than male ones. Median leptin was lower in underweight patients when compared to normal weight patients [13.8 vs 39ng/mL, p=0.009] and also lower in symptomatic patients when compared to asymptomatic patients [27.9 vs 43.9ng/mL, p=0.038] but not significantly different between AIDS and non-AIDS cases. Among healthy controls, leptin levels positively correlated with CD4 T counts [r=0.47, p=0.04] but in HIV/AIDS patients the correlation [r=0.28, p=0.07] was not significant. In wasted HIV infected patients, low leptin levels were reflective of loss of adipose mass and were worse in females. It is suggested that independent of the effect of BMI, leptin secretion is down regulated in untreated symptomatic HIV/AIDS patients with secondary infections. The results also suggest that the nor-mal leptin induced rise with CD4 T cell counts may be blunted by untreated HIV infection

efficacy and safety of rosiglitazone with concurrent sulphonylurea therapy in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Nigeria

An open label study was conducted to asses the efficacy and safety of rosiglitazone when administered concurrently with sulphonylurea compounds. Sixty-three type 2 diabetic patients were enrolled in the study in three different centres across Nigeria, Zaria in the north, Lagos in the southwest and Port Harcourt in the southeast. Nigeria is a large country with multiethnic groups. Subjects were randomly divided into two treatment groups; one on only sulphonylurea and the other on rosiglitazone [4 mg daily] for 26 weeks in addition to the current dose of sulphonylurea. Fifty-two subjects [82.5%] completed the study. The addition of rosiglitazone to sulphonylurea therapy resulted in more steady control of fasting plasma glucose [FPG] over time, higher mean change in FPG from baseline and higher proportion of subjects recording HBA1C value of

Obesity, overweight and under weight in suburban northern Nigeria

Weight has long been known to be a determinant of health and disease. Both overweight and underweight are associated with health consequences. We report the results of a community survey of underweight, obesity and overweight in two suburban communities in northern Nigeria. We studied an adult population sample in suburban northern Nigeria. Obesity was defined as BMI >/= 30KgM[-2] while overweight was defined as BMI >/= 25.0 but

Platelet aggregation in diabetic Nigerians

The prevalence of macrovascular thrombosis among African diabetic patients has been shown to be lower than in Caucasians. Differences in platelet aggregation may be responsible for this observation. There has been no previous study of platelet aggregation among type-2 diabetic Nigerians. The aim of this study was to investigate platelet aggregation among diabetic Nigerian patients. Platelets from 34 diabetic patients [24 males, 10 females] and 35 control subjects were studied for aggregation in response to adenosine, ADP, and adrenaline. The intensity of the aggregation was categorized as excellent [>80%], moderate [30% - 79%], and poor [<30%]. Diabetic and control subjects were of similar age, and had similar platelet counts and serum antithrombin III levels. Similarly, both diabetic patients and control subjects demonstrated lower platelet aggregation to collagen, ADP and adrenaline. However, while all control subjects exhibited spontaneous disaggregation with ADP, this was not seen in 14% of the diabetic patients [P<0.05]. In diabetic Nigerians, although there is increased tendency to impaired platelet disaggregation, platelet hyper-aggregability is uncommon and this may be one of the reasons for the observed low incidence of large vessel disease, especially coronary artery disease, in our patients

Simple sugar and caloric contents of soft drinks in Nigeria

Soft drinks are widely consumed in Nigeria and it is generally believed that they contain large amounts of sugars and therefore calories. However, there is as yet no local study to define the composition of these drinks. This information is essential in giving dietary advice, especially in those on special diets. To study sugar and caloric contents of soft drinks marketed in Nigeria. Six different brands of soft drinks that are being marketed all over Nigeria were analysed for their sugar [glucose, fructose and sucrose] and caloric contents. The sugar content per bottle ranges between 3.29 to 7.70 grams per bottle with a caloric value ranging between 13.2 and 30.8 kilocalories per bottle. The implications of these findings are discussed and it is proposed that soft drink manufacturers indicate the caloric value of their products as well as produce sugar free drinks in African countries