Background: Cigarette smoking is a behavioural lifestyle in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke breathed into the body system. Thus, cigarette smoking is a known public health challenge given the number of tobacco-related diseases like hypertension, lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) etc. leading to increased mortality in developed and developing countries. Notwithstanding that the effects of smoking are well documented, individuals who practice cigarette smoking are still on the increase most especially in the developing countries. Study Design/Aim: This was a cross-sectional study designed to evaluate the serum levels of Cancer Antigen-242 (CA-242) and Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) in adult male smokers in Nnewi Metropolis, as emerging inflammatory biomarkers. Materials and methods: A total of 135 subjects aged between 16-65 years were selected for this study. They were classified into 2 major groups (test and control); comprising of 85 cigarette smokers (55 and 30 as test subjects for the evaluation of CA-242 and Lp-PLA2) respectively and 50 non-cigarette smokers (35 and 15 as control subjects for CA-242 and Lp-PLA2 evaluations) respectively. A well-structured questionnaire was used for the collation of information from the participants. Results: the mean serum level of Lp-PLA2 was significantly elevated (P<0.05) in cigarette smokers (67.52±27.29) compared with the non-smokers (63.63±20.81). While the serum level of CA-242 among smokers (1.77±0.70) was of no significant difference (P=0.711) when compared with the non-smokers (1.81±0.20). More so, the mean serum levels of Lp-PLA2 correlated positively with the duration of smoking (r=0.297) and age (r=0.085) in male cigarette smokers. However, there were negative relationships when CA-242 were correlated with duration of smoking (r = -0.156) and age of smokers (r=-0.155). Conclusion: The increased level of Lp-PLA2 along with its positive correlation with other traditional markers like age and smoking duration suggests that Lp-PLA2 is a suitable biomarker to predict cardiac related diseases among cigarette smokers. This is because, Lp-PLA2 is a more specific cardiac predictor compared to the non-specific conventional biomarkers. We therefore suggest that Lp-PLA2 as an independent advanced predictor of cardiovascular disease be further evaluated using follow-up studies with better sample size in CVDs related cases

Background: Gestational hypertension (GH) is defined by an elevated blood pressure (BP) at or beyond 20 weeks gestation in the absence of proteinuria in previously known normotensive women. It is the most frequent cause of hypertensive complications during pregnancy ranging from 10% to 17% of all pregnancies. These complications include pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and death if not managed properly. Despite being a major contributor of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of GH have not been fully elucidated. This study was designed to evaluate thyroid function in hypertensive pregnant women. Materials and methods:A total of 300 subjects aged between 22 and 40 years were recruited for this study.These comprised 150 hypertensive and 150 age-matched normotensive individuals as controls. Serum concentrations of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free tri-iodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) were measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay procedure. Result:The mean value of TSH was significantly higher in hypertensive subjects when compared with the control (P<0.05). The mean level of FT3 was significantly decreased in hypertensive subjects when compared with the control subjects (P<0.05). There was no significant difference when the serum level of FT4 was compared between hypertensive and normotensive pregnant women (P>0.05). Furthermore, the serum level of TSH correlated

Background of study: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood disorder affecting red blood cells accompanied with fertility challenges. Apart from distortions in sex hormone levels, accessory sex organs abnormalities may occur. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the fertility status of male subjects with sickle cell disease using progesterone, testosterone and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels as markers. Materials and methods: A total of 90 male subjects (consisting of 30 HbSS subjects in steady state, 30 HbAS individuals and 30 normal subjects (HbAA) as the control subjects) aged 18 to 65 years were randomly recruited for this study. The genotypes of the subjects were determined using electrophoretic procedure while the serum testosterone, FSH and progesterone levels were assessed using ELISA technique. Full blood count was determined by the Sysmex automated procedure and the disease severity was evaluated using the severity scoring technique. Result: There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the mean serum level of testosterone in the different blood genotype groups. Furthermore, a non-significant positive correlation existed between the serum levels of testosterone (r = 0.287), progesterone (r = 0.198) and FSH (r = 0.078) when compared with disease severity in HbSS subjects in steady state (r = 0.287) (P > 0.05) respectively. Conclusion: The significantly decreased serum level of testosterone in HbSS subjects compared with the HbAS and HbAA individuals suggests that there is an increased risk of infertility in male individuals with sickle cell disease.