The overall survival rate was low and patients with early breast cancer had better survival than those with advanced disease. Majority of the patients were young premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer.

Polyphenols have been shown in both in vitro and in vivo experiments to induce responses that are consistent with the protective effects of diets rich in fruits and vegetables against degenerative conditions such as cardiovascular disorders and cancer. Red palm oil, extracted from the fruit mesocarp of Elaeis guineensis is very important in the diet of many Nigerians, and indeed many citizens of developing countries living around the tropics. It contains antioxidant components such as carotenoids (alpha, beta, and gamma carotenes) and vitamin E (tocophorols and tocotrienols), which are of known nutritional and health benefits, but the antioxidant polyphenol contents of this oil is not fully explored. To assess the total antioxidant potential due partly to the scavenging of reactive oxygen specie (ROS) and the inhibition of the enzyme, xanthine oxidase, the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase assay system and the 2-deoxyguanosine-assay model were utilized. These revealed that the oil possesses promising antioxidant and radical scavenging activities with IC 50 values of 95 µM and 219 µM for the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase and 2-deoxyguanosine assays, respectively. Liquid-Chromatography with Electrospray -Ionization Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI) showed the presence of the antioxidant, 3,4 hydroxybenzyaldehyde, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, syringic acid and ferulic acid in the red palm oil. Thus, in addition to antioxidant compounds like carotenoids, and vitamin E, the red palm oil also contains a rich mixture of phenolic compounds with potent antioxidant and radical scavenging capacities that might also account significantly for its widely reported capacity to modulate stress-related disorders.

ObjectivePostoperative pain is one of the most common complications of surgery. The pattern of management varies between centers. The current study aimed to study the prescription pattern and the common drugs used in the management of postoperative pain in adult surgical patients at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH; Zaria, Nigeria).MethodsFollowing ethical approval, a prospective observational study of consecutive adult patients who had surgery at the ABUTH Zaria was performed from January to December 2005. The data were entered into a proforma and analyzed using the Minitab statistical package.ResultsOne hundred and thirty-eight patients were included in the study. The age range was 17 to 80 years, with a mean age of 41 years. One hundred and thirty-two (95.7%) of the prescriptions were written solely by the surgeon or surgical resident; passive suggestions were given by the anesthetists for only six patients (4.3%). Intermittent intramuscular injections of opioids/opiates were prescribed for 126 patients (91.3%), while nine patients (6.5%) received intermittent intramuscular injections with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Oral paracetamol was prescribed for six patients (4.3%), while three patients (2.1%) received no postoperative analgesic. Moderate pain was recorded in 48 patients (34.8%), and 90 patients (65.2%) had mild pain 8 hours after their operation before subsequent doses of analgesics were given. More females (81 patients [58.7%]), than males (42 patients [29.7%]) suffered moderate to severe pain. The reported side effects were nausea (reported by 32.6% of patients), dry mouth (21.7%), vomiting (13.0%), and urinary retention (6.5%), with 32.6% of patients experiencing no side effects. The three patients who received no analgesics experienced vomiting as a side effect. Despite the high incidence of pain and other side effects, 108 patients (78.2%) still reported that the methods of postoperative pain management were satisfactory.ConclusionDespite recent advances and the development of more effective techniques for postoperative pain control, a high proportion of patients still experience moderate to severe postoperative pain. Intermittent intramuscular injection of analgesic medication remains the mainstay of postoperative pain management at the ABUTH Zaria. Anesthetists should be more involved in postoperative analgesia prescriptions and should include other forms of multimodal pain management in their regimens. With proper application of current knowledge and training, postoperative pain management can be improved.

Solvent extracts of the various parts of Boswellia dalzielii (leaves, stem bark and root bark) were screened in
vitro and in vivo for antitrypanosomal activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Methanolic extract of the
leaves, stem bark and root bark of Boswellia dalzielii at 20 mg/ml caused motility to cease after 35, 20 and 20
minutes, respectively while at 10 mg/ml, motility ceased at 50, 30 and 20 minutes respectively. Chloroform
extract of root bark of the plant caused motility to cease after 40 minutes at concentration of 20 mg/ml. In vivo
activity of methanol extract of the plant on T. brucei brucei infected mice showed consistent parasitemic
suppressions at 300 mg/kg with methanolic extract of the leaves displaying highest activity. Reagent-based
chemical analysis conducted on the extract revealed the presence of saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins,
resins, steroids and triterpenes. These findings suggest that methanolic extract of Boswellia dalzielii leaves is
more effective than other parts of the plant, and hence deserve further evaluation in the therapy of
trypanosomiasis

The clinical course of a missing partial denture with secondary BOF in an alcoholic is presented. In the index case we report an exceptional clinical course of a patient who did not ascribe his symptoms to his ''missing'' dentures for several years, the odontologist who replaced an unrecovered denture, and the generalist who administered the barium swallow in an unsuspected BOF. Preoperative optimization of the patient was by blenderized local feeds through a feeding tube gastrostomy and by chest physiotherapy. Extraction of the denture and closure of fistula were done through a right thoracotomy. The importance of a high index of clinical suspicion of BOF in a low resource setting to avoid the morbidity and mortality associated with missing dentures is discussed. Odontologists, caregivers and clinicians must educate patients on the hazards of missing dentures and cases of missing / lost dentures should be adequately investigated / explored in the patient's history and clinical assessment before they are replaced.