Background: Studying post-prandial fluctuations in blood glucose has high physiological and clinical relevance. Physical exercise is known to influence this fluctuation. Objectives: To determine the gender difference in glucose tolerance following physical exercise in a population of university students. Methods: A total of 146 students were randomly selected from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Sagamu, Ogun State, southwest Nigeria. Following overnight fast, Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) was carried out. Pre-exercise, fasting blood glucose (FBG) was measured at 0 mins, and after oral glucose load of 75 grams at 30 minutes intervals for 2 hours. The physical exercise involved cycling using a bicycle ergometer for an hour. Thereafter, OGTT was conducted again 1 hour post-exercise. Results: The ages of the subjects ranged from 20 years to 49 years. There were 73 (50.0%) females. The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) of 23.5±1.1 kg/m2 for females was comparable to 22.8±0.3 kg/m2 for the males (p = 0.571). Seven (9.6%) females were obese compared to 2 (2.7%) males. The mean post-prandial blood glucose increased from 71.6±1.6 mg/dl to 90.8±1.8 mg/dl after oral glucose load and thereafter to 88.0±4.2 mg/dl at 120 minutes among males. The post-exercise blood glucose patterns included a significant reduction in the mean FBS for males compared to females (64.5±1.9 mg/dl vs. 71.7±1.9 mg/dl; p = 0.001) Conclusions: Glucose tolerance with exercise is better in females than males. The clinical importance of physical exercise lies in its effect on glucose tolerance.

Background: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head is likely to be a complex of diseases rather than a single entity. In sub-Saharan Africa, epidemiological studies on the subject are uncommon. Objectives: To determine hip function, radiographic severity and other characteristics of patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) at presentation in a sub-Saharan Africa population Methods: A combined prospective clinical survey and retrospective chart review of patients was done. Results: Fifty hips in 44 patients were studied (29 retrospectively and 15 prospectively). The prevalence of ONFH was 1.6%. The mean age was 24.8±13.2 years. The lesion was unilateral in 86.4% and bilateral in 13.6% of the hips. Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) occurred in 43.2%, sickle cell trait in 13.6%, and 20.5% of cases were idiopathic. Overall, 12% of affected hips were presented early, and all the hips were painful at presentation. Of the 18 hips studied prospectively, 72.2% had necrosis >30% and >30% subchondral collapse in 61.1%. The mean combined necrotic angle was moderate size, 197o±29.7o and 177.2o±69.4o for the right and left hips, respectively (p = 0.8). The mean WOMAC scores were 37.2 ±17.4 for function, 10.2±4.3 for pain and 4.2±2.7 for stiffness. Conclusion: Patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head tended to be young adults and those with SCD. The majority present with large-sized osteonecrosis and subchondral collapse but moderate hip pain and stiffness.

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Background: Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is known to be preceded by a long pre-diabetic stage. Family studies have confirmed that the incidence of T2DM in the first-degree offspring of T2DM patients is higher than in the non-diabetic population. The levels of plasma fibrinogen and HbA1c in offspring of T2DM patients may be markers of the development of T2DM later in life. Objectives: To determine the plasma fibrinogen and HbA1c levels of normoglycaemic offspring of T2DM patients.  Methods: This study involved randomly selected 100 offspring of T2DM patients (ODP) and 100 offspring of non-diabetic parents (ONDP) aged between 16 and 40 years. Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG), plasma fibrinogen and HbA1c and height and body weight were measured using standard methods.  Results: The mean age of the ODP and ONDP were similar: 23.3±0.44 years and 23.44 ±0.40 years, respectively. The mean BMI was 23.83±0.42kg/m2 for ODP and 23.20±0.29kg/m2 for ONDP. The prevalence of overweight was 13.0% and 25.0% among the ODP and ONDP, respectively. The mean plasma fibrinogen was significantly higher in ODP (322.85 ± 5.15g/l vs 303.11 ±4.92 g/l; p = 0.006). The mean plasma HbA1c was also significantly higher among OND (5.13±0.03% vs 4.76±0.05; p = 0.000). Conclusions: The plasma fibrinogen and HbA1c levels are higher among ODP than ONDP. This pattern of variations may serve as a reason for instituting precautionary measures since it predates the development of T2DM.