Background: Cancer incidence and its related mortality is rising and is currently the second leading cause of death globally. In Africa, breast and prostate cancer in females and males, respectively, are the worst globally. However, biomarkers for their early detection and prognosis are not well developed. This study sought to investigate circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) integrity and its potential utility as diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarker. Circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) is degraded DNA fragments released into the blood plasma. In healthy individuals, the source of ccfDNA is solely apoptosis, producing evenly sized shorter DNA fragments. In cancer patients, however, necrosis produces uneven longer cell-free DNA fragments in addition to the shorter fragments originating from apoptosis. DNA integrity, expressed as the ratio of longer fragments to total DNA, may be clinically useful for the detection of breast and prostate cancer progression.Methods: Sixty-four (64) females, consisting of 32 breast cancer patients and 32 controls, and 61 males (31 prostate cancer patients and 30 controls) were included in the study. Each participant donated 5 ml peripheral blood from which sera were separated. Real-time qPCR was performed on the sera to quantify ALU 115 and 247 levels, and DNA integrity (ALU247/ALU115) determined.Results & Conclusion: ALU species 115 and 247 levels in serum were elevated in breast and prostate cancer patients compared to their counterpart healthy controls. DNA integrity was higher in prostate cancer patients than in the control, but in breast cancer patients was lower compared to

BackgroundRecent global reports on malaria suggest significant decrease in disease severity and an increase in control interventions in many malaria endemic countries, including Ghana. However, a major driving force sustaining malaria transmission in recent times is the asymptomatic carriage of malaria parasites, which can enhance immune responses against parasite antigens. This study determined the prevalence and relative avidities of naturally induced antibodies to EBA175RIII–VLl in asymptomatic children living in two communities with varying malaria transmission patterns.MethodsAn asexual stage Plasmodium falciparum antigen, EBA175RIII–VLl was expressed in Lactococcus lactis, purified and used in indirect ELISA to measure total and cytophilic IgG concentrations and avidities in children aged between 6 and 12 years. The children were selected from Obom and Abura, communities with perennial and seasonal malaria transmission, respectively. Venous blood samples were collected in July and October 2015 and again in January 2016. The multiplicity of infection and the genetic diversity of EBA175RIII circulating in both sites were also assessed using polymerase chain reaction.ResultsAsymptomatic parasite carriage in the children from Obom decreased from July (peak season), through October and January, however parasite carriage in children from Abura was bimodal, with the lowest prevalence estimated in October. Antibody concentrations over the course of the study remained stable within each study site however, children living in Obom had significantly higher EBA175RIII–VLl antibody concentrations than children living in Abura (P < 0.05, Mann–Whitney test). Over the course of the study, the relative antibody avidities of EBA175RIII–VLl IgG antibodies were similar within and between the sites.ConclusionNaturally acquired IgG concentrations but not relative antibody avidities to EBA175RIII–V were significantly higher in Obom where malaria transmission is perennial than in Abura, where malaria transmission is seasonal.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12936-017-2167-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Natural exposure to gametocytes can result in the development of immunity against the gametocyte by the host as well as genetic diversity in the gametocyte. This study evaluated the quantity and quality of natural immune responses against a gametocyte antigen, Pfs230 as well as the prevalence and diversity of gametocytes circulating in children living in two communities in southern Ghana. Methods Whole blood (2.5 ml) was collected from 137 non-febrile school children aged between 6 and 12 years old quarterly for a 6-month period. A drop of blood was used to prepare thick and thin blood films for parasite prevalence and density estimation. Subsequently, stored plasma samples were used in ELISAs assays to measure antibody responses and avidity against Pfs230. RNA was extraction from Trizol preserved packed cells and subsequently converted to complementary DNA (cDNA) which was used for reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) to determine gametocytes prevalence and diversity. Results Gametocyte carriage in the peak season (July) determined by Pfg377 RT-PCR was 49.2% in Obom and 22.2% in Abura, and was higher than that determined by microscopy. Gametocyte diversity was low and predominated by the same allele at both sites. The relative avidity index for antibodies measured in Abura was higher than that recorded in Obom at all time points although Pfs230 IgG concentrations were significantly high (P < 0.0001) in Obom than in Abura at all time points. The IgG responses in Obom were significantly higher than that in Abura during the peak season. Conclusion Naturally induced antibody responses against Pfs230 in children living in both high perennial and low seasonal malaria transmission settings reduced significantly in moving from the peak to the off-peak season. The relative avidity of antibodies against Pfs230 in Abura was significantly higher than those measured in Obom, despite having lower IgG levels. Very limited diversity was identified in the gametocytes circulating in both Obom and Abura. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12936-019-2895-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

IntroductionThere is limited data on the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in Ghanaian individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Studies exploring the effect of thyroid hormones on renal function decline are also scanty. Unrecognized thyroid dysfunction in CKD may increase the burden of adverse health outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine thyroid hormone status and lipid profiles in patients with CKD attending the Renal Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.Methods60 clinically euthyroid patients with CKD, and 65 clinically euthyroid subjects without CKD were recruited for this study. Estimation of effective glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was done using the 4-variable Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula with subsequent staging of CKD (stages 2-4). Collected venous blood samples from all study participants were analyzed for creatinine, free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides (TG).ResultsLevels of TC, HDL, LDL, and TSH levels did not differ significantly between the two study groups. However, TG, VLDL, FT3 and FT4 levels were significantly higher in CKD patients than in the control group. TC, TG, HDL, LDL, VLDL and TSH levels were not significantly different between stages of CKD in study subjects, although FT4 and FT3 levels were significantly different between all stages of CKD.ConclusionHigher levels of FT3 and FT4 but not TSH, are associated with the incidence of CKD and eGFR decline in Ghanaian CKD patients.