The study was a comparative evaluation of plasma levels of selenium and zinc trace elements amongst HIV-positive and HIV-negative apparently healthy, individuals. The comparative cross sectional study comprised two groups of forty HIV positive and HIV negative subjects respectively who were gotten by consecutive clinic recruitment and random sampling respectively. A structured questionnaire was used to retrieve the sociodemographic data after obtaining informed consent from willing participants. Blood samples were collected aseptically into ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) vacutainer bottles and later analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Data analyses were carried out using data analysis software EpiInfo 7 and Microsoft Word Excel 2007. Results were presented as mean ± standard deviation and the student t-test was used to compare means with significance set at P≤0.05. Findings included, instructively, a mean plasma selenium (µg/dl) of 0.0052 ± 0.0024 and 0.0223 ± 0.0054 among HIV negative and positive subjects respectively (p <0.00001). This was in contradistinction to plasma zinc levels where in mean plasma levels(µg/dl) were 122.620 ± 8.571 and 83.35 ± 5.49 for HIV negative and positive subjectsrespectively (p < 0.00001). This may be a pointer to the need for supplementation of certain micronutrients during treatment of HIV infection, as had been noted in some other studies.

The study involved the evaluation ofplasma levels of Chromium and Magnesium in diabetic and apparently healthy individuals.This cross sectional study evaluated a total of eighty subjects comprising forty type 2 diabetic patients drawn fromthe University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, and forty apparently healthy individuals from the workforce within the hospital. Anthropometric parameters were measured and blood samples collected from the subjects, who had consented to the study. The glucose indices of the diabetic subjects was estimated by calculating the average fasting plasma glucose in the preceding six months and the subjects grouped into three categories( A (3-7 mmol/dl); B (7-10 mmol/dl); and C (10-14mmol/dl). This glucose index was correlated to the plasma chromium and magnesium levels in the diabetic subjects. Statistical analysis was by IBM SPSS version 21.0. The results showed the mean serum Magnesium(mg/dl) to be 1.48 ± 0.24 in diabetic subjects and 1.96 ± 0.10 in healthy subjects and the mean serumChromium(µg/dl) to be 0.05 ± 0.01 and 0.018 in diabetic and healthy subjects respectively. A positive, though not statisticallysignificant, correlation was noted between the average blood sugar and the serum levels of Chromium and Magnesium in the diabetic subjects.