Faced with the absence of suitable assays and/or kits for predictive biomarkers, medical practitioners in poor resource settings may be emasculated by the unrelenting upwards prevalence of and uncertain forecast associated with the pre-eclampsia/eclampsia and fetal growth restriction disease spectrum. Low-birth weight and pre-eclampsia due to placental malaria, multiple pregnancy and malnutrition may be reactive oxygen species -and anti-angiogenic factors -dependent.Adjunctive esomeprazole promises to be a treatment regimen that may lead to cure for it has been found to attenuate the known pathophysiologic mechanisms responsible for pre-eclampsia and IUGR which may be imbalance between pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors. The proton pump inhibitor, esomeprazole, decreases the excessive secretion of the anti-angiogenic factors soluble fmslike tyrosine kinase-I (sFlt-I) and soluble endoglin from the placenta responsible for the hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, multiorgan injury and foetal growth restriction in preeclampsia. sFlt-I binds the pro-angiogenic placenta growth factor (PIGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the circulating free forms of which are low in preeclampsia. Case report is of a 32-year old Nigerian housewife who showed significant reduction in blood pressure, proteinuria and pedal oedema with esomeprazole add-on to a regimen of methyl-dopa for severe preeclampsia. The combination significantly (P < 0.05) This report corroborates the accumulating pre-clinical data on the safety and efficacy of esomeprazole in the treatment of preeclampsia, a precursor of eclampsia.

No abstract

The objective of the study was to evaluate the comparative effects of imipramine, sertraline, nifedipine, furosemide and bumetanide on ingestive behavior in rodents. Twelve groups (with six in each group) of male mice (25 to 35 g) were used in the experiments. They were housed in labelled plastic cages in the departmental laboratory and allowed access to food and water ad libitum. Six groups were treated respectively, with 10 mg/kg of furosemide, 5 mg/kg of sertraline, 5 mg/kg of nifedipine, 10 mg/kg of furosemide, 2.5 mg/kg of bumetanide and 0.25 ml of placebo, intraperitoneally daily for 30 days. Another six groups of mice were treated with the combination of furosemide (10 mg/kg) + sertraline (5 mg/kg); bumetanide (2.5 mg/kg) + sertraline (5 mg/kg); furosemide (10 mg/kg) + imipramine (10mg/kg); imipramin (10 mg/kg) + nifedipine (5 mg/kg); furosemide (10 mg/kg) + nifedipine (5 mg/kg) and placebo, respectively. The weights of the mice were recorded weekly for four weeks. Sertraline and imipramine decreased the weights of mice significantly at four weeks when compared to the controls (p < 0.05), while nifedipine and furosemide caused weight increases at four weeks, which is significantly different from the control (p < 0.05). Bumetanide did not cause significant weight increase when compared with controls (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the results suggest that sertraline and imipramine are anorexigenic in mice, while nifedipine and furosemide may be orexigenic.

Ivermectin is an avermectin which is a group of pentacyclic sixteen-membered lactone (macrocyclic lactone disaccharide) derived from the soil bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis. It is a semi-synthetic broad-spectrum anti-helminthic, anti-viral and anti-cancer agent. It has a wide safety margin with low adverse effects when it is used orally. It has, however, so far only been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a broad spectrum anti-parasitic agent. Because ivermectin also has broad activities as an anti-viral agent, we herein review its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic activities, as well as the in vitro and in vivo studies conducted on the drug. It is hoped that this work will pave way for ivermectin being seriously considered as an addition to the drugs available for the management of patients with COVID-19. Keywords: ivermectin; pharmacokinetics; pharmacodynamics; broad-spectrum anti-viral; COVID-19