Zinc improves sexual performance and erectile function by preventing penile oxidative injury and upregulating circulating testosterone in lead-exposed rats.

AIM: The present study evaluated the effect of lead exposure with and without zinc therapy on male sexual and erectile function. METHODS: Twenty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four groups; the control, zinc-treated, lead-exposed, lead + zinc-treated groups. Administrations were per os daily for 28 days. RESULTS: Zinc co-administration significantly improved absolute and relative penile weights and the latencies and frequencies of mount, intromission, and ejaculation in lead-exposed rats. Also, zinc ameliorated lead-induced reductions in motivation to mate and penile reflex/erection. These findings were accompanied by attenuation of lead-induced suppression of circulating nitric oxide (NO), penile cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), dopamine, serum luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone. In addition, zinc alleviated lead-induced upregulation of penile activities of acetylcholinesterase and xanthine oxidase (XO), and uric acid (UA) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Furthermore, zinc ameliorated the lead-induced decline in penile nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, and catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that co-administration of zinc improves lead-induced sexual and erectile dysfunction by suppressing XO/UA-driven oxidative stress and upregulating testosterone via Nrf2-mediated signaling.

Awareness and Attitudes of Secondary School Students about Physiology Discipline in Southwest Region, Nigeria.

Physiology remains one of the core disciplines on which all biological and medical sciences were founded. In Nigeria, it is known that most students study Physiology at the undergraduate level by chance and not by choice and end up performing poorly, which could be mainly due to low awareness and knowledge of the discipline, its opportunities, and prospects. Therefore, this study investigated the awareness, attitude, and knowledge about physiology among senior secondary school students in Southwest Nigeria. A cross-sectional of 544 students in science-based senior secondary schools in south-west Nigeria were sampled. Our results showed a high level of awareness, with television being the dominant medium of information. However, knowledge of Physiology was low, while most of the students also showed interest in knowing more about it. Although gender does not seem to influence the level of knowledge, females had a better attitude towards learning about physiology. Similarly, residence did not affect attitude, howbeit associated with the level of knowledge. In conclusion, the high awareness and low knowledge observed in this study would give insights to educate students at the early stages of education about the opportunity and prospects of Physiology and other science-related disciplines.

The relevance of the social networking media in Ebola virus disease prevention and control in Southwestern Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: The Social Media (SM) is fast becoming a huge avenue to create and spread health awareness amongst youths. Meanwhile news surrounding the on-going Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa are frightening. This study assessed the relevance of the social networking media in spreading awareness about EVD prevention and control in Southwestern Nigeria. METHODS: Descriptive cross sectional study among 400 youths selected using multistage sampling method. Research instruments used were semi structured self administered questionnaires that were analyzed using the SPSS software version 17.0. RESULTS: Three hundred and eighty (95.0%) of respondents were members of a social network. Several misconceptions trailed the spread of information about EVD. Though only 21(7.3%) bothered to ascertain the reliability of such information before use, 332 (83.0%) believed that SM can also be used to dispel rumours on health information, 337(84.3%) said they would like the use of SM regulated, while 206 (51.6%) still believed that SM is effective in disseminating health information among youths. Only 79.4% had good knowledge of EVD, and 30.7% of respondents had misinformation about EVD. Determinants of good level of knowledge about EVD through SM contacts include being a male, having SM as the first source of information on EVD and believing that SM could assist to disseminate and improve health information. CONCLUSION: Misconceptions spread through the SM fuelled the ongoing EVD outbreak in West Africa. There is a need for the concerned authority to create awareness through SM contacts as well as regulate its use.