Spawning performance of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) induced with ethanol preserved and fresh catfish pituitary extract.

This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of preserved and fresh pituitary extract of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) to induced spawning in the same species. Growth performance of fry was also monitored for 15 days to determine the possible effect of natural hormone treatment on the fry. Pituitary glands (PG) were obtained from 12 male broodstocks, six extracted PG were preserved in 96% ethanol 24 h before injection, while the other were extracted and used in their fresh state. The PG solutions (1 g ml-1 of saline water) were injected at 1 ml kg-1 of the female broodstock. Ovaprim® (a synthetic hormone) was used as the control and administered at a rate of 0.5 ml kg -1 of fish. After a uniform latency period of 9 h 30 min, fish were striped, fertilized, incubated and the performance evaluated. Results obtained revealed better hatching performance using Ovaprim® synthetic hormone (64.52%), however, preserved PG gave better hatchability (59.74%) than fresh PG extract (51.39%). After 15 days of feeding ad libitum with shell-free Artemia cysts, the growth of fry spawn with preserved PG was comparable with that of the control, while least performance was observed using the fresh PG. It was concluded that preservation of PG in ethanol 24 h before injection had a positive effect on breeding performance and could be exploited in the commercial production of C. gariepinus fingerlings.

Awareness of spina bifida and periconceptional use of folic acid among pregnant women in a developing economy.

BACKGROUND: Folate deficiency in pregnant women is a recognized cause of spina bifida. We sought to establish the level of awareness of spina bifida as well as the use of folate supplementation among pregnant women in a developing economy. METHOD: Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to obtain information from 200 to 20 randomly selected pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at the authors' institution. Demographic information and information on parity, folic acid use and knowledge on spina bifida including its cause, prevention and treatment were obtained. Data analyses were done using Epi Info version 6. RESULTS: The mean age of the women was 30.3 years (range 17-52 years). Sixty-six of the women (30.0 %) were primigravida. Most of the respondents [208 (94.5 %)] have attained, at least, secondary level of education. The average gestational age at antenatal clinic booking was 20.7 weeks (range 4-38 weeks), while the average gestational age at commencement of folic acid use was 18.5 weeks (range 4-38 weeks). None of them used folic acid in the preconception period. Knowledge about spina bifida is poor and a significant number [103 (46.8 %)] have superstitious belief about its aetiology. Only 56 (25.5 %) of the respondents are aware that folic acid use prevents its occurrence; however, 194 (88.2 %) are willing to receive periconceptional folate supplementation. CONCLUSION: There is paucity of knowledge about spina bifida among Nigerian pregnant women despite their high level of formal education. We advocate an aggressive public health campaign to enlighten the women about spina bifida and encourage periconceptional folate supplementation.

THE PROFILE AND SURGICAL TREATMENT OF SYRINGOMYELIA IN NIGERIAN PATIENTS.

BACKGROUND: Syringomyelia is an often progressive disorder of the spinal cord. There is a dearth of reports in the African population. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study describes the profile and the outcome of treatment in our population of patients. DESIGN OF THE STUDY: A retrospective review of patients surgically treated for syringomyelia over a ten year period. SETTING: Department of Neurological Surgery, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight patients were surgically treated for Syringomyelia over the period 2004-2014. We extracted data on their gender, age, aetiology, syrinx location, diagnosis, operative procedure and outcome. Simple statistical analysis was done. RESULTS: There were five males and three females. The mean age was 31.6(SD15.3) years (median: 32.5 years). The causes of the syrinx were: Chiari malformation (3), intramedullary spinal tumour (2), foramen magnum tumour (1), post-traumatic (1), and iatrogenic chemical arachnoiditis (1). The syrinx location was: cervical region (4), cervicothoracic region (2) and multi-level (2). The operative procedures were posterior fossa decompression (2), sub-occipital craniectomy with laminectomy and tumour excision (2), laminectomy and syringomyelotomy (2), laminectomy and tumour excision (1), and ventriculoperitoneal shunting (1). The duration of follow up was 2 weeks to 35 months. Outcome was satisfactory in six patients. A child who had initial ventriculoperitoneal shunting died at home before definitive surgery, and an adult male died of respiratory insufficiency post operatively. CONCLUSION: Syringomyelia is rare in our population. It affects young patients, typically in the cervico-thoracic region. The aetiologies are similar to those from previous reports. The outcome of surgical treatment in our small group of patients is satisfactory.