A comparative evaluation of fixed dose and separately administered combinations of lisinopril and hydrochlorothiazide in treatment-naïve adult hypertensive patients in a rural Nigerian community.

Background: Antihypertensive drugs administered as fixed dose combination (FDC) therapy compared to separately administered combination therapy have been proposed to improve treatment compliance/adherence, and therefore the efficacy of blood pressure (BP) control treatment. Aim: The aim of this present study is to compare the blood pressure control, renal end-organ protection and medication compliance/adherence in patients receiving FDC and those receiving separately administered combinations of Lisinopril and Hydrochlorothiazide in treatment-naive hypertensive adult patients in a rural Nigerian community. Method: ology: This randomized two-arm prospective longitudinal 8-week parallel-group study was carried-out for 6-month at the Ajegunle Community between April 2018 and October 2018. Efficacy variables included the changes from baseline in mean sitting systolic BP (MSSBP) and mean sitting diastolic BP (MSDBP). Medication safety, compliance/adherence and renal end-organ protection were assessed. Results: The baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. Prevalence of hypertension was found to be 32.9%. The mean blood pressure of all the participants was 165.6 ± 16.5 mmHg and 98.5 ± 11.5 mmHg for systolic BP and diastolic BP respectively, while the mean pulse rate of the participants was 85.0 ± 13.4 beats/min. At the 8-week end point, both regimens had achieved significant reductions from baseline in MSSBP (-33.18 and -37.16 mm Hg, respectively; both, P < 0.05) and MSDBP (-12.97 and -17.53 mm Hg; both, P < 0.05). Both regimens were generally well tolerated. Adherence was better in the FDC arm and there was no any reported case of proteinuria occurrence in both arms. Conclusion: The high prevalence of hypertension in the community shows that there is unmet need in diagnosis and awareness of the disease. Both combination therapies were well tolerated; but the FDC antihypertensive therapy resulted in statistically significant amount of BP reductions than the separately administered combination antihypertensive therapy. Making FDCs available and affordable will help many hypertensive patients to achieve their target BP control goals easily.

Evaluating the hepatoprotective, ameliorative and antioxidant potentials of the crude aqueous leafy extracts of Mangifera indica plant against acute paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in a mouse model.

Background: Drug-induced hepatotoxicity is a major public health issue of concern. It significantly affects the development of new pharmaceutical drugs and has led to the withdrawal of many promising pharmaceutical drugs from the pharmaceutical market. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective, ameliorative and antioxidant effects of the crude aqueous leafy extract of Mangifera indica plant and its different separating medium fractions against acute acetaminophen (paracetamol)-induced hepatotoxicity in a mouse model. Methods & materials: Twelve different groups of six mice (three males and three females) were used for this study. Acetaminophen at a single lethal hepatotoxic dose of 3 g/kg was orally administered on the seventh day to the mice in groups 2 to 12 after their 6-day pretreatment duration for the induction of hepatotoxicity; and were then left for 24 hours before the collection of specimen samples were completed, while group 1 served as control. Results: The crude aqueous leafy extract of M. indica (125-250 mg/kg) produced a dose-dependent reversal of the lethal hepatotoxic effect of oral 3 g/kg dose of paracetamol. At the dose of 250 mg/kg, it significantly (p < 0.0001) reduced the levels of hepatic enzymes markers (alanine transaminase [ALT], aspartate transaminase [AST] and alkaline phosphatase [ALP]) in the serum of treated animals. Also, the effects of the crude aqueous leafy extract were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.0001) more than that of its different separating medium fractional components. Conclusion: The findings from this study demonstrated that the crude aqueous leafy extract of M. indica possesses hepatoprotective effect, possibly mediated through the induction of antioxidant enzymes to prevent the occurrence of oxidative stress damage or most likely through the inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators which are being induced by the lethal hepatotoxic dose of paracetamol.

Contemporary and emerging pharmacotherapeutic agents for the treatment of Lassa viral haemorrhagic fever disease.

This review was designed to discuss the emerging and current pharmacotherapeutic agents for the treatment of Lassa viral haemorrhagic fever disease (LVHFD), also known as Lassa fever (LF). Original peer-reviewed articles that investigated LF were identified using the Medline Entrez-PubMed search. Information was also sourced from printed textbooks and reports by recognized health professional bodies such as the WHO, CDC, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). A total of 103 articles were reviewed and 78 were found to contain information relevant to the study. LF remains an endemic disease of public health concern in the West Africa region, and in the rest of the world as cases have been imported into non-endemic regions as well. Currently, there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the treatment of Lassa mammarenavirus (LASV) infection. There are, however, off-label therapeutics being used (ribavirin and convalescent plasma) whose efficacy is suboptimal. Research is still ongoing on possible therapeutic options and drug repurposing of therapeutic agents currently in use for other clinical conditions. Considered therapeutic options include favipiravir, taribavirin, Arevirumab-3 and experimental drugs such as losmapimod, adamantyl diphenyl piperazine 3.3, Arbidol (umifenovir) and decanoyl-RRLL-chloromethyl ketone (dec-RRLL-CMK). Current treatments for LF are limited, hence the institution of mitigating measures to prevent infection is of utmost importance and should be prioritized, especially in endemic regions. Heightened searches for other therapeutic options with greater efficacy and lower toxicity are still ongoing, as well as for vaccines as the absence of these classifies the disease as a priority disease of high public health impact.

Association of hypoalbuminemia and reversal of albumin-to-globulin ratio with morbidity outcome among hospitalized Lassa fever infected patients at a dedicated treatment center in Ondo state, south-western Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: As of this present moment, there is paucity of data on report concerning the association between hypoalbuminaemia or reversal of albumin-to-globulin ratio and morbidity outcome in Lassa fever (LF) infection as a crucial determinant prognostic-predictor factor for treatment-survival outcome. AIM: This study was designed to determine the association between hypoalbuminaemia, reversal of albumin-to-globulin ratio and morbidity outcome among confirmed LF infected patients. METHODOLOGY: This was a descriptive retrospective study involving the assessment of records of confirmed LF infected patients that were managed at the center from November 2018 to October 2019. RESULTS: Out of 83 recruited participants with complete records, 66 (79.5%) had hypoalbuminaemia, 74 (89.2%) had reversal of albumin-to-globulin ratio. A higher mean value of total white blood cell (WBC) count was observed among patients with hypoalbuminaemia (p < 0.0001) and reversal of albumin-to-globulin ratio (p < 0.0001) when compared to patients with normal values, respectively. Also, this study showed statistically significant associations between serum albumin level versus total WBC count (p < 0.0001), acute kidney injury (AKI; p = 0.009), bleeding diathesis (p < 0.0001), and occurrence of pregnancy miscarriage (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: There is a baseline hypoalbuminaemia and reversal of albumin-to-globulin ratio among confirmed LF infected patients. Based on these findings, the serum level of albumin and albumin-to-globulin ratio at presentation may serve as simple early biomarkers to identify patients at high risk for a complicated clinical course of disease. This study also reveals that those hospitalized LF infected patients with hypoalbuminemia and/or reversal of albumin-to-globulin ratio tend to have leucocytosis and experience prolonged duration of illness.

A prospective study of the effect of antihypertensive medications on the sexual functions of hypertensive adult male patients.

BACKGROUND: The potential for antihypertensive medications to produce deleterious adverse effects on sexual functions among hypertensive adult male patients has been widely reported, such adverse effects may limit drug adherence and compliance. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of antihypertensive medication use on sexual functions among hypertensive adult male patients. METHODOLOGY: The study was carried out at the outpatient clinic of a Nigerian University Teaching Hospital. A total of one hundred and fifty-nine recruited hypertensive adult male patients that were being managed at the center over a 3-month period between January 2017 and April 2017 participated in the study; provided they satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria for enrolment. RESULTS: The respondents were between 30 and 98 years of age, (mean of 59 ± 11.1 years). Blood pressure recorded was during their initial medical diagnosis for hypertension. Systolic blood pressure recorded was between 128 and 194 mmHg (mean of 162 ± 16.4 mmHg), while their diastolic blood pressure was between 78 and 120 mmHg (mean of 95 ± 10.7 mmHg). The highest occurrence of sexual dysfunctions was associated with calcium-channel blockers in 32 (20.1%) patients, followed by diuretics in 27 (17.0%) and, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in 20 (12.6%) patients. CONCLUSION: Calcium channel blockers caused the highest occurrence of sexual dysfunctions.

The emergence of new antidepressants for clinical use: Agomelatine paradox versus other novel agents.

This study was designed with the rational aim of discussing the emerging antidepressant agents that are likely to bring positive landmark, tremendous improvement and significant impact to the management of patients with depression disorders. It also elaborates on the Agomelatine paradox vis-a-vis the other novel antidepressant agents. The emerging antidepressants are: selective monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) such as bifemelane, pirlindole, toloxatone, selegiline, rasagiline and safinamide; serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as ansofaxine, nefopam and levomilnacipran; norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs) such as Reboxetine, viloxazine, teniloxazine (also known as sulfoxazine or sufoxazine), and atomoxetine; Vilazodone (a serotonin 5-HT1A autoreceptor partial agonist with serotonin reuptake inhibition [SPARI]); Vortioxetine (a serotonin receptors antagonist with serotonin reuptake inhibition [SARI]); atypical antipsychotics such as olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, lurasidone, aripiprazole and brexpiprazole; N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-glutamatergic neurotransmission system blockers such as ketamine, CP-101,606 (traxoprodil), GLYX-13 (rapastinel), NRX-1074 (Apimostinel) and Riluzole. While Agomelatine (a melatonergic MT 1 and MT 2 receptors agonist and a selective serotonergic 5-HT 2B and 5-HT 2C receptors antagonist [MASSA]) remains a paradoxical agent that doesn't fit into any of the currently available classes of antidepressant agents and its pharmacological properties also deemed it unfit and inappropriate to be classified into another separate novel class of antidepressants contrary to the reports published in previous reference literatures. Lastly, this review remarkably advocates for the incorporation of the atypical antipsychotics and NMDA-glutamatergic ionoceptor blockers as new member classes of the antidepressant agents because of their clinically significant roles in the management of depression disorders.

Prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency among metformin-treated type 2 diabetic patients in a tertiary institution, South-South Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The risk of chronic metformin pharmacotherapy to cause vitamin B12 deficiency and its associated medical complications has been of immense concern among diabetic patients. Some studies have postulated that vitamin B12 deficiency is highly prevalent among chronic metformin-treated adult diabetic patients. AIM: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency among metformin-treated and metformin-naïve type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a case-control, prospective, analytical, observational study of 200 adult participants (100 per group) attending the Endocrinology, Medical Out-patients Clinic of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria. The participants' serum vitamin B12 levels were determined using an immunoassay technique. Data were presented using tables and charts. Chi-square test was used to compare non-continuous proportional variables. RESULTS: The prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency was 41% and 20% among metformin-treated and metformin-naïve type 2 diabetes mellitus groups, respectively (p = 0.001). Borderline vitamin B12 status was present among 59% of metformin-treated group and 80% of metformin-naïve group (p = 0.001). Neither metformin-treated nor metformin-naïve groups had normal serum vitamin B12 levels. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency was significantly high in diabetics, especially the metformin-treated patients. We advocate for vitamin B12 supplementation among this group of patients in order to prevent the occurrence of vitamin B12 deficiency complications such as macro-ovalocytic anemia, impaired immunity with hypersegmented neutrophils, peripheral neuropathy and subacute degeneration of the spinal cord.

Assessment of prescribed medications and pattern of distribution for potential drug-drug interactions among chronic kidney disease patients attending the Nephrology Clinic of Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Sub-Saharan West Africa.

INTRODUCTION: Life expectancy has increased significantly among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients due to the extensive use of polypharmacy practice for medication prescriptions. This predisposes them to potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs), which can lead to an increase in morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay, and health care cost. METHODS: This was a 30-month retrospective study that reviewed the medical case records of consenting adult CKD patients from January 2014 to June 2016. The Medscape drug reference database was used to evaluate patients' medications for potential DDIs. RESULTS: This study involved 123 adult CKD patients (63 [51.22%] males and 60 [48.78%] females) with a mean age of 53.81±16.03 years. The most common comorbid conditions were hypertension (112 [91.10%]) and diabetes mellitus (45 [36.60%]). Regarding the form of nephrological interventions being offered, the majority of the respondents - 66 (53.66%) were on maintenance dialysis, followed by 53 (43.09%) respondents on conservative care, while 4 (3.25%) respondents were on renal transplantation. A total of 1264 prescriptions were made, and the mean number of prescribed medications per patient was 10.28±3.85. The most frequently prescribed medications were furosemide (88 [71.6%]), heparin (67 [54.47%]), lisinopril (65 [52.9%]), oral calcium carbonate (CaCO3) (63 [51.2%]), α-calcidol (62 [50.4%]), and erythropoietin (61 [49.6%]). A total number of 1851 potential DDIs were observed among 118 patients. The prevalence of potential DDIs in this study was 78.0%, while the mean DDI per prescription was 1.50. Among the potential DDIs observed, the severity was mild in 639 (34.5%) patients, moderate in 1160 (62.7%) patients, and major in 51 (2.8%) patients and only 1 (0.1%) patient was of contraindicated drug combination. The most frequent DDIs' pattern observed was between oral CaCO3 and oral ferrous sulfate. There was a statistically significant association between the number of prescribed medications and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; pre-ESRD and ESRD staging) with a P-value of 0.00000119. This implies that the number of prescribed medications increases as the eGFR declines in advance CKD stage patients. CONCLUSION: Most of these interactions have moderate severity and delayed onset, hence the need to follow-up these patients after prescription in order to reduce associated morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay, and health care cost. Physicians and clinical pharmacists should utilise available interaction software to avoid harmful DDIs in these patients.