An assessment of drug and substance abuse prevalence: a cross-sectional study among undergraduates in selected southwestern universities in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence and awareness of drug and substance abuse among undergraduates in four southwestern universities in Nigeria. METHODS: The sample of 400 students included 100 male and female students in the 15- to 29-year age range from each of the four selected universities in southwest Nigeria between December 2019 and June 2020. Descriptive statistics and Pearson chi-square tests were used for data analysis using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). RESULTS: Four hundred students satisfied the inclusion criteria and suitably completed the questionnaire. Most respondents were in the 15- to 19-year and 20- to 24-year age groups and were female (68%). Drug and substance abuse prevalence was 45.7%; one in every four students abused substances despite an aggregate risk awareness level of 94.6%. Alcohol and cigarettes-legally and socially accepted substances-were the most abused (61.5% and 54.5%, respectively). Codeine-containing syrup and tramadol topped the list of drugs, ranking higher than cannabis. The major motive was to 'get high' and numb emotional problems caused by predominantly socioeconomic and societal factors. CONCLUSION: The study showed a notable prevalence of drug and substance abuse across the selected universities in southwest Nigeria.

Observable Protective Activities of Quercetin on Aluminum Chloride-Induced Testicular Toxicity in Adult Male Wistar Rat.

BACKGROUND: Aluminum chloride (AlCl3 ) present in many manufactured consumable is considered as a toxic element. AIM: Our study evaluates the toxic effects induced by AlCl3 on the testes as well as the therapeutic tendency of Quercetin (QUE) agent as an antioxidant. SETTING AND DESIGN: In the department of Anatomy of Medical School. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Thirty-two male Wistar rats weighing approximately 170 ± 10 g were assigned into four groups with eight each, fed with rat chow and water ad-libitum. Group A served as control and was given distilled water throughout; Group B was given only QUE (200 mg/kg body weight) for 21 days; Group C was given only AlCl3 (300 mg/kg body weight) for 14 days; and Group D was given AlCl3 (300 mg/kg body weight) for 14 days followed with QUE (200 mg/kg body weight) for 21 days. Substance administrations were done orally. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the data, in GraphPad Prism 6.0 being the statistical software. RESULTS: AlCl3 significantly reduced the relative organ (testes) weight, correlating the decrease in sperm count, sperm motility and sperm viability. Furthermore, there was a decrease in luteinizing hormone with an increase in follicle-stimulating hormone which accounted for a significant reduction in testosterone level that plays a great role in spermatogenesis, following AlCl3 treatment. The cytoarchitecture of the testes showed degenerative changes in the seminiferous tubules and leydin cells, nitric oxide synthases immunoreactivity was intense in the seminiferous epithelium of rat in Group C. CONCLUSION: These suggest that QUE antioxidant property could reverse the decrease in sperm status, hormonal effects, and functional deficit induced by aluminum chloride on the testes of Wistar rats.

Zingiber officinale Ethanolic Extract Attenuated Reserpine-Induced Depression-Like Condition and Associated Hippocampal Aberrations in Experimental Wistar Rats.

BACKGROUND: Repeated and regimented treatment with reserpine causes depression-like condition characterized by persistent mood disorder, feelings of severe despondency and dejection, thus altering the hippocampal morphology. Our study compared a well-known antidepressant (fluoxetine), with the potential of Zingiber officinale to ameliorate reserpine-induced depression and the associated hippocampal cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) neuronal cell damage. METHODS: Forty-eight male Wistar rats, weighing 130-160 g, were randomly assigned to 6 groups (n=8), housed in plastic cages under natural light and dark cycles at room temperature with access to feed and water ad libitum. Group-A (control) received distilled water. Group-B and Group-C orally received 400 mg/kg of Zingiber officinale and 10 mg/kg of fluoxetine, respectively, for 7 days, while Group-D intraperitoneally received 0.2 mg/kg of reserpine for 14 days. Group-E and Group-F intraperitoneally received 0.2 mg/kg of reserpine for 14 days followed by 400 mg/kg of Zingiber officinale and 10 mg/kg of fluoxetine respectively for 7 days. All animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation at the end of experiment, and the brains hippocampi were dissected, excised and processed for various analyses including histology [H&E], histochemistry of GFAP expression by astrocytes and specific gene expressions including p53 gene, glutathione reductase (GSR), glutathione peroxidase and catalase (CAT). RESULTS: Reserpine significantly depleted the expression of P53 and glutathione reductase (GSR) genes while significantly increasing the expression of glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx-1) gene (P≤0.05). Also, a marked increase in the expression of catalase (CAT) gene was observed. Furthermore, histoarchitecture (photomicrographs) of hippocampus CA1 region showed disruption in the arrangement of pyramidal neurons and alterations in their morphologies when animals were treated with reserpine (Group D). There was also accompanying increased astrocyte densities within the CA1 region following reserpine treatment. These features indicated deleterious effects of reserpine. Both Zingiber officinale and fluoxetine treatments ameliorated these effects. CONCLUSION: These findings showed structural and molecular alterations associated with reserpine-induced depression. Also, Zingiber officinale was effective to provide ameliorative and protective effects against the neurotoxic effects of reserpine in the hippocampus, making it a potential candidate for treating depression and its associated neurodegenerative diseases.