Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer mortality. The study aimed to assess the level of urea, creatinine and cystatin C in prostate cancer subjects. The subjects consisted of 92 adult males between the ages of 45 to 70 years; 46 prostate cancer subjects and 46 apparently healthy subjects recruited from a Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Urea and creatinine were estimated by colorimetric method, cystatin C was estimated using Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The results obtained showed that urea and creatinine were significantly high (p<0.05) while cystatin C was significantly low (p<0.05) in prostate cancer subjects compared with control subjects. Cystatin C was significantly high (p<0.05) in prostate cancer subjects on treatment compared with subjects not on treatment but there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the levels of urea and creatinine. The research concluded that increased serum urea and creatinine concentrations as well as decreased cystatin C level may pose higher risk of renal dysfunction in prostate cancer subjects. Thus, the levels of serum urea, creatinine and cystatin C need to be evaluated in prostate cancer subjects.

This study evaluated the inhibitory effects of Phyllanthus amarus extracts on Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. These effects were compared with those of ampicillin, gentamicin and pefloxacin. Phytochemical analysis showed that the plant contained flavonoids, steroids, terpenes, alkaloids, benzenoids, saponins and lipids. This plant was found to have remarkable inhibitory effects on the growth of all the organisms tested; S. aureus was the most susceptible (MIC 20ug/ml) while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and C. albicans were the least susceptible (MIC 30ug/ml). The organisms were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner, the inhibition was almost directly proportional to the extract concentration. The aqueous extract had no significant increase inhibitory effects compared to the ethanol extract (p > 0.05). The standard antibiotics had no greater inhibitory effects on the test organisms in relation to the plant extracts (p>0.05). The in vitro analysis revealed that Phyllanthus amarus possesses an antimicrobial activity comparable with those of standard antibiotic discs. Further works is recommended to determine its suitability in chemotherapy.Keywords: Inhibitory effects, Phyllanthus amarus extract, Pathogenic microorganisms. DES EFFETS INHIBITEURS SUR DES EXTRAITS AMARUS SUR LA CROISSANCE DE CERTAINS MICRO -ORGANISMS PATHOGENES DE PHYLLANTHUS

Menopause is associated with various physiological and biochemical changes that have effects on bone minerals and their metabolism. There have been a lot of complaints about bone pains and bone related problems especially among middle aged women. Thus, the work was designed to assess and compare the levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), oestrogen and selected bone minerals (calcium and phosphate) in preand post-menopausal women. A total of one hundred subjects were investigated. They comprised fifty premenopausal women within the ages of 20 years and 45 years and fifty post-menopausal women within the ages of 50 years and 65 years. The levels of parathyroid hormone, oestrogen, calcium and phosphate were measured in the subjects. Parathyroid hormone and oestrogen were analyzed using enzyme immunoassay technique while calcium and phosphate were analyzed using spectrophotometric method. The results showed that parathyroid hormone, calcium and phosphate were significantly increased (p<0.05) while there was decrease in oestrogen in post-menopausal women compared with premenopausal women. PTH and oestrogen correlated significantly at (p<0.01) in both pre-and post menopause. This study concluded that postmenopausal women have increased serum levels of parathyroid hormone, calcium and phosphate but decreased serum level of oestrogen. Significant positive correlation exists between PTH and oestrogen in both pre-and post menopause but no significant relationship between PTH and oestrogen with calcium and phosphate.

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Humoral and cellular mechanisms play roles in immune response to foreign antigens. The present study was designed to determine the T lymphocyte subsets (CD4 + T cells, CD8 + T cells and CD4/CD8 ratio) in the prostate cancer subjects and control subjects. CD4 + T cells (µl/count) and CD8 + T cells (µl/count) were estimated using flow cytometric method by Partec while CD4/CD8 ratio was calculated from the results obtained from the CD4 + T cells and CD8 + T cells. CD4 + T cells and CD8 + T cells decreased significantly while the CD4/CD8 ratio increased significantly in the prostate cancer subjects compared to the control subjects. The suppressed CD4 + and CD8 + T cell counts in prostate cancer subjects may indicate immune instability in the prostate cancer subjects.