Background Evolution of antimalarial drug resistance makes the development of new drugs a necessity. Important source in search of such drugs is medicinal plants. Gardenia ternifolia plant is used in Ethiopian traditional medicine for the treatment of malaria and is endowed with in vitro antimalarial activity. Herein, the in vivo antimalarial activity of the plant was investigated. Methods Acute toxicity was carried out using a standard procedure. A 4-day suppressive test was employed to evaluate the antimalarial effect of methanolic crude extract and solvent fractions of the plant. The curative and prophylactic effect of crude extract was further tested by Ranes's test and residual infection procedure, respectively, using Plasmodium berghei (ANKA strain) in Swiss albino mice. Results The chemosuppressive effect exerted by the crude extract and fractions ranged between 30-59% and 14-51%, respectively. Curative and prophylactic effects of the crude extract were in the range of 36-63% and 24-37%, respectively. All dose levels of the crude extract prevented loss of weight, reduction in temperature, and anemia on early and established infection. Butanol and chloroform fractions also did reverse reduction in temperature, body weight, and packed cell volume. Conclusions The results indicated that the plant has a promising antiplasmodial activity and it could be considered as a potential source to develop new antimalarial agents.

Background:Poor glycemic control is a major public health issue among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and a significant risk factor for the progression of diabetic complications. This study aimed to assess the magnitude and contributing factors of poor glycemic control among type 2 diabetes patients on follow-up at Adama Hospital Medical College (AHMC) in East Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 245 type 2 diabetes patients on follow-up at AHMC from March 1 to 30, 2020. All type 2 diabetes patients on follow-up at AHMC and fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included in the study. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires and reviewing the patient chart. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21. The level of significance was declared at a p-value of <0.05. Results: Of the 245 type 2 diabetes patients included in the study, 157 (64.1%) had poor glycemic control. The factors associated with poor glycemic control were being male (AOR = 2.28, 95% CI [1.24-4.21]), not attending formal education (AOR = 3.12, 95% CI [1.53-6.35]), monthly income of <136 USD (AOR = 2.14, 95% CI [1.17-3.91]), overweight (AOR = 2.60, 95% CI [1.32-5.10]) and obesity (AOR = 3.44, 95% CI [1.44-8.21]), and chewing khat (AOR = 2.77, 95% CI [1.04-7.33]). Conclusion:The proportion of poor glycemic control among type 2 diabetes patients at AHMC was remarkably high. Therefore, more effort should be taken to strengthening and disseminating health education programs for diabetes patients at each follow-up visit on the importance of achieving optimal body weight, avoiding khat chewing, and maintaining regular physical exercise to prevent and mitigate the complications resulting from poor glycemic control.

BackgroundDaytime sleepiness is highly prevalent across the globe. The Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) is the most widely used tool for screening daytime sleepiness. The psychometric properties of the ESS have not been comprehensively examined in African populations.Material and methodsA cross-sectional design with simple random sampling was used in the present study. The study recruited 600 students from Mizan-Tepi University, Ethiopia, of which 329 (age = 18–28 years and body mass index = 21.19 ± 3.17 kg/m2) completed the study. ESS, a semi-structured socio-demographics questionnaire and a clinical interview to diagnose insomnia according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders were employed.ResultsAll except one item of the ESS showed a floor effect, while only one item score showed ceiling effect. However, no ceiling/floor effect was observed in the ESS total score. The Cronbach’s alpha (0.75) and composite reliability (0.75), indicated good internal consistency, while a moderate item-total score correlation (r = 0.55–0.67) implied favorable internal homogeneity. The known-group validity was established by significantly higher scores for all the ESS item scores and the ESS total scores among those with symptoms of insomnia than among non-symptomatic students. Fit indices along with the consideration of inter-factor correlation coefficient, measures of item retention favored the unidimensional structure of the ESS.ConclusionThe ESS has excellent psychometric validity for screening daytime sleepiness in Ethiopian university students.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12955-019-1098-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Malaria, caused by apicomplexan parasite, is an old disease and continues to be a major public health threat in many countries. This article aims to present different aspects of malaria including causes, pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment in an articulate and comprehensive manner. Six Plasmodium species are recognized as the etiology of human malaria, of which Plasmodium falciparum is popular in East and Southern Africa. Malaria is transmitted mainly through Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus, the two most effective malaria vectors in the world. Half of the world’s population is at risk for malaria infection. Globally, the morbidity and mortality rates of malaria have become decreased even though few reports in Ethiopia showed high prevalence of malaria. The malaria parasite has a complex life cycle that takes place both inside the mosquito and human beings. Generally, diagnosis of malaria is classified into clinical and parasitological diagnoses. Lack of clear understanding on the overall biology of Plasmodium has created a challenge in an effort to develop new drugs, vaccines, and preventive methods against malaria. However, three types of vaccines and a lot of novel compounds are under perclinical and clinical studies that are triggered by the occurrence of resistance among commonly used drugs and insecticides. Antiadhesion adjunctive therapies are also under investigation in the laboratory. In addition to previously known targets for diagnostic tool, vaccine and drug discovery scientists from all corner of the world are in search of new targets and chemical entities.

Objective There is a paucity of research evidence available regarding the impact of anxiety and sleep hygiene on insomnia and related sleep complaints among collegiate students in lower-income countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate if insomnia and insomnia-related sleep complaints are associated with anxiety, age, and sleep hygiene practices among a sample of university students in Ethiopia. Design, Measures, Setting, and Participants The participants were young adults (n=525; mean age 21.5 ± 3.0 years; mean BMI of 20.7 ± 2.7kg/m 2 ). Young collegiate adults at Mizan-Tepi University in southwestern Ethiopia were randomly selected to participate in this cross-sectional study. The measures included the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire-Mizan (LSEQ-M), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7 Scale (GAD-7), and the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI). Descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression, and multiple linear regressions were used. Results Insomnia was associated with young age group (≤25 years) (odds ratio (OR) = 2.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–4.66), higher GAD-7 (anxiety) (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.0–1.10) and SHI (poor sleep hygiene) (OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.05–1.26) scores. All four insomnia-related sleep complaints were associated with increasing GAD-7 scores, as well as higher SHI scores (p<0.001). Conclusion Insomnia was associated with younger age group (≤25 years), higher anxiety level, and poor sleep hygiene. Four major sleep complaints in insomnia, ie, sleep onset problems, poor sleep quality, awakening problems, and daytime disturbances, were all associated with higher anxiety levels and poor sleep hygiene.