BackgroundTraditional healers in Ethiopia use a wide range of medicinal plants with antidiarrheal properties. Among these, Croton macrostachyus is one such plant claimed to have an antidiarrheal activity in Ethiopian folklore medicine. Previous studies showed that the crude extract is endowed with the claimed property. The present study was undertaken to further the claim by screening different fractions for the said activity so that it could serve as a basis for subsequent studies.MethodsThe fractions were obtained by successive extraction in soxhlet apparatus with solvents of different polarity (chloroform & methanol) followed by cold maceration of the deposit of the methanol fraction with distilled water. The antidiarrheal activity was evaluated using castor oil induced diarrheal model, charcoal meal test and anti-enteropooling test in mice. The test groups received various doses (300, 400, 500 mg/kg and an additional dose of 1000 mg/kg for the aqueous fraction) of the fractions, whereas positive controls received either Loperamide (3 mg/kg) or Atropine (5 mg/kg) and negative controls received vehicle (10 ml/kg).ResultsIn the castor oil induced model, the chloroform (at all test doses) and methanol (at 400 & 500 mg/kg) fractions significantly delayed diarrheal onset, decreased stool frequency and weight of feces. The aqueous fraction was however devoid of significant effect at all the tested doses. Chloroform and methanol fractions produced a significant dose dependent decline in the weight and volume of intestinal contents while the aqueous fraction did not have a significant effect. All the fractions produced a significant anti-motility effect either at all doses (chloroform fraction) or at middle and higher doses (methanol and aqueous fractions).ConclusionThe present study demonstrated that the chloroform and methanol fractions possessed significant anti-diarrheal activity. Nevertheless, the aqueous fraction showed only significant anti-motility effect at the higher dose (1000 mg/kg) employed in the study.

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Introduction: Breast cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and ranks as the fifth cause of death from all cancers, and the most common cause of cancer death in women in both developing and developed countries. However, information regarding treatment outcome of breast cancer is scarce in Ethiopia. Objective: The aim of this study was therefore to assess treatment outcome among breast cancer patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital. Method: Hospital-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were collected by reviewing the medical records and by phone interview. Result: A total of 303 patients were included in the study, more than one-fourth (31.02%) of the patients were in the age range of 30–39 years, with a mean age of 42.10 years. More than half (54.10%) of the patients were diagnosed to have breast cancer with clinical tumor, nodal status, and metastasis stage III breast cancer. The frequently used combination chemotherapy was FAC (5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide) in 66.9% patients. At the end of 3 years treatment follow-up, 46.53% of patients were dead, 34.32% were alive. Logistic regression analysis showed that age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.32; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.12, 0.95; P = 0.040), chemotherapy cycle (AOR = 7.36; 95% CI: 2.28, 23.79; P = 0.001), stage of the disease (AOR = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.29; P = 0.000), and endocrine therapy (AOR = 0.09; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.22; P = 0.000) were significantly associated with the outcome of death. Conclusion: Treatment outcome of breast cancer is poor and requires health education and sensitization on preventive.

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