Pediatric and adolescent HIV viral load coverage and suppression rates in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in 12 PEPFAR-supported sub-Saharan African countries in 2019 and 2020.

The early period of the COVID-19 pandemic limited access to HIV services for children and adolescents living with HIV (C/ALHIV). To determine progress in providing care and treatment services, we describe viral load coverage (VLC) and suppression (VLS) (<1000 copies/ mL) rates during the COVID-19 pandemic in 12 United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)-supported countries. Data for children (0-9 years) and adolescents (10-19 years) on VLC and VLS were analyzed for 12 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries between 2019 (pre-COVID-19) and 2020 (during COVID-19).

Protecting healthcare workers and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparison of baseline and follow-up infection prevention and control needs in Nigerian military healthcare facilities delivering HIV services.

Background: Protecting the HIV health workforce is critical for continuity of services for people living with HIV, particularly during a pandemic. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigerian Ministry of Defence, in partnership with the US Military HIV Research Program, took steps to improve infection prevention and control (IPC) practices among staff working in select PEPFAR-supported Nigerian military health facilities.

Methods: We identified a set of IPC activities a priori for implementation at four Nigerian military hospitals in HIV and related departments in early 2021, including continuous medical masking, physical distancing, placement of additional hand washing stations and hand sanitizers throughout facilities, and training.

Effect of multi-month antiretroviral dispensing on HIV clinic attendance at 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, Nigeria.

Multi-month dispensing (MMD) of antiretroviral therapy has demonstrated benefits for HIV patients and health service delivery systems, including reduced frequency of hospital visits and improved retention. We evaluated the effect of 6-monthly dispensing (MMD6) on patient clinic attendance at a single military facility in the one-year pre- and post-policy change.: This was a descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional study, exploring the relationship between MMD6 and clinic attendance numbers.

Microbiome-Based Therapies in Parkinson's Disease: Can Tuning the Microbiota Become a Viable Therapeutic Strategy?

Progressive neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD) have continued to baffle medical science, despite strides in the understanding of their pathology. The inability of currently available therapies to halt disease progression is a testament to an incomplete understanding of pathways crucial to disease initiation, progression and management. Science has continued to link the activities and equilibrium of the gut microbiome to the health and proper functioning of brain neurons.

The Nigerian Military Public Health Response to COVID-19: A 14-Month Appraisal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant morbidity and mortality since its emergence in December 2019. In Nigeria, the government inaugurated the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to coordinate resources while the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control led the public health response. The Nigeria Ministry of Defence Health Implementation Programme (MODHIP), in partnership with the US Army Medical Research Directorate - Africa/Nigeria, responded immediately to the pandemic by establishing a public health emergency operations center to coordinate the military response in support of national efforts.

PEPFAR's Role in Protecting and Leveraging HIV Services in the COVID-19 Response in Africa.

Purpose Of Review: We describe the impact of COVID-19 on PEPFAR programs in Africa and how PEPFAR adapted and leveraged its interventions to the changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent Findings: To mitigate the potential impact of COVID-19 on the HIV response and protect the gains, continuity of treatment was the guiding principle regarding the provision of services in PEPFAR-supported countries. As the COVID-19 pandemic matured, PEPFAR's approach evolved from a strictly "protect and salvage" approach to a "restore and accelerate" approach that embraced innovative adaptations in service and "person-centered" care.

Aqueous extract of prevents Cadmium Chloride-induced testicular damage in Wistar Rats.

Objectives: The role of aqueous extract of was investigated against cadmium chloride-induced testicular damage in Wistar Rats.

Methods: Thirty (30) male Wistar Rats weighing (150-170) were divided into six groups (n=5). Group A served as control and received oral administration of phosphate buffer saline; group B received 800 mg/kg only; group C were injected intraperitoneally with single dose 2 mg/kg b.

Bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy and early labour using Nugent scoring and the implication on foetal outcome.

Background: To compare the pattern of vaginal microflora during pregnancy with pattern in early labour using Nugent scoring and determine the effect of these changes on fetal outcome.

Design: A prospective longitudinal study.

Setting And Population: Pregnant women attending antenatal clinics of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria between June 2017 and May 2018.

Increasing pediatric HIV testing positivity rates through focused testing in high-yield points of service in health facilities-Nigeria, 2016-2017.

Background: In 2017, UNAIDS estimated that 140,000 children aged 0-14 years are living with HIV in Nigeria, but only 35% have been diagnosed and are receiving antiretroviral therapy. Children are tested primarily in outpatient clinics, which show low HIV-positive rates. To demonstrate efficient facility-based HIV testing among children aged 0-14 years, we evaluated pediatric HIV-positivity rates in points of service in select health facilities in Nigeria.

Evaluation of the clinical outcomes of the Test and Treat strategy to implement Treat All in Nigeria: Results from the Nigeria Multi-Center ART Study.

In December 2016, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health updated its HIV guidelines to a Treat All approach, expanding antiretroviral therapy (ART) eligibility to all individuals with HIV infection, regardless of CD4+ cell count, and recommending ART be initiated within two weeks of HIV diagnosis (i.e., the Test and Treat strategy).

Spermatogenic and spermatotoxic effects of (Ugu) aqueous leaves extract in adult male Wistar rats ().

(TO), commonly called Pumpkin is a plant with numerous medicinal values. Here we investigated the effects of aqueous leaves extract on the testis of Adult Male Wistar Rats Thirty-Five (35) adult male rats were grouped into seven (7) containing five (n = 5) rats in each group. Group A served as control, group B and C received 100 mg/kg body weight of for two and four weeks respectively, group D and E received 200 mg/kg body weight of for two and four weeks respectively, while group F and G received 300 mg/kg body weight of for two and four weeks respectively.

PLHIV are more likely to have mental distress: evidence from a comparison of a cross-section of HIV and diabetes patients at Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria.

Unlabelled: HIV is now regarded as a chronic disease because of the availability of treatment. However, it is not well known if there are differences (clinically and in magnitude) between the mental health status of PLHIV and people living with other chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to compare the mental health status of patients attending antiretroviral clinics to patients attending diabetes clinics at tertiary hospitals in Ogun State, Nigeria.

Ascorbic acid ameliorates behavioural deficits and neuropathological alterations in rat model of Alzheimer's disease.

Exploring the links between neural pathobiology and behavioural deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and investigating substances with known therapeutic advantages over subcellular mechanisms underlying these dysfunctions could advance the development of potent therapeutic molecules for AD treatment. Here we investigated the efficacy of ascorbic acid (AA) in reversing aluminium chloride (AlCl)-induced behavioural deficits and neurotoxic cascades within prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus of rats. A group of rats administered oral AlCl (100mg/kg) daily for 15days showed degenerative changes characterised by significant weight loss, reduced exploratory/working memory, frontal-dependent motor deficits, cognitive decline, memory dysfunction and anxiety during behavioural assessments compared to control.