Toward schistosomiasis control: Assessment of infection-associated voiding symptoms, quality of life and the impact of exercise coupled with water intake on egg recovery in an endemic community in Ghana.

Assessment of the burden of disease and techniques for clinical diagnosis could ultimately help in schistosomiasis control. This study assessed the impact of exercises and water intake on ova recovery during laboratory diagnosis and schistosomiasis-associated urinary symptoms and quality of life (QOL) among inhabitants of Dendo, an endemic community in Ghana. The clinical findings and responses of 400 randomly selected participants were used for the study.

Self-reported continuing professional development needs of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana.

Background: Because of the essential nature of the work of medical laboratory professionals, continuing development in knowledge and skills is indispensable. The study aimed at identifying and prioritizing the development and training needs of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana. This is expected to help in developing focused continuing professional development (CPD) that meets the needs of practitioners as well as the changing medical trends.

Cervical Microbiota Influences Cytokine Diversity in Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia among Rural Women in the Akyemansa District of Ghana.

Background: In recent times, cervical dysbiosis which mostly causes and aggravates infections is highlighted for its role in immune modulation in cervical dysplasia, which promotes the shifting of Th1 phenotype immunity to Th2 phenotype immunity. This study therefore estimated and compared the levels of circulatory IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-, and IFN- cytokines among adult women identified to have different grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and with cervicovaginal infection.

Methods: A total of 157 participants were recruited from the Akyemansa District of Ghana, and cervical swabs and blood samples were taken.

Urinogenital schistosomiasis knowledge, attitude, practices, and its clinical correlates among communities along water bodies in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District, Ghana.

Background: Adequate knowledge and proper practices coupled with knowledge of the burden of disease are necessary for the eradication of Schistosoma infection. This study assessed knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) as well as health outcomes related to Schistosoma haematobium infection at Kwahu Afram Plains North District (KAPND).

Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire was carried out among 140 participants from four local communities in KAPND in August 2021.

Improving awareness, diagnosis and management of invasive fungal infections in Ghana: establishment of the Ghana Medical Mycology Society.

Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) and medical mycology receive little attention in Ghana. However, the present evolution of biomarker assays for IFIs, offers an opportunity for an increased access to fungal laboratory testing in resource-limited settings, and probably make a case for availability of essential antifungal agents. Using surveys and personal communications, the state of medical mycology and IFI in Ghana were highlighted.

Point-of-Care Sample Preparation and Automated Quantitative Detection of Schistosoma haematobium Using Mobile Phone Microscopy.

Schistosoma haematobium continues to pose a significant public health burden despite ongoing global control efforts. One of several barriers to sustained control (and ultimately elimination) is the lack of access to highly sensitive diagnostic or screening tools that are inexpensive, rapid, and can be used at the point of sample collection. Here, we report an automated point-of-care diagnostic based on mobile phone microscopy that rapidly images and identifies S.

Psychological impact of COVID-19 on diabetes mellitus patients in Cape Coast, Ghana: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic has had a greater psychological impact on patients with chronic ailments such as diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS compared to those without chronic conditions. We explored the psychological impacts of COVID-19 among people living with diabetes mellitus in Ghana.

Methods: this study employed a hospital-based cross-sectional design involving 157 diabetes mellitus patients aged 20 years and above.

Assessment of corn starch as substitute for agarose in DNA gel electrophoresis.

Objective: The use of agarose in nucleic acid electrophoresis is the gold standard. However, agarose is very expensive and not readily available in resource limited developing countries like Ghana. Hence, finding a more affordable and readily available alternative to agarose will be a major boost to molecular research in developing countries.

ART Regimen and Other Sociodemographics Do Not Affect Cytokine Expression in HIV Patients in Ghana.

Background: HIV infection is marked by the production of cytokines by infected cells and cells of the immune system. Variations in the levels of cytokine in HIV-infected individuals significantly impact the role of the immune system with the possibility to affect the course of HIV disease by either exacerbating or suppressing HIV replication.

Aim: The study sought to investigate the effect of sociodemographic indices, clinical laboratory parameters, and ART regimen on Th1, Th2, and Th17 cytokines in HIV patients.

Immunologic and virological response to ART among HIV infected individuals at a tertiary hospital in Ghana.

Background: The need to study the outcome of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) among Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infected individuals in Ghana, a sub-Saharan African country crucial in the era of the "Treat All" policy. The aim of this study was to analyze selected determinants of immunological and virological response to ART among HIV infected individuals in a tertiary facility in Cape Coast, Ghana.

Methods: An analytical cross sectional study with a retrospective component was conducted in the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Central Region.

Haematological Profile and Intensity of Urogenital Schistosomiasis in Ghanaian Children.

Background: Urogenital schistosomiasis is a widely contracted parasitic helminth infection often associated with haematological abnormalities.

Aim: We investigated the relationship between the haematological profile and the intensity of schistosomiasis among children in the Yeji district.

Materials And Methods: A total of 100 participants comprising 50 () infected and 50 noninfected controls aged 6-17 years matched for age and sex were recruited into the study.

Reduced egfr, elevated urine protein and low level of personal protective equipment compliance among artisanal small scale gold miners at Bibiani-Ghana: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Mercury is a toxic metal with its effects on human health ranging from acute to chronic in a very short time of exposure. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the main source of direct human exposure to mercury.

Aim: To access the effect of mercury exposure on the renal function and level of personal protective equipment (PPE) compliance among small-scale gold miners in Bibiani District of the Western Region of Ghana METHOD: 110 consenting male gold miners were purposively recruited for this study.

Evaluation of Renal Function in Pregnant Women with Malaria: A Case-Control Study in a Mesoendemic Area.

Malaria is known to have devastating effects on mortality in tropical and subtropical regions with the effect being magnified in people with weakened immunity such as those in pregnancy. We assessed the effect of malaria on renal function of pregnant women receiving antenatal care in a mesoendemic area of Ghana. A case-control study that enrolled a total of 100 pregnant women (50 with confirmed gestational malaria as cases and 50 without malaria as controls).

Dipstick urinalysis findings in children with Plasmodium falciparum in the South Tongu District: A case-control study.

Background: Malaria ranks among the major health and developmental challenges facing some of the poorest countries in tropical and sub-tropical regions across the globe. We determined urinary abnormalities and its relationship with parasite density in children ≤12 years with Plasmodium falciparum infection.

Materials And Methods: From December 2013 to March 2014, we randomly recruited 116 participants comprising 58 malaria patients (cases) and 58 healthy controls from the Comboni Mission and the Sogakope District Hospitals both in the South Tongu district.

Application of sigma metrics for the assessment of quality control in clinical chemistry laboratory in Ghana: A pilot study.

Background: Sigma metrics provide a uniquely defined scale with which we can assess the performance of a laboratory. The objective of this study was to assess the internal quality control (QC) in the clinical chemistry laboratory of the University of Cape Cost Hospital (UCC) using the six sigma metrics application.

Materials And Methods: We used commercial control serum [normal (L1) and pathological (L2)] for validation of quality control.

Molecular diagnosis of Schistosoma infections in urine samples of school children in Ghana.

Recent studies using an internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-based real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of Schistosoma DNA in urine samples has shown high sensitivity and specificity when performed on controls and known microscopy-positive samples. In this study, using 730 urine samples collected from children in five primary schools from different communities in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, specific detection of Schistosoma DNA showed excellent sensitivity of 100% and 85.2% in urines with > 50 eggs/10 mL urine and ≤ 50 eggs/10 mL of urine, respectively.

β-Glucan enhances antitumor immune responses by regulating differentiation and function of monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) accumulate in tumor-bearing hosts and play a major role in tumor-induced immunosuppression, which hampers effective immuno-therapeutic approaches. β-Glucans have been reported to function as potent immuno-modulators to stimulate innate and adaptive immune responses, which contributes to their antitumor property. Here, we investigated the effect of particulate β-glucans on MDSCs and found that β-glucan treatment could promote the differentiation of M-MDSCs (monocytic MDSCs) into a more mature CD11c(+) F4/80(+) Ly6C(low) population via dectin-1 pathway in vitro, which is NF-κB dependent, and the suppressive function of M-MDSCs was significantly decreased.

Up-regulation of GITRL on dendritic cells by WGP improves anti-tumor immunity in murine Lewis lung carcinoma.

Background: β-Glucans have been shown to function as a potent immunomodulator to stimulate innate and adaptive immune responses, which contributes to their anti-tumor property. However, their mechanisms of action are still elusive. Glucocorticoid-induced TNF receptor ligand (GITRL), a member of the TNF superfamily, binds to its receptor, GITR, on both effector and regulatory T cells, generates a positive co-stimulatory signal implicated in a wide range of T cell functions, which is important for the development of immune responses.

Increased frequency of circulating follicular helper T cells in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Follicular helper T (Tfh) cells are recognized as a distinct CD4(+) helper T-cell subset, which provides for B-cell activation and production of specific antibody responses, and play a critical role in the development of autoimmune disease. So far, only one study investigated the circulating Tfh cells increased in a subset of SLE patients. Since relatively little is known about the Tfh cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, in this study, Tfh-cell frequency, related cytokine IL-21, and transcription factor Bcl-6 were investigated in 53 patients with RA and 31 health controls.

Glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor family-related protein exacerbates collagen-induced arthritis by enhancing the expansion of Th17 cells.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic autoimmune form of inflammatory joint disease, progressively affects multiple joints with pathological changes in the synovia, cartilage, and bone. Numerous studies have suggested a critical role for glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor family-related protein (GITR) in the pathogenesis of autoimmune arthritis by modulating both innate and adaptive immune reactions, but the underlying mechanisms by which GITR activation promotes arthritic progression remain largely unclear. In this study, we found that collagen-induced arthritis mice treated with the ligand of GITR (GITRL) displayed an earlier onset of arthritis with a markedly increased severity of arthritic symptoms and joint damage, in which significantly increased Th17 cells in both spleen and draining lymph nodes were observed.

IL-4 can inhibit IL-17 production in collagen induced arthritis.

Background: IL-4 is a cytokine that induces differentiation of naive helper T cells into Th2 cells. Once activated by IL-4, Th2 cells subsequently produce additional IL-4.

Objective: To examine the effect of IL-4 on IL-17 production and its effect in Collagen-Induced Arthritis (CIA) mice.