Understanding whose births get registered: a cross sectional study in Bauchi and Cross River states, Nigeria.

Background: It is a recognized child right to acquire a name and a nationality, and birth registration may be necessary to allow access to services, but the level of birth registration is low in Nigeria. A household survey about management of childhood illnesses provided an opportunity to examine actionable determinants of birth registration of children in Bauchi and Cross River states of Nigeria.

Methods: Trained field teams visited households in a stratified random cluster sample of 90 enumeration areas in each state.

Diabetes and Ramadan: an update on use of glycemic therapies during fasting.

The fasting of Ramadan is observed by a large proportion of Muslims with diabetes. Recommendations for the management of diabetes during Ramadan were last published in 2005 by the American Diabetes Association. Several studies in this field have since been published, some addressing the use of new pharmacological agents in managing diabetes during Ramadan.

Corticotropin tests for hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal insufficiency: a metaanalysis.

Context: The diagnostic value of tests for detecting hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal insufficiency (HPAI) is controversial.

Objective: Our objective was to compare standard-dose and low-dose corticotropin tests for diagnosing HPAI.

Data Sources: We searched the PubMed database from 1966-2006 for studies reporting diagnostic value of standard-dose or low-dose corticotropin tests, with patient-level data obtained from original investigators.

Recombinant GH replacement in hypopituitary adults improves endothelial cell function and reduces calculated absolute and relative coronary risk.

Objective: Adult GH deficiency (GHD) is linked to endothelial dysfunction and vascular disease. We examined the effect of 12 months of GH therapy on endothelial function, C-reactive protein (CRP) and coronary risk.

Design: Open-design intervention study.

Influence of the hormonal changes during the normal menstrual cycle in healthy young women on soluble adhesion molecules, plasma homocysteine, free radical markers and lipoprotein fractions.

Aim: Female sex hormones are known to exert a protective role on the vascular endothelial function, but the exact mechanisms of such protection is not known. We aimed to study the possible regulatory role of the female sex hormones changes during the normal menstrual cycle on soluble adhesion molecules E-selectin and ICAM-1, plasma homocyteine, free radical markers and lipoproteins in healthy young women.

Experimental Design: a cross sectional study of healthy female volunteers studied during a single normal menstrual cycle at 3 specific time points.