The South African Stress and Health (SASH) study: 12-month and lifetime prevalence of common mental disorders.

Background: The South African Stress and Health (SASH) study is the first large-scale population-based study of common mental disorders in the country. This paper provides data on the 12-month and lifetime prevalence of these conditions.

Methods: Data from a nationally representative sample of 4351 adults were analysed.

The incidence and clinical presentation of infantile rotavirus diarrhoea in Sierra Leone.

Objectives: An effective vaccine is needed to protect against severe rotavirus disease, an important cause of gastroenteritis. Since there are no data on the incidence and antigenic diversity of rotavirus infection in Sierra Leone, we studied its epidemiology to enable an effective vaccine strategy to be designed.

Methods: Children between the ages of 3 and 30 months presenting with gastroenteritis to the Ola During Children's Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone, were enrolled.

The incidence of asymptomatic Kienböck's disease.

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of asymptomatic Kienböck's disease in patients who attended the Dr George Mukhari Hospital (formerly Ga-Rankuwa Hospital), as well as the relevance of ulnar variance on the disease. This was a retrospective study. In a 12 month period we reviewed postero-anterior radiographs of 1287 patients seen at our radiology department, with complaints unrelated to the upper limb including the wrist and hand.

Investigating Jacaranda mimosifolia tree as biomonitor of atmospheric trace metals.

Studies on the use of tree bark as biomonitors for environmental pollutants are still very scarce. We evaluated the reliability of using Jacaranda mimosifolia, a common tree in Tshwane City of South Africa, as a suitable biomonitor of atmospheric trace metals. Bark samples were collected from ten different locations during two sampling periods.

Screening and perceived severity of cervical cancer among women attending Mahalapye District Hospital, Botswana.

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to describe women's perceived severity to cervical cancer and its associations with socio-demographic characteristics.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by a questionnaire survey with a total of 300 participants selected by convenience sampling techniques.

Results: The participants' mean age was 37 years (SD= 11) and the cervical cancer screening rate was 39%.

The malignant potential of HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma.

Human herpesvirus (HHV)-8 associated oncogenesis, a state of immune impairment, a local inflammatory environment, angiogenesis and HIV infection occurring concurrently are important factors for the development of HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma (KS).Activation of the interleukin (IL)-6 receptor signalling pathway and constitutive signalling of viral G protein-coupled receptor (vGPCR) play an important role in the activation, proliferation and transformation of HHV-8 infected endothelial cells thus contributing to the initiation and progression of KS. HIV-tat protein, HIV-induced immune suppression and a hyperinflammatory state facilitate the oncogenic activity of HHV-8.

Acute poisoning at two hospitals in Kampala-Uganda.

Background: The aim of this study was to characterize acute poisoning cases admitted to two hospitals in Kampala, Uganda.

Study Design: All cases admitted to the two hospitals, from January 2005 to June 2005, were evaluated retrospectively. Data obtained from the hospital medical records included the following: demographic characteristics, toxic agents, length of stay, circumstances of poisoning, and mortality information on the victims.

Impact of traditional medicinal plant extracts on antiretroviral drug absorption.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: [corrected] Traditional herbal medicines are often used for the treatment of different diseases in developing countries, especially in the rural areas where a lack of an efficient primary health care system is usually experienced. Many patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus are taking traditional herbal medicines in conjunction with their modern antiretroviral medication and drug-herb interactions can occur in these cases.

Aim Of The Study: To investigate the effect of water extracts of two traditional medicinal plants, Hypoxis hemerocallidea and Sutherlandia frutescens as well as l-canavanine (a constituent of Sutherlandia frutescens) on the transport of nevirapine across human intestinal epithelial cells.

Long-term clinical remission of a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia using alternative treatment option: cottonseed oil (gossypol).

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) results from the accumulation of malignant immunologically incompetent lymphocytes. A routine full blood count of a single patient revealed that he had CLL. The daily intake of 700ml of fresh bovine milk resulted in a decrease in the lymphocyte count from 85.

Primary oral melanoma associated with HIV infection.

POM, when it occurs, is most common in the palate and the maxillary gingiva. It has a poor prognosis. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice while radiotherapy and chemotherapy are adjunctive.

Huntington's disease: genetic heterogeneity in black African patients.

Objective: Huntington's disease (HD) has been reported to occur rarely in black patients. A new genetic variant- Huntington's disease-like 2 (HDL2)--occurring more frequently in blacks, has recently been described. The absence of an expanded trinucleotide repeat at the chromosome 4 HD locus was previously regarded as a way of excluding classic HD.

A report of oral extramedullary acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in an 8-year-old girl with newly diagnosed AML-M4Eo.

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), characterized by proliferation of immature neoplastic myeloid cells, is uncommon in childhood. We present a case of an 8-year-old girl with AML-M4Eo who had an extramedullary leukaemic tumour in the oral cavity.

Insights into pathogenic events of HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma and immune reconstitution syndrome related Kaposi sarcoma.

A decrease in the incidence of human immune deficiency virus-associated Kaposi sarcoma (HIV-KS) and regression of some established HIV-KS lesions is evident after the introduction of highly active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART), and is attributed to generalized immune restoration, to the reconstitution of human herpesvirus (HHV)-8 specific cellular immune responses, and to the decrease in HIV Tat protein and HHV-8 loads following HAART. However, a small subset of HIV-seropositive subjects with a low CD4+ T cell count at the time of introduction of HAART, may develop HIV-KS as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) within 8 weeks thereafter.

Orbital abscess as a complication of odontogenic infection. A case report and review of the literature.

Orbital abscess is a rare complication of odontogenic infection. This report describes a case of an orbital abscess in a 42-year-old HIV-seropositive woman who developed this condition as a complication by direct spread via the maxillary sinus of a dento-alveolar abscess of the maxillary first premolar, resulting in the loss of her eye.

HIV-associated oral Kaposi sarcoma and HHV-8: a review.

Kaposi sarcoma is the most common malignant tumour associated with HIV infection. In the majority of cases oral tissues are involved and in 22% the initial presentation is in the oral cavity. The oral lesions are either single or multifocal, and the palate, gingiva and tongue are the sites most frequently involved.

Gonococcal resistance: evolving from penicillin, tetracycline to the quinolones in South Africa -- implications for treatment guidelines.

Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been evolving. This study assessed the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of isolates in the Pretoria region, South Africa. Isolates of N.

The association between human herpesviruses and periodontal disease: Part 1. Herpesviruses immune evasion. A review.

Recognition of immediate-early and early viral proteins during latent infection by the immune system, and early destruction of the infected cells before the herpesvirus enters its replication cycle might prevent viral reactivation. The herpesviruses remain partially or completely hidden from the immune system during latency, since they encode a variety of gene products--some of which are homologous to those of the host--that have the potential to evade host immune responses. Herpesviruses can modulate normal immunoregulatory functions including apoptosis, cytokine mediated immune response, cellular recognition and activity of complement and antibody response, among others.

Self-reported use of traditional, complementary and over-the-counter medicines by HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Current management of HIV involves the use of conventional prescription medicines, called 'antiretroviral drugs' (ARV), over-the-counter (OTC), complementary and alternative medicines (CAM), as well as African traditional medicine (ATM). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of use of traditional, complementary and over-the-counter medicines. A cross-sectional survey of HIV-infected patients who started ART between July 2004 and August 2005 at Dr George Mukhari Hospital (Pretoria), who consented to be interviewed, was conducted.

Wound healing with honey--a randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To compare honey and IntraSite Gel as woundhealing agents, to record side-effects, gauge patient satisfaction and calculate the cost-effectiveness of the honey used.

Design And Setting: A prospective, randomised, double-blind controlled trial was carried out among goldmine workers.

Outcome Measures: Outcome measures were healing times of shallow wounds and abrasions; side-effects; patient satisfaction with treatment; and amount of honey and IntraSite Gel used.

Dietary intakes and caries experience in children in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Introduction: The identification of a rural village with a very low incidence of dental caries among the children provided the opportunity to study the diets of children apparently not exposed to risk factors for dental caries and compare them with children who were at risk.

Objective: To compare the diet, nutritional status and dental caries experience of 10- and 15-year-olds in an urban town (Malamulele) and a rural village (Mahonisi) in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Methods: Dental examinations and anthropometric measurements were done according to standard procedures.

Halitosis: a review.

Halitosis, or bad breath, is caused by mainly volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) as a result of bacterial breakdown of protein and can be quantitatively and qualitatively measured in the expired oral breath. In eight to ninety percent of cases, halitosis originates in the mouth due to inadequate plaque control, periodontal disease, dry mouth, faulty restorations, and in particular due to excessive bacterial growth on the posterior third of the dorsal surface of the tongue. In the remaining ten to twenty percent of cases, bad breath is caused by systemic disorders such as hepatic, pancreatic and nephritic insufficiencies, trimethylaminuria, upper and lower respiratory tract infection, medication and cases where gastric content may generate oral malodour.

Hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection in sub-Saharan Africa: a call for further investigation.

A growing body of evidence indicates that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals are more likely to be infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) than HIV-negative individuals, possibly as a result of shared risk factors. There is also evidence that HIV-positive individuals who are subsequently infected with HBV are more likely to become HBV chronic carriers, have a high HBV replication rate, and remain hepatitis Be antigen positive for a much longer period. In addition, it is evident that immunosuppression brought about by HIV infection may cause reactivation or reinfection in those previously exposed to HBV.