Articles 2015

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Original Articles

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Abstract
Premarital testing for genotypes, blood group, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is compulsory for marriage intending couples in some faith based organizations in South southern Nigeria. These tests are important for the prevention of genetic disorders and some infectious diseases. Objectives: This prospective study was designed to establish the infection rates of HBV, HIV and HCV among prospective spouses attending marriage counseling in churches in Calabar. Methods: The study ran from January 2010 to December 2014. Informed consent was obtained from the 240 intending couples. Data for demography and medical history were collected through oral interview. Sera from patients were tested for HBsAg with the rapid chromatographic immunoassay one step lateral flow kit (Acumen labs and diagnostic centre, Bangalore, India). Anti HCV was tested with one step lateral flow rapid chromatographic immunoassay (ABON Biopharm). Determine kits (Abbot, Japan) were used for screening subjects for HIV 1/2. Results: Out of the 240 subjects screened, 14(5.8%) were positive for HIV, HBsAg and HCV infection. All the subjects positive for HBV 8(3.3%) were HIV negative, while all the HIV positive subjects were HBV negative. There was no co-infection between HIV and HBV (χ2 = 1.7, p = 0.19). Infection rates peaked at age 26-35 years 10(71.4%) with 4.0% of females positive for HBV. Conclusion: Results from this study may provide some epidemiological evidence for policy making for mandatory premarital testing. A break in transmission of hepatitis B virus infection may occur as a result of vaccination of negative partners.
Key words: HBV, HIV, HCV, infections, Premarital screening

Abstract
Introduction: Osteoporosis is a public health problem affecting more than 200 million people worldwide, especially women. The aims of this study were: 1) to measure the serum levels of three bone-specific proteins: osteocalcin (OC), osteopontin (OPN) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in Greek postmenopausal women and 2) to evaluate correlations between these proteins with age, total serum alkaline phosphatase levels (ALP), serum calcium levels (Ca) and serum C reactive protein levels (CRP).
Materials and Methods: During the study there were recruited 100 postmenopausal women, aged between 45 and 67 years. Samples were analyzed for ALP, Ca and CRP levels respectively on the Olympus AU640 fully automated analyzer and for OC, OPN and OPG with Luminex technology. Results: Eleven patients had high ALP levels, four patients low Ca levels, four high Ca levels and forty seven high CRP levels. Eighty three samples presented OC levels within normal range, four presented lower levels and eleven increased OC levels. Increased OPN or OPG levels were not observed.
Conclusions: The lack of estrogen in postmenopausal women prevents the absorption and utilization of calcium and this constitutes a very important factor in the development of osteoporosis. The findings showed a low positive correlation of OPN with ALP, OPG with age, OPG with ALP and OPG with CRP. Correlations between any of the three bone-specific proteins and calcium levels were not observed. These preliminary results underline the requirement for large-scale population studies in Greek postmenopausal women in order to compare results of this population group with international reference ranges.
Key words: osteocalcin, osteopontin, osteoprotegerin, post menopause, osteoporosis Declaration of Interest: All authors declare that they have no competing interests.