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By Dr Rotimi Adesanya
~Punch Nigeria. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2018.
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| Dr Rotimi Adesanya |
About 95 per cent of Nigerians are Rhesus Disease positive. The remaining five per cent are RhD
negative. There is a need to encourage parents, especially mothers, to know their blood groups and Rhesus factors because it could help to reduce or prevent cases of mortality.
I have on several occasions seen patients request information on their blood groups. Not one person ever mentioned his Rhesus factor as the reason making the request.
A popular Chinese proverb says "The beginning of health is to know the disease". This explains why it is important for everybody to be aware of this condition.
There are several different types of human blood. The four main blood groups are:
blood group A
blood group B
blood group AB
blood group O
Each of these blood groups can either be RhD positive or RhD negative. The RhD is a protein that is either present or absent on the surface of the red blood cells. This is indicated by a plus sign + or a minus sign -. The blood type O+ means that the blood is type O and each blood cell has RhD positive.
A simple blood test can tell if a woman is RhD negative. Every woman should be tested at her first prenatal visit, or before pregnancy, to find out if she is Rh-negative. The RhD negative gene is recessive, while the RhD positive gene is dominant. This means that there is a chance that a woman who is RhD negative will give birth to a RhD positive child.
A person who is RhD negative may have an immune reaction if RhD positive blood cells enter his bloodstream. A pregnant woman's body considers the RhD positive cells a threat and it mounts an immune system response. Her immune system makes antibodies, also known as anti-RhD antibodies, against the cells. If the woman conceives another RhD-positive baby, her anti-D antibodies will attack her unborn baby's red blood cells. Such complication is also known as the Haemolytic disease of the newborn.
The Rhesus disease destroys foetal red blood cells. It was once considered to be a leading cause of foetal and newborn deaths. Without treatment, severely affected foetuses are often stillborn.
In the newborn, Rh disease can result in jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), anaemia, brain damage, heart failure and death. It can also affect the mother's mental state. Most mothers are always depressed after such a loss.
The Guarduan Nigeria. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018.
Water yam (Dioscorea alata)… inset are the leaves of English lesser yam (Dioscorea esculenta)
Can extracts of the tubers and leaves of some species of yam be used to beat cancer, diabetes, pain, arthritis, bone loss, and premenopausal syndrome?
Researchers say the tuber of yam (Dioscorea esculenta) may provide a possible source for the discovery of anti-inflammatory agents (painkillers) without the adverse effects associated with the use of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs.
The study published in African Journal of Biotechnology is titled "Anti-inflammatory studies of yam (Dioscorea esculenta) extract on wistar rats."
The researchers from the Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, led by J. O. Olayemi and E. O. Ajaiyeoba, evaluated the defatted methanol extract of Dioscorea esculenta tuber for anti-inflammatory properties in animal model using Wistar rats.
The study was done using the cotton thread method in measuring the right hind paw oedema and granuloma tissue formation in rats. The extract was tested at doses between 100 - 200 mg/kg body weight of rats.
Preliminary phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of saponins, disgenin, -sistosterol, stigmasterol, cardiac glycosides, fat and starch.
The extract exhibited significant inhibition of the carrageenan-induced oedema that was dose-dependent with a good initial effect in one hour and two hour at doses of 100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg, respectively.
The observed activity was comparable to that of 150 mg/kg acetylsalicylic acid that was used as a reference drug in the study. Dioscorea esculenta tuber methanol extract supports the folkloric use for management of inflammation.
Written by Oladapo Ashiru
~PUNCH Nigeria. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018.
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| Dr Oladapo Ashiru |
The most common cause of infertility in women is their inability to produce eggs that are normal. Egg production disorders are among the most common reasons why women are unable to conceive. They also account for more than 30 per cent of cases involving female infertility.
Fortunately, approximately 70 per cent of these cases can be successfully treated by using drugs that support ovulation. Many pharmaceutical industries continue to produce or import many of such drugs regularly. The drugs include clomid, gonadotropins, such as menogon, follitrope, folligraft and gonal F, as well as several other FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) containing hormone injections. Anovulation (inability to ovulate) can be due to four major factors categorised as follows:
Hormonal factors
These are the most common causes of anovulation. As explained in my doctoral dissertation, the ovulatory mechanism is controlled by a complex balance of hormones and like an orchestra in a symphony, any disruption in this process can hinder ovulation. The hormones are released by the endocrine glands in the body, starting from the brain, hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, pancreatic islets cells, adrenal glands and the gonads. There are three main sources causing this problem:
a) Failure to produce mature eggs
In approximately 50 per cent of the cases of anovulation, the ovaries do not produce normal follicles in which the eggs can mature. Ovulation is rare if the eggs are immature and the chance of fertilisation becomes almost non-existent. Even when we give a substantial amount of ovulatory support to hormones like FSH, we may obtain as many as 12 eggs, for instance, and only seven will be fully mature, while five of them will be immature eggs that cannot be fertilised by using "brute force" with Intra cytoplasmic sperm injection.
Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common disorder responsible for this problem. It includes symptoms, such as amenorrhoea, hirsutism, anovulation and infertility.
This syndrome is characterised by a reduced production of FSH and normal or increased levels of LH, estrogen and testosterone. The current hypothesis is that the suppression of FSH associated with this condition causes only partial development of the ovarian follicles and follicular cysts, which can be detected in an ultrasound scan.
The affected ovary often becomes surrounded with a smooth white capsule and it is double its normal size. The increased level of oestrogen raises the risk of breast cancer. This condition has also been linked with inadequate carbohydrate metabolism, especially with resistance to Insulin. Insulin is the hormone produced in the body to help us to manage our sugar intake. This has been successfully managed by the dietary regulation, detoxification and the use of anti-diabetic drugs like metformin. The thyroid gland and the adrenal gland also play a significant role in the manifestations of some of the infertility problems at the level.
Written by Adeoye Oyewole
~PUNCH Nigeria. Thursday, February 21, 2019
The term 'man' is usually reserved for an adult male of the human species, while 'manhood' is used to describe the period after he has transitioned from boyhood, having attained secondary male sexual characteristics that symbolise his coming of age and assumes the responsibilities accruable to that status.
Masculinity may vary in different cultures, but it has universal principles across cultures which basically embodies assertiveness, responsibility, selflessness, ethics, sincerity, and respect that has strong associations with physical and moral strength. The biological inputs through hormones induce the process of physical maturity in the males, which redirects the biological processes away from the default female route.
In many cultures, displaying characteristics not typical to one's gender may become a social problem for the individual. However, labelling and conditioning are based on gender assumptions as part of socialisation to match the local cultural template. In the primitive hunter-gatherer societies, men were often, if not exclusively, responsible for all large game killed, the capturing, raising and domesticating of animals, the building of permanent shelters, the defence of villages and sustenance the family in all ramifications.
Each time the universally agreeable traits of manhood are challenged, anxiety and anger may be provoked leading to maladaptive behavioural patterns. With the globalisation of values, there is an increased liberation of the female gender with the attendant financial independence, among other things, which has been the premise of male domination over the centuries.
Although the actual stereotypes may have remained relatively constant, the values attached to masculine stereotypes may have changed over the past few decades, since it is argued that masculinity is an unstable phenomenon and dynamic in conceptualization. However, the old ideals of manhood are getting obsolete just as the new is still not properly defined as we grope in darkness which forms the basis of manhood and masculinity crisis with grave mental health consequences in societies like ours in cultural transition.
The typical modern African man has cognitive dissonance, with respect to his roles as a traditional dominant male in the family as he also attempts to espouse the western ideas that compel him to recognise his wife as a partner in the business of raising the family. The traditional stereotypes of the father as the breadwinner and the mother as a homemaker are almost historical in the light of today's economic realities.
By Sola Ogundipe
~vanguard Nigeria. Sunday, July 22, 2018.
The world is breeding a generation of tech-distracted parents. Although fathers and mothers generally agree that technology has radically transformed the way they engage social media around their children; the focus is often on how to get children off their mobile phones to do other things.
But the parents are not particularly setting a good example for the children in this respect, are they?
These days, the average parent spends far too much time on the phone-so hooked to smartphones, Ipads internet tablets and other digital devices, they may be causing tension, conflict and negative interaction with the children.
No doubt technology has transformed the way parents use digital media around their children and so many daddies and mummies are continually having the sensation of doing more than one thing at a time and being in more than one place at a time while parenting. It's all about keeping up socially.
But overuse and misuse of mobile phones by parents is having a negative effect on the children. The excessive phone-checking habit of many parents is worrisome to say the least.
There is now growing knowledge that parents that stay permanently glued to their mobile phone may be damaging their relationships with their children.
A mother can be in the kitchen at home trying to cook dinner while attending to the children, and at the same time be "virtually" at work in the office on WhatsApp or Twitter. This kind of multitasking is usually an internal struggle.
According to a recent survey of secondary school pupils in the UK, the impact that phone-checking parents, is significant. The poll was carried out by Digital Awareness UK and the Headmasters and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC).
Children that did ask their parents to stop checking social media or responding to email during family time reported the pleas fell on deaf ears. Nearly half (46 percent) said their parents just ignored them while 44 percent said they were left feeling upset at having to ask.
Parents themselves seem to be suffering confusion over their usage. Only 10 percent admitted their phone use was an issue for their kids but 43 percent reckoned they spent too much time online.
Men live in self-denial when they play down the power of women. Sobbing women are known to have made men change hard-line positions or pacify their women.
Now researchers have shown that the mere presence of a beautiful woman around men makes them do dumb things. For example, it has been observed that when a beautiful woman walks past a group of men in active conversation, they go dump with some losing their thoughts.
The following are the many scientifically proven ridiculous things men do around women, compiled from various sources.
A woman’s presence makes men go dumb: Men literally become dumb after they interact with women they find attractive. In a study, men scored less on cognitive tests after meeting women. In a version of the test, the men weren’t even looking at females. They were just told that females are going to be looking at them.
The 2009 study demonstrated that after a short interaction with an attractive woman, men experienced a decline in mental performance. A more recent study suggests that this cognitive impairment takes hold even when men simply anticipate interacting with a woman who they know very little about. Sanne Nauts and her colleagues at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands ran two experiments using men and women university students as participants.
In this society, people frequently interact with each other over the phone or online, where the only way to infer somebody’s gender is through their name or voice. Nauts’ research suggests that even with very limited interactions, men may experience cognitive impairment when faced with the opposite sex. The researchers think that the reason may have something to do with men being more strongly attuned to potential mating opportunities. Generally, it all looks like whenever we face situations where we’re particularly concerned about the impression that we’re making, we may literally have difficulty thinking clearly. In the case of men, thinking about interacting with a woman is enough to make their brains go a bit fuzzy
TheGuardian Nigeria. Thursday, October 26, 2017.
The cruciferous vegetables like most vegetables loaded with phytochemicals (phytonutrients) are vegetables that can either reduce the risk of occurrence of some chronic degenerative diseases, including cancer or can actually heal. The cruciferous vegetables belong to the family of plants known as Brassicaceae. Their name, cruciferous is derived from the arrangement of the four petals of their flower, like the cross.
The following are the vegetables in this group that are commonly found in this country: Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale and water cress. All these vegetables are rich in vitamins such as Vitamins C, K, B2, B6 and folic acid. Also found in them are minerals such as potassium, magnesium and the potent antioxidant selenium. They are also a rich source of soluble fiber and plant based Omega 3s.
Cruciferous vegetables contain other nutrients and phytochemicals that make them potential anticancer agents. These phytochemicals which belong to the group known as isothiocyanates are the 3,3′ diindolylmethane, sulphoraphane, and selenium. With these vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, the cruciferous vegetables help to lower the risk of diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease; they are both preventive and curative. These vegetables do these in the following ways:
1. They stop the growth of cancer cells in tumours of the breast, endometrium (the inner lining of the womb), lung, colon, liver and cervix.
2. The phytochemical, sulphoraphane stimulates enzymes in the body that detoxify carcinogens before they cause damage to the cells.
3. They reduce oxidative stress (overload of free radicals which destroy cells and their contents – DNA, causing cancer).
4. In combination with fish oils, the cruciferous vegetables help to protect against cardiovascular diseases.
Written by Bunmi Sofola
~Vanguard Nigeria. Friday, February 17, 2017.
AS I bent over Ken, a truncheon in my hand, he looked up at me with a strange sort of longing in his eyes. I kissed him hard on the lips and moved my mouth over his neck and chest. I let him get a good look at me in my American cop uniform before I took off my top and threw it on the floor. I stepped out of my knickers and straddled
him on the bed, kissing him again and stroking his body. And then it happened. I saw him get aroused as I watched. 'Bingo,' I thought, and slipping on protection, he maintained his erection as we had sex. You see George has an intimacy problem. He's in a long-term relationship and madly in love with his girlfriend but he struggles to get an erection during sex. My job is to help him-and other men like him-find their confidence sexually…."
Ashley Grayson is one of a growing number of sexual surrogates all over the world. She is married and what she does is far from prostitution. She continues:"I'm not a prostitute, although I have been called one by people ignorant of my profession. I'm a sex surrogate. I help men with sexual or intimacy problems. I step in for their partner when there's a problem and I coach them through it. I also work with single men who
have sexual anxieties and need help to overcome them. I'm in partnership with a qualified sexual psychologist who holds therapy sessions with clients. There, she will talk to them about their most intimate thoughts, experiences and issues and draw out their insecurities and anxieties. We then work together to devise a 'sexual programme' to help the client overcome his problems.
"And that's where I come in. I work one-on-one with the men over several sessions, sometimes as many as a dozen. We start off very slowly and I usually start by working on eye contact and holding hands. My job is to help the man overcome his problems with intimacy. So he can go back to his partner a confident sexual being. Or, if he's single, he can initiate a sexual relationship and follow through with it, without crippling fear or insecurities stopping him. Sexual therapy of this kind enables the client to discover intimacy as a healing experience, free from the pressures, potential rejection and judgemental attitudes they have experienced in their sexual conditioning.
~Punch Nigeria. Thursday, February 16, 2017.
Scientists have suggested that they have finally found a recipe for long life:total abstinence from sex!
The University of Sheffield researchers rest their findings on the belief that nuns - who are believed to stay away from sex completely - tend to live longer.
Refraining from having sex will help you live longer than all your peers, the study found.
The scientists discovered that mealworm beetles live for longer if they avoid mating; while those who tried to produce offspring each day passed away at a much younger age.
Mating was found to release a hormone in the insects needed to produce sperm in a male or eggs in a female. But this was also found to have a negative effect on their immune system, the researchers found.
This makes them vulnerable to potentially deadly infections, as their body’s natural ability to fight rogue bacteria is compromised.
Though the mechanism is not necessarily the same in humans, study author, Dr. Michael Siva-Jothey, believes the principle can be applied.
He said: "Nuns tend to have a longer lifespan than women with children; and most people know of someone with a maiden (unmarried) aunt who seems to live forever.
"The question is, why? The beetles which mate die sooner than the beetles which don’t mate."
Humans also have weaker immune systems during sex, which explains how STIs can be easily spread, he added.
Nuns, priests, vicars and monks are known to live longer than others - but not for their religious protection.
It is believed that their low rates of high blood pressure - which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke - are responsible.
