Journal of Blood & Lymph

Hematologicarl disordes have attained epidemic proportions worldwide today. As a result, many people turn to medicinal plants for treatment thereby boosting and enhancing health because professional care is not immediately available, is too inconvenient, costly and time consuming. Certain medicinal plants are believed to promote positive health and maintain organic resistance against infection. The use of medicinal plants which are readily available and arguably efficacious would therefore over a better and affordable alternative for boosting and enhancing health. Assessment of hematological parameters can be used to determine the extent of deleterious effect of foreign compounds including plant extracts on the bloodconstituents of an animal. Various chemical constituents of Vernonia lasiopus are believed to possess therapeutic effects on hematological parameters. However, these effects have not been subjected to systematic studies to substantiate the therapeutic claims made regarding their clinical utility. This study was designed to investigate the hematological effects of V. lasiopus (O. Hoffman) in normal mice. The experimental groups were treated with leaf extracts at concentration of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg orally once per two days for a period of fourteen days. Hematological parameters and indices were determined from unclotted blood samples using standard protocols. Presence of various types of phytochemicals was assessed using standard procedures. The leaf extract of V. lasiopus (O. Hoffman) induced changes in erythrocytes and related parameter profiles, total and differential WBC counts, platelets and their related parameters in normal mice at the two tested dose levels of 50 mg/kgbw and 100 mg/kgbw. Further, the phytochemical screening results showed that the leaf extract of V. lasiopus (O. Hoffman) have phytochemicals associated with erythropoietin promoting activity, immunostimulatory activities and thrombopoietin stimulation.

It has been postulated that inhibition of Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) can restore normal acetylation of histone proteins and transcription factors, and to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. So, this study aimed at assessing the response to histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid combined with conventional chemotherapy versus conventional chemotherapy alone in Egyptian Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients. Thirty newly diagnosed AML patients were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 consisted of 15 AML patients received conventional chemotherapy while group 2 consisted of 15 AML patients received valproic acid 40 mg/kg for 7 days and conventional chemotherapy. Ten healthy persons of matched age and sex were considered group 3 (controls). Serum histone deacetylase activity, vascular endothelial growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, tumor necrosis factor α, glutathione S transferase and nuclear factor κB in nuclear extract before and after chemotherapy were measured in all patients and controls. Results revealed better clinical response with no side effects with valproic acid than conventional chemotherapy alone (p=0.021). This was associated with statistically significant decrease in histone deacetylase activity in patients receiving valproic acid compared to the other AML group (p=0.00019). There was significant negative correlation between age and HDAC activity at initial presentation in patients receiving valproic acid (p=0.039) while no significant correlation was detected with the other studied laboratory parameters. Our results revealed that valproic acid in the tested dose was safe and associated with better therapeutic response when used in combination with conventional chemotherapy.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a reversible clinical and radiological entity. The circumstances of occurrence are numerous and the pathophysiology is unclear. The main theory is related to the onset of hypertension leading to the deterioration of the cerebral autoregulation. This is an acute or subacute syndrome, often preceded by convulsive episodes. Symptoms are headaches, impaired consciousness, and vomiting or visual disturbances. The brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the gold standard and highlights evidences of hyperintensities on T2 (bilateral, symmetrical, reversible, and predominantly posterior). Several cases have been reported as a complication during the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but few cases have been published in adult patients and especially in Philadelphia positive ALL. We report the first adult case of Philadelphia positive ALL with development of PRES after induction therapy.

Background: Despite current efforts and availability of advanced technology such as nucleic acid amplification testing and Immunoassays, the risk of Transfusion Transmissible viral Infections (TTVIs) continues to exist. In low resource economies, where periodic large scale serosurveillance is impracticable; the use of donor seroprevalence to monitor the trends of epidemiologically significant TTVIs in adult population becomes imperative. This study therefore aimed to determine blood donor profile and seroepidemiology of HIV, HBV and HCV infection status in Jos North-Central Nigeria.
Methods: In this cross sectional study, 510 prospective blood donors were recruited as they presented for donation at the National Blood Transfusion Service centre and Plateau Specialist Hospital Jos. Their blood samples were tested for HbsAg, anti-HCV, and HIV, using a third generation ELISA, by Bio-Rad. Data analyzed with SPSS version 20, associations between categorical variables tested using Chi-square (χ2) test and P<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: There were 510 respondents, aged 18 to 65 years. Mean age±SD was 30.20±9.10. The overall prevalence of TTVIs was 15.5% which was significantly lower than the 22.1% found in an earlier study. The prevalence of HBV, HIV and HCV were 7.5%. 3.1% and 2.7% respectively, while co infections with HIV/HBV, HIV/HCV and HBV/HCV were 1.6%; 0.2%; and 0.4% respectively. Infection prevalence was observed to be significantly lower in donors with tertiary education.
Conclusion: There was a decline in the prevalence of TTVIs in Jos, North-central Nigeria, and there was a significant association between educational level and blood donation (P<0.05). We recommend a need to sustain the present policies and efforts, donor education and implementation of stringent donor eligibility criteria to further minimize the risk.