Background: Artemisinin combination therapy is first-line therapy for treatment of malaria, which is one of the most significant public health problems in Nigeria. With the increasing level of use of these drugs coupled with the emergence of resistance, there is a need for regular post-market surveillance.

Method: Twenty different brands of artesunate-containing antimalarial drugs and 10 brands of artemether-lumefantrine were multi-sourced in the south western part of Nigeria and were subjected to identification, weight uniformity test, and assay using United State pharmacopoeia and International Pharmacopoeia monographs. In vitro-dissolution test of the artemether tablets was also investigated.

Results: All 10 brands (100%) of the artemether-lumefantrine tablets met the assay requirement for artemether and 8 (80%) met the assay requirement for lumefantrine, but only 4 brands (40%) met the requirement for artemether dissolution. One of these brands failed the weight uniformity test. Of the 20 brands of artesunate-containing brands included in this study, 15 (75%) met the standard assay requirement for artesunate and two failed the weight uniformity test.

Conclusions: There is evidence of the presence of substandard artemisinin products in the Nigerian market.

Objective: Epilepsy is a common condition worldwide and has been observed to affect quality of life (QOL). Though, much has been written on this subject among western populations, little research has been done in developing countries of Africa including Nigeria. The study aims to identify factors associated with quality of life among adult epilepsy patients in this environment. Method: Respondents were evaluated using the 10-item Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-10), the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30), the modified Mini Mental State Examination (mMMSE),and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Diagnosis of epilepsy was based on clinical and electroencephalographic findings. Results: The mean age of the 51 respondents was 27.7years (SD = 9.7). Thirteen (25.5%) had an average of 2 seizure episodes in the month preceding the interview, while 37 (72.5%) have had the condition for more than 5 years. Factors that were significantly associated with overall quality of life included being female (p < 0.05), seizure frequency (p < 0.01), using more than 1 anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) (p < 0.01), GHQ-30 score (p < 0.01), high anxiety score (p < 0.001), and high depression score p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that depressive symptoms were the single most important factor explaining low QOL. Other factors were GHQ-30 score, seizure frequency, and being a woman. Conclusion: Controlling seizures and paying attention to the psychological needs of adult epileptics will have a positive effect on the QOL among Nigerian epileptics. © 2006, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.

Commercially, available activated carbon (CAC) and coconut shell activated carbon (CSAC) were used in the adsorption of Trichloromethane (TCM) from disinfected water using the optimum conditions (concentration, dosage, pH and time) obtained. Concentrations of TCM were determined using GC-MS. Physicochemical parameters of CSAC were investigated. The CSAC gave percentage carbon yield (86.72±1.41), surface area 1200 m2/g and CHNS/O Elemental Analyzer gave elemental Carbon of 60.08% as the highest of the elements in the char. A pore structure dispersed on the CSAC surface was observed. Best conditions for CSAC were: 1.4 × 104μg/l TCM, 5.0 pH, 0.8 g absorbent within 30 minutes. The data fitted Freundlich than Langmuir model (R2 of 0.9977 and 0.9232, respectively). Percentage removal of TCM for CAC and CSAC was 98.3±1.55 and 96.7±1.27, respectively for the water sample. Results indicated that CSAC was efficient for removal of TCM present in water and could be used as alternative for CAC in water treatment.