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There is paucity of reports in the demographic knowledge, belief and socio-psychological impact of acne vulgaris sufferers towards the disorder in a black population. This is the first study from Nigeria designed to address this issue. A total of 174 facial acne sufferers completed a self-administered questionnaire, which contained several items mentioning different areas in their belief, knowledge, perception, severity, socio-psychological impact and medication attention. The findings were discussed and compared to those of the Caucasians. The occurrence of the disorder was higher in females (65.0%) compared to the males (35.0%). About 54.0% of the female subjects indicated increase in severity of the disorder during their pre-menstrual period. Also 64.9% of acne sufferers indicated increase in severity during the rainy season, while 93.1% of the population implicated stress to perpetuate the severity of the disorder. Most (75.7%) of the acne sufferers believed that it is caused by oily diet, 40.8% thought that it is hereditary, while barely 5.2% had at sometime sought doctor's attention. Non- prescription products used by acne sufferers were cleansers and cream/lotions. Psychological abnormalities experienced by the sufferers included social inhibition, depression and anxiety. Pain and discomfort are the psychosomatic symptoms. No major differences were found in the beliefs, misconception and socio-psychological impact of acne sufferers in a black population (Nigeria) compared to the Caucasians. There is need to improve the understanding of the disorder in Nigeria through health education programmes.

A comparative study of HIV associated pulmonary tuberculosis (HIV-PTB) was carried out in Chest Clinics situated in Benin and Irrua environs of Edo State, Nigeria, using microscopical and serological methods. In Irrua environs, HIV-PTB co-infection is higher in females (12.5%) than in males (9.2%) but not statistically significant (P > 0.05). In Benin, HIV-PTB is also higher in females (11.3%) than in males (7.2%) but not statistically significant (P > 0.05). In Benin, PTB is statistically high among <20 years and 21–30 years old subjects (50% and 28.7% respectively, P < 0.05), while HIV is statistically high among age group 31–40 years and 41.50 years (23.5% and 27.9% respectively, P < 0.05). HIV-PTB co-infection is also statistically high among drivers and traders (13.8% and 12.6% respectively, P < 0.05) in Benin. Generally, there is no significant difference in the prevalence of HIV, PTB and HIV-PTB infection rate in the two regions when sex and occupation of the subjects are considered (P > 0.05). However, subjects of > 60 years old have a significantly higher PTB disease in Benin than their counterpart in Irrua (28.6% and 0% respectively, P < 0.05)

Serum activities of Acid Phosphatase (ACP) and Prostatic Acid Phosphatase (PAP) are still employed in most hospitals in Nigeria for the diagnosis of prostate cancer, because of lack of resources for prostate specific antigen (PSA) assay. Serum PSA and activities of phosphatase isoenzymes ACP and PAP, Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) and Heat stable Alkaline Phosphatase (HSAP) were studied in 71 apparently healthy male controls and 47 proven prostate cancer patients. There were statistically significant increases in the mean serum levels of PSA, PAP, ACP, ALP and HSAP in the prostate cancer patients compared to the controls (P<0.001). PSA level was increased above the cut-off level in 85.1% of patients, PAP in 66.0%, ACP in 57.5%, ALP in 34.0% and HSAP in 21.3% of cases. Serum levels of PSA, ACP and PAP were lower and of ALP and HSAP higher in patients with longer duration of the disease (P<0.05). The study confirms the relevance of PSA assay over ACP, PAP, ALP and HSAP in the diagnosis of prostate cancer patients. It highlights the need for the inclusion of PSA assay in hospitals for accurate diagnosis of prostatic carcinoma.