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Objective: This study was conducted to examine the associations between socioeconomic status, urbanization, and cardio-metabolic risk factors in Tanzania., Methods: Participants were 209 adults (45-66 years) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate socioeconomic status and behavioral characteristics, including income, education, occupation, residence (urban, rural, mixed), dietary factors, and smoking. Blood samples were collected and analyzed to measure lipid profiles and fasting glucose levels. Cardiometabolic risk factors were defined using World Health Organization criteria., Results: Urban residence and higher socioeconomic status were associated with decreased intake of traditional staple food (ugali), and increased consumption of meat products and beverages. Higher socioeconomic status was associated with a significant 3.5-kg/m2 higher BMI (p = 0.0001) and 8 cm higher waist circumference (p < 0.001), and a three-fold increase in the risk of obesity. Urban residence was associated with poorer lipid profile, including significantly higher total cholesterol, increased LDL cholesterol, but lower triglycerides, compared to rural residence. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was high (38%), and was associated with increased socioeconomic status., Conclusion: Urban residence and higher socioeconomic status were important correlates of cardiometabolic risk factors, including obesity and poorer lipid profile. Primary prevention and health screening strategies are needed to target cardiometabolic risk factors in urban areas, to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Tanzania.

The human amnion consists of the epithelial cell layer and underlying connective tissue. After removing the epithelial cells, the resulting acellular connective tissue matrix was manufactured into thin dry sheets called amnion matrix sheets. The sheets were further processed into tubes, amnion matrix tubes (AMTs), of varying diameters, with the walls of varying numbers of amnion matrix sheets with or without a gelatin coating. The AMTs were implanted into rat sciatic nerves. Regenerating nerves extended in bundles through tubes of 1-2 mm in diameter and further elongated into host distal nerves 1-3 weeks after implantation. Morphometrical analysis of the regenerated nerve cable at the middle of each amnion matrix tube 3 weeks after implantation was performed. The average numbers of myelinated axons were almost the same (ca. 80-112/10(4) microm(2)) in AMTs of 1-2 mm in diameter, as in the normal sciatic nerve (ca. 95/10(4) microm(2)). No myelinated fibers were found in AMTs composed of multiple thin tubes of 0.2 mm in diameter. The myelinated axons were thinner in implanted tubes than those in the normal sciatic nerve. The rate of occurrences of myelinated axons less than 4 microm in diameter was significantly higher in the AMTs, whereas axons in the normal sciatic nerve were diverse in distribution, with the highest population at 8-12 microm in diameter. Reinnervation to the gastrocnemius muscle was demonstrated electrophysiologically 9 months after implantation. It was concluded that the extracellular matrix sheet from the human amnion is an effective conduit material for peripheral nerve regeneration., (Copyright 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res (Appl Biomater) 63: 591-600, 2002)

Muscle segments excised from rabbit biceps femoris muscles were treated with detergent sodium dodecyl sulphate to denature cellular constituents, and each was autografted in a 5 cm gap of the sciatic nerve in the same rabbit. Axonal regrowth through the grafts and reinnervation into the host sciatic nerves and muscles were studied morphologically, and electrophysiologically, 4 months after grafting. Regenerating axons accompanied by Schwann cells extended through basal lamina tubes of the grafts into the distal host nerves. Reinnervation of the tibialis anterior muscles by motor nerves was confirmed by recovery of the compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) and the reinnervation of the muscle spindles was demonstrated by electron microscopy. These findings indicated that the basal lamina tubes of denatured muscles were effective scaffolds through which the regenerating nerve fibers grew across as large a gap as 5 cm.

The basal laminae of muscle fibers, when treated by denaturing methods including freeze thawing, have been used as conduits for regenerating nerves. In this study, we developed a new method for denaturing skeletal muscle fibers through treatment with a biological detergent, sodium dodecyl sulfate. Laminin and type IV collagen proteins of muscle fiber basal laminae were preserved after the detergent treatment. A segment of detergent-denatured muscle was grafted to a 1-cm defect of the rat sciatic nerve. One week after grafting, regenerating axons immunostained for neurofilaments were seen extending within laminin-positive muscle fiber basal lamina tubes. Four weeks after grafting, numerous myelinated axons at a much higher level than the control unoperated sciatic nerve, were found in the middle of the graft. They were smaller in diameter than those in the control nerve. Distal host nerves were well reinnervated 4 weeks after grafting. These findings suggest that the basal laminae of detergent-denatured muscle fibers provide effective conduits for regenerating axons.