Browsing by Author "Debrah, A.B."
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Item A caregiver perspective of complementary and alternative medicine use among patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders(International Journal of Mental Health, 2018-12) Debrah, A.B.; Buabeng, K.O.; Donnir, G.; Akwo Kretchy, I.The World Health Organization estimates that about 40%–60% of patients with mental illness use Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), but little is known about the types and outcomes of these CAM therapies in Ghana. This study therefore sought to describe the patterns of use and perceived outcome of CAM therapy among patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders in a health facility in Ghana. The qualitative study involved both clinical and family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted over a period of 3 months to identify the pattern of CAM use and perceived outcome from caregiver perspectives. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analyzed thematically using NVivo 10. About 92% of family caregivers reported that their patients had used some form of CAM therapy. The therapies used included spiritual interventions (100%) herbal therapies (83%), dietary supplements (50%) and music therapies (6%). Both clinical and family caregivers perceived CAM therapies to be ineffective in resolving mental illness when used as an alternative to antipsychotic therapy. However when used as complementary, better outcomes were perceived. Spiritual interventions, herbal therapies, dietary supplements and music therapies were the types of CAM therapies used. Both negative and positive outcomes of CAM therapies were highlighted by caregivers. CAM use may therefore not be an alternative choice but rather complementary to mental health care.Item Circulating cell-free DNA integrity as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for breast and prostate cancers(Cancer Genetics, 2019-04) Arko-Boham, B.; Aryee, N.A.; Blay, R.M.; Owusu, E.D.A.; Tagoe, E.A.; Doris Shackie, E.S.; Debrah, A.B.; Adu-Aryee, N.A.Background Cancer incidence and its related mortality is rising and is currently the second leading cause of death globally. In Africa, breast and prostate cancer in females and males, respectively, are the worst globally. However, biomarkers for their early detection and prognosis are not well developed. This study sought to investigate circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) integrity and its potential utility as diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarker. Circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) is degraded DNA fragments released into the blood plasma. In healthy individuals, the source of ccfDNA is solely apoptosis, producing evenly sized shorter DNA fragments. In cancer patients, however, necrosis produces uneven longer cell-free DNA fragments in addition to the shorter fragments originating from apoptosis. DNA integrity, expressed as the ratio of longer fragments to total DNA, may be clinically useful for the detection of breast and prostate cancer progression. Methods Sixty-four (64) females, consisting of 32 breast cancer patients and 32 controls, and 61 males (31 prostate cancer patients and 30 controls) were included in the study. Each participant donated 5 ml peripheral blood from which sera were separated. Real-time qPCR was performed on the sera to quantify ALU 115 and 247 levels, and DNA integrity (ALU247/ALU115) determined. Results & Conclusion ALU species 115 and 247 levels in serum were elevated in breast and prostate cancer patients compared to their counterpart healthy controls. DNA integrity was higher in prostate cancer patients than in the control, but in breast cancer patients was lower compared to their controls. In prostate but not in breast cancers, DNA integrity increased with disease severity and higher staging.