E Uzer, F Dilmec, F Akkafa, O Boduroglu, ABP van Kuilenburg
The CTLA-4 gene c.49A >G and c.-319C >T, and CD28 gene c.534+17T >C polymorphisms did not
represent an important risk factor for this disease in a Turkish population.
KA Thaxter, LE Young, RE Young, O Parshad, J Addae
Anxiety levels were assessed after treatment with either a steroidal extract of neem leaves or diazepam. An animal model of anxiety, the elevated X maze, provided reliable evidence of anxiolysis without motor deficit in neem treated rats.
In this study, the ability of various anthropometric and body composition measurements in predicting fasting blood sugar and blood pressure measured in a group of public service employees was evaluated. The results suggest similar predictive abilities among the various cut-off values.
Epidemiological studies over the last 50 years have documented an increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in the Caribbean. Diabetes is associated with a high rate of complications, high economic cost and is a leading cause of mortality in the region.
TS Ferguson, N Younger, MK Tulloch-Reid, TE Forrester, RS Cooper, J Van den Broeck, RJ Wilks
In this cross-sectional study, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Jamaican adults was 21.1% and 18.4% using the International Diabetes Federation and American Heart Association/National Heart Lung and Blood Institute criteria, respectively. Metabolic syndrome
prevalence was associated with socio-economic status in men.
The paper gives an overview of the most important methods and tests used in the identification of spermatozoa or constituents of seminal fluid during investigation of alleged sexual assault.
There is a trend towards the use of complementary/alternative medical care practices by persons in both developed and developing countries. Surveys have shown that patients expect their physicians to provide them with advice on which of these methods might be useful to complement the conventional medical practices. Medical schools at present are not offering enough information to undergraduates in order for them to carry out this important function.
Exercise-induced bronchospasm and asthma are often undiagnosed. Three per cent of the children that concluded a Free-Running-Asthma-Screening-Test were newly diagnosed cases of asthma. The outcome of the challenge was much more useful than a questionnaire on asthma symptoms.
H pylori infection was common in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms in the Turks and Caicos.
However, the prevalence of infection in patients undergoing endoscopy and peptic ulcer disease is
lower than in other reports from the Caribbean.
Infection and cardiovascular diseases were leading causes of morbidity and hence intensive management of cardiovascular risk factors and prompt recognition and treatment of sepsis are recommended.
M Gooden, M Miller, D Shah, AK Soyibo, J Williams, EN Barton
In this retrospective review of 157 renal biopsies in Jamaican children with nephrotic syndrome between 1985–2008, mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis predominated. Hypertension, hypocomplementaemia, anaemia and renal failure in childhood nephrotic syndrome predicted more severe nephritis and should prompt nephrological consultation.
M Miller, M Gooden, D Shah, AK Soyibo, J Williams, EN Barton
In 270 Jamaican children undergoing renal biopsy, diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis was the
commonest histology observed. Hepatitis B caused 83.3% of membranous nephropathy. The role of
infection in the pathogenesis of renal disease in Jamaican children is probably underestimated.
The use of mycophenolate mofetil in the treatment of steroid resistant minimal change disease has not been extensively studied, particularly in the African Caribbean population. This case highlights its use in steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome in an Afro-Caribbean adolescent.
YT Pena, AK Soyibo, D McGrowder, TR Clarke, EN Barton
A combination of serum biochemical markers might predict underlying renal osteodystrophy better than would individual biochemical markers. A predictive model using bone histology and biochemical markers can be developed in the future.