Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Intra-Operative Mitomycin C For Pterygium Surgery In African Eyes

Aims: This study was designed to evaluate Pterygium surgery and intra-operative mitomycin C application in Warri, Nigeria. Methods: Case files of all patients who had pterygium surgery and intra operative application of 0.4 mg/ml of Mitomycin C; and were followed up for a minimum of 12months at DDS Eye Surgery in Warri, Nigeria between January 1998 – June 2002 were reviewed. Results: One hundred and two eyes (87patients) had pterygium surgery and mitomycin C application intraoperatively. Fifteen eyes (14.7%) had recurrence after a minimum follow up period of 12 months. The male to female ratio was 1.4:1. The mean age of all the patients was 41.6 years. The mean age of the patients with recurrence was 39.6 years while that of the non-recurrence was 43.3 years. Main complications encountered were conjunctival granuloma thirteen (12.8%); delayed healing nine (8.8%); scleral melt three (2.9%). None of the eyes with delayed healing or scleral-melt had recurrence of their pterygium, but four out of thirteen eyes (31%) with conjunctival granuloma had recurrence of their pterygia. Use of native medication (cocktail of herbal extracts) and duration of pterygium before surgery had no bearing on recurrence. Most of the recurrences occurred between the 4th and the 6th months (73.3%). Conclusion: Single intra-operative application of 0.4mg/ml of mitomycin C was found to be effective in reducing the incidence of recurrence of pterygium below 15% (14.7%) in African eyes. Ophthalmologists are advised to give patients the maximum benefit of pterygium surgery by using intra-operative mitomycin C. Keywords: Pterygium recurrence, Post operative complications, Mitomycin CSahel Medical Journal Vol. 10 (4) 2007: pp. 132-13

The Relationship Between Socio-Demographic Factors and Severity of Visual Field Loss in Glaucoma Patients at Initial Presentation In Benin-City, Nigeria

Late presentation continues to be a major problem of patients with primary open angle glaucoma. The aim of this study is to determine the socio-demographic factors, which affect the severity of visual field loss at initial presentation. A prospective study of 154 new patients with a diagnosis of primary open angle glaucoma seen between January 1997 and August 1998 at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria were analyzed in the context of gender, marital status, religion geographical abode, education status, occupation and monthly income. The patients were examined using the Bjerrum screen. The mean age was 52.73 years (SD+ 15.98) and the male to female ratio was 2.1:1. Eighty-seven patients (56.5%) presented late with visual field constricted to less than 100 of fixation. Gender, marital status, religions and geographical abode did not significantly affect the severity of visual field loss at presentation. There was a significant difference with occupation (P>0.05), educational status (P>0.05) and with monthly income (P>0.01). Patients in the higher socioeconomic classes, those who had tertiary level of education and those in the higher monthly income groups presented earlier than those in the lower socioeconomic classes, those with lower educational status and those in the lower monthly income groups respectively. Economic empowerment, poverty alleviation and improvement in educational status can reduce the problem of late presentation. KEY WORDS:Factors, severity, field loss, glaucoma. Sahel Med. J. Vol.5(4) 2002: 195-19

Ocular morbidities in a targeted high-risk urban population in Benin City, Edo State

No Abstract

Identification of genetic risk loci and causal insights associated with Parkinson\u27s disease in African and African admixed populations: a genome-wide association study

\ua9 2023 Elsevier LtdBackground: An understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying diseases in ancestrally diverse populations is an important step towards development of targeted treatments. Research in African and African admixed populations can enable mapping of complex traits, because of their genetic diversity, extensive population substructure, and distinct linkage disequilibrium patterns. We aimed to do a comprehensive genome-wide assessment in African and African admixed individuals to better understand the genetic architecture of Parkinson\u27s disease in these underserved populations. Methods: We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in people of African and African admixed ancestry with and without Parkinson\u27s disease. Individuals were included from several cohorts that were available as a part of the Global Parkinson\u27s Genetics Program, the International Parkinson\u27s Disease Genomics Consortium Africa, and 23andMe. A diagnosis of Parkinson\u27s disease was confirmed clinically by a movement disorder specialist for every individual in each cohort, except for 23andMe, in which it was self-reported based on clinical diagnosis. We characterised ancestry-specific risk, differential haplotype structure and admixture, coding and structural genetic variation, and enzymatic activity. Findings: We included 197 918 individuals (1488 cases and 196 430 controls) in our genome-wide analysis. We identified a novel common risk factor for Parkinson\u27s disease (overall meta-analysis odds ratio for risk of Parkinson\u27s disease 1\ub758 [95% CI 1\ub737–1\ub780], p=2\ub7397 7 10−14) and age at onset at the GBA1 locus, rs3115534-G (age at onset β=–2\ub700 [SE=0\ub757], p=0\ub70005, for African ancestry; and β=–4\ub715 [0\ub758], p=0\ub7015, for African admixed ancestry), which was rare in non-African or non-African admixed populations. Downstream short-read and long-read whole-genome sequencing analyses did not reveal any coding or structural variant underlying the GWAS signal. The identified signal seems to be associated with decreased glucocerebrosidase activity. Interpretation: Our study identified a novel genetic risk factor in GBA1 in people of African ancestry, which has not been seen in European populations, and it could be a major mechanistic basis of Parkinson\u27s disease in African populations. This population-specific variant exerts substantial risk on Parkinson\u27s disease as compared with common variation identified through GWAS and it was found to be present in 39% of the cases assessed in this study. This finding highlights the importance of understanding ancestry-specific genetic risk in complex diseases, a particularly crucial point as the Parkinson\u27s disease field moves towards targeted treatments in clinical trials. The distinctive genetics of African populations highlights the need for equitable inclusion of ancestrally diverse groups in future trials, which will be a valuable step towards gaining insights into novel genetic determinants underlying the causes of Parkinson\u27s disease. This finding opens new avenues towards RNA-based and other therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing lifetime risk of Parkinson\u27s disease. Funding: The Global Parkinson\u27s Genetics Program, which is funded by the Aligning Science Across Parkinson\u27s initiative, and The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson\u27s Research