3 research outputs found
Depressive symptoms in patients with epilepsy: Analysis of self-rating and physician's assessment
Background : Depression has significant negative impact on the quality
of life in patients with epilepsy (PWE). Aim: This study assessed the
prevalence of depression in PWE and the impact of seizure variables on
the depression scores. Settings and Design : A case-control study of
randomly selected PWE attending a tertiary hospital in a metropolitan,
Nigeria. Materials and Methods : A total of 152 randomly selected
subjects the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for quantitative
assessment of depression, while the Hamilton Rating Scale for
Depression (HRSD) was used by the investigators. Statistical Analysis
: The Student t test assessed statistical significance of differences
in the BDI and HRSD scores, whereas the scores were correlated with
Pearsonā²s correlation coefficient. Logistic regression analysis
and Chi-square test for trend assessed the impact of seizure variables
on the scores. The level of significance was taken as P < 0.05.
Results : The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 42% and 45% using
the HRSD and BDI, respectively, with significant differences in the
scores of the patients and controls on the both scales (P < 0.001).
The PWE scores on both scales yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.8
indicating their utility in detecting depressive symptoms. Seizure
control was the most potent predictor of depression (HRSD: P = 0.004;
BDI: P = 0.001). Conclusions : Depressive symptoms are common in
epilepsy. Early detection and prompt management are recommended. Good
seizure control with an appropriate antiepileptic drug, among other
interventional measures, may contribute to the prevention of depression
in epilepsy
MAPT allele and haplotype frequencies in Nigerian Africans: Population distribution and association with Parkinson's disease risk and age at onset
INTRODUCTION: The association between MAPT and PD risk may be subject to ethnic variability even within populations of similar geographical origin. Data on MAPT haplotype frequencies, and its association with PD risk in black Africans are lacking. We aimed to determine the frequencies of MAPT haplotypes and their role as risk factors for PD and age at onset in Nigerians. METHODS: The haplotype and genotype frequencies of MAPT rs1052553 were analysed in 907 individuals with PD and 1022 age-matched healthy controls from the Nigeria Parkinson's Disease Research network cohort. Clinical data related to PD included age at study, age at onset (AAO), and disease duration. RESULTS: The frequency of the H1 haplotype was 98.7% in PD, and 99.1% in controls (pĀ =Ā 0.19). The H2 haplotype was present in - 1.3% of PD and 0.9% of controls (pĀ =Ā 0.24). The most frequent MAPT genotype was H1H1 (PD - 97.5%, controls - 98.2%). The H1 haplotype was not associated with PD risk after accounting for gender and AAO (Odds ratio for H1/H1 vs H1/H2 and H2/H2: 0.68 (95% CI:0.39-1.28); pĀ =Ā 0.23). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support previous studies that report a low frequency of the MAPT H2 haplotype in black ancestry Africans but document its occurrence in Nigerians. The MAPT H1 haplotype was not associated with an increased risk or age at onset of PD in this cohort