APOE E4 is associated with impaired self-declared cognition but not disease risk or age of onset in Nigerians with Parkinson's disease

The relationship between APOE polymorphisms and Parkinson's disease (PD) in black Africans has not been previously investigated. We evaluated the association between APOE polymorphic variability and self-declared cognition in 1100 Nigerians with PD and 1097 age-matched healthy controls. Cognition in PD was assessed using the single item cognition question (item 1.1) of the MDS-UPDRS. APOE genotype and allele frequencies did not differ between PD and controls (p > 0.05). No allelic or genotypic association was observed between APOE and age at onset of PD. In PD, APOE ε4/ε4 conferred a two-fold risk of cognitive impairment compared to one or no ε4 (HR: 2.09 (95% CI: 1.13-3.89; p = 0.02)), while APOE ε2 was associated with modest protection against cognitive impairment (HR: 0.41 (95% CI 0.19-0.99, p = 0.02)). Of 773 PD with motor phenotype and APOE characterized, tremor-dominant (TD) phenotype predominated significantly in ε2 carriers (87/135, 64.4%) compared to 22.2% in persons with postural instability/gait difficulty (PIGD) (30/135) and 13.3% in indeterminate (ID) (18/135, 13.3%) (p = 0.037). Although the frequency of the TD phenotype was highest in homozygous ε2 carriers (85.7%), the distribution of motor phenotypes across the six genotypes did not differ significantly (p = 0.18). Altogether, our findings support previous studies in other ethnicities, implying a role for APOE ε4 and ε2 as risk and protective factors, respectively, for cognitive impairment in PD

Antibiotic Sensitivity Pattern of Pathogenic Bacterial Isolates From Diseased Clarias gariepinus From Selected Ibadan And Ikorodu Farms

This study was carried out to isolate, characterise and identify bacteria from diseased Clarias gariepinusand also assess the occurrence of resistance to antimicrobial in isolated bacteria. Samples of diseased African Catfish were collected for a period of six weeks from consenting farms in Ibadan and Ikorodu in Nigeria and examined for clinical signs of disease. Pond water samples along with organs such as gills, skin, intestine, kidney and lungs from these fish were analyzed microbiologically using differential and selective media. Bacteria enumeration, identification and biochemical characterization were carried out and the physiochemical parameters of the water samples determined. All isolates were subjected to antibiotic sensitivity test using the standard Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The total bacterial load for the organs ranged between 3.0 x 104 (lungs sample) and 6.0 x 107cfu/g (gill sample). The gills had the highest average total bacterial count, while lungs had the least. Morphologically unique bacterial isolates obtained included Salmonella (14 isolates), Pseudomonas (4 isolates), Aeromonas (2 isolates), Edwardsiella (3 isolates) and Shigella (3 isolates). These isolates displayed antibiotic resistance profile to the following: Ceftazidime (38%), Cefuroxime (77%), Gentamicin (37%), Cefixime (73%), Ofloxacin (23%), Augmentin (66%), Nitrofurantoin (58%) and Ciprofloxacin (15%). Two Salmonella isolates had multi-drug resistance pattern. This study showed that indiscriminate use of unlicensed or unapproved antibiotics for aquaculture portends significant hazards to public health therefore disease prevention is preferable through good culture and health management to ensure optimum yields and wholesome products

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

BACKGROUND: 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's 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's disease. Individuals were included from several cohorts that were available as a part of the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program, the International Parkinson's Disease Genomics Consortium Africa, and 23andMe. A diagnosis of Parkinson's 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's disease (overall meta-analysis odds ratio for risk of Parkinson's disease 1·58 [95% CI 1·37-1·80], p=2·397 × 10-14) and age at onset at the GBA1 locus, rs3115534-G (age at onset β=-2·00 [SE=0·57], p=0·0005, for African ancestry; and β=-4·15 [0·58], p=0·015, 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's disease in African populations. This population-specific variant exerts substantial risk on Parkinson's 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's 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's disease. This finding opens new avenues towards RNA-based and other therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing lifetime risk of Parkinson's disease. FUNDING: The Global Parkinson's Genetics Program, which is funded by the Aligning Science Across Parkinson's initiative, and The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research