Socio-Cultural Perceptions and Representations of Dementia in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo: The EDAC Survey

Background: Dementia will concern more and more people in the developing countries, but the perception people have of dementia in these areas has not yet been studied. Method: During a general population survey (EDAC) carried out in Brazzaville (Republic of Congo), 27 elderly persons suspected of having dementia and 31 of their relatives, 90 cognitively impaired elderly persons and 92 of their relatives, as well as 33 hospital workers were interviewed according to the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue. Results: Item prominence ratings indicate that the attention was mainly on the emotional and socio-economic consequences (scores >1.0 out of 5 points). Ageing and mental stress are the main perceived causes. Hospital workers are more aware of public stigma. Conclusion: The socio-cultural components of the dementia phenomenon have to be taken into account to enforce public health and social measures

A dual epimorphic and compensatory mode of heart regeneration in zebrafish

Zebrafish heart regeneration relies on the capacity of cardiomyocytes to proliferate upon injury. To understand the principles of this process after cryoinjury-induced myocardial infarction, we established a spatio-temporal map of mitotic cardiomyocytes and their differentiation dynamics. Immunodetection of phosphohistone H3 and embryonic ventricular heavy chain myosin highlighted two distinct regenerative processes during the early phase of regeneration. The injury-abutting zone comprises a population of cardiac cells that reactivates the expression of embryo-specific sarcomeric proteins and it displays a 10-fold higher mitotic activity in comparison to the injury-remote zone. The undifferentiated cardiomyocytes resemble a blastema-like structure between the original and wound tissues. They integrate with the fibrotic tissue through the fibronectin-tenascin C extracellular matrix, and with the mature cardiomyocytes through upregulation of the tight junction marker, connexin 43. During the advanced regenerative phase, the population of undifferentiated cardiomyocytes disperses within the regenerating myocardium and it is not detected after the termination of regeneration. Although the blastema represents a transient landmark of the regenerating ventricle, the remaining mature myocardium also displays an enhanced mitotic index when compared to uninjured hearts. This suggests an unexpected contribution of a global proliferative activity to restore the impaired cardiac function. Based on these findings, we propose a new model of zebrafish heart regeneration that involves a combination of blastema-dependent epimorphosis and a compensatory organ-wide response

Evaluation de la prévalence de HTLV-I et des coïnfections HTLV-HIV en Afrique noire.

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validation du prélèvement de sang sur papier filtre pour l'analyse sérologique de HTLV-I.

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Link between peripheral neuropathy and monoclonal dysglobulinemia: a study of 53 cases.

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Aging Ment Health

OBJECTIVES: Visual impairment and cognitive disorders are common among older people in Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC). Several recent studies performed in High-Income Countries suggested that visual impairment is associated with cognitive disorders. However, no synthesis of current knowledge exists for LMIC. METHODS: We have conducted an extensive literature search combining six databases and two grey literature databases. We searched for studies assessing the link between visual and cognitive impairments carried out in LMIC. The systematic search was performed up to 14th February 2019. RESULTS: Overall, eight studies were included in this review. Among them, five studies were performed in Asia and seven studies had a cross-sectional design. Mean age of the participants varied from 64.2 to 76.2 years. Participants were most often females. Only three studies were specifically focused on the association between visual impairment and cognitive disorders. Out of the eight studies included, four reported a significant association; two showed a possible association and two did not retrieve any statistically significant effect. Heterogeneity in assessments of visual and cognitive impairments was high. CONCLUSION: In LMIC, very few studies explored the association between visual and cognitive impairments among older people. The current review seems to suggest that visual impairment is associated with cognitive disorders in LMIC. However, further studies are required to improve the knowledge on this relationship. Improving vision, in particular through optical correction and cataract surgery, could potentially be easy pathways to reduce cognitive disorders incidence and to improve quality of life of people affected by this disorder

Collagen XII contributes to epicardial and connective tissues in the Zebrafish heart during ontogenesis and regeneration

Zebrafish heart regeneration depends on cardiac cell proliferation, epicardium activation and transient reparative tissue deposition. The contribution and the regulation of specific collagen types during the regenerative process, however, remain poorly characterized. Here, we identified that the non-fibrillar type XII collagen, which serves as a matrix-bridging component, is expressed in the epicardium of the zebrafish heart, and is boosted after cryoinjury-induced ventricular damage. During heart regeneration, an intense deposition of Collagen XII covers the outer epicardial cap and the interstitial reparative tissue. Analysis of the activated epicardium and fibroblast markers revealed a heterogeneous cellular origin of Collagen XII. Interestingly, this matrix-bridging collagen co-localized with fibrillar type I collagen and several glycoproteins in the post-injury zone, suggesting its role in tissue cohesion. Using SB431542, a selective inhibitor of the TGF-β receptor, we showed that while the inhibitor treatment did not affect the expression of collagen 12 and collagen 1a2 in the epicardium, it completely suppressed the induction of both genes in the fibrotic tissue. This suggests that distinct mechanisms might regulate collagen expression in the outer heart layer and the inner injury zone. On the basis of this study, we postulate that the TGF-β signaling pathway induces and coordinates formation of a transient collagenous network that comprises fibril-forming Collagen I and fiber-associated Collagen XII, both of which contribute to the reparative matrix of the regenerating zebrafish heart

La démence dans ses représentations socioculturelles à Brazzaville, République du Congo.

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Evaluation de la prévalence d'HTLV-I et des coïnfections HTLV/HIV en Afrique Noire à partir de résultats personnels et de l'étude de la littérature.

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Echelles d'évaluation au cours des démences : quelles possibilités d'application en zone tropicale?

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