Skin cancer risk factors among Black South Africans-The Johannesburg Cancer Study, 1995-2016.

Background: The Black population has lower skin cancer incidence compared to White, Indian/Asian, and Mixed-race populations in South Africa; however, skin cancer still exists in the Black population. The aim of this study is to identify risk factors associated with skin cancer among Black South Africans.

Materials And Methods: A case-control study was conducted.

Completeness of Reporting for Breast Cancer Data in the National Pathology-Based Cancer Registry in South Africa.

Background: It is important for a cancer registry to have adequate coverage of the catchment area to accurately estimate the cancer burden. This study aimed to determine the pathology-based South African National Cancer Registry's (NCR's) catchment rate of breast cancer cases using a hospital-based cancer registry as reference.

Methods: Using 2 record linkage approaches, a combination of deterministic record linkage (DRL) and probabilistic record linkage (PRL), we linked a breast cancer hospital registry (n = 398) from 2015 with breast cancer registry data from the NCR (n = 16,642).

The Integrity and Yield of Genomic DNA Isolated from Whole Blood Following Long-Term Storage at -30°C.

Long-term storage of whole blood can affect the integrity of DNA if it is not done under optimal conditions. The aim of this study was to determine whether long-term storage (2-19 years) of whole blood samples at -30°C had a negative effect on the quality or quantity of genomic DNA that could be recovered at extraction. Genomic DNA was isolated from 2758 whole blood samples collected in 4 mL EDTA vacutainers from 1997 to 2012.

Amelioration of L-Dopa-Associated Dyskinesias with Triterpenoic Acid in a Parkinsonian Rat Model.

Levo-Dopa (L-Dopa) is widely used for the oral treatment of Parkinson's disease. However, chronic treatment with L-Dopa produces abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) known as dyskinesias. In this study, commercially available oleanolic acid (OA) that has been previously shown to ameliorate the toxic effects of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in preconditioning studies was used to treat AIMs in a rat model for Parkinson's disease.

Oleanolic Acid enhances the beneficial effects of preconditioning on PC12 cells.

Preconditioning triggers endogenous protection against subsequent exposure to higher concentrations of a neurotoxin. In this study, we investigated whether exposure to oleanolic acid (OA) enhances the protective effects of preconditioning on PC12 cells exposed to 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). A concentration response curve was constructed using 6-OHDA (50, 150, 300, and 600 μM).