Prevalence of the missense mutation Gly574Ser in the hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha in Africans with diabetes.

Background: Clinical presentation and natural history of diabetes are somewhat different in Black Africans compared to Caucasians. This peculiar disease course could be at least partly related to a specific genetic profile that has not been studied in this population.

Methods: Medical backgrounds, anthropometric and biologic parameters were obtained from 69 diabetic subjects in Dakar, Senegal, in 1998.

[Release of Loa loa antigens after treatment with ivermectin].

This study concerns 112 patients of whom 104 were followed up. Microfilaricidal treatment of loaiasis is sometimes followed by severe adverse reactions. Using an immunodiffusion technique and the measure of microfilaraemia by calibrated thick smear, the authors show that the intensity of adverse reactions is proportional to the quantity of microfilariae eliminated by the treatment.

[Hereditary xanthinuria, rare cause of hypo-uric acidemia. 2 cases].

Background: Hypouricemia can be observed in uncommon situations as in our two patients with hereditary xanthinuria.

Case Reports: In the first case, hereditary xanthinuria was discovered in a 36-year-old man when routine tests revealed hypouricemia. In the second case, a 76-year-old woman, hypouricemia was also a fortuitous discovery.

[Value of scintigraphy using meta-iodo-benzyl-guanidine (MIBG) in the investigation of cardiac autonomic neuropathy in diabetic patients. Comparison with Ewing tests].

Unlabelled: Cardiac autonomic neuropathy is a frequent complication of diabetes leading to resting tachycardia, postural hypotension, painless myocardial ischaemia, rhythm disturbances and sudden cardiac death. The aim of the study was to evaluate in a diabetic population the sensitivity of two exploration modes of autonomic neuropathy in diabetics: the Ewing tests which are, at present time, the reference method and the (123-I) meta-iodo-benzyl-guanidine (MIBG) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) which evaluates the cardiac sympathetic innervation.

Patients And Methods: 9 male insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients were studied.

Epidemiological aspects of diabetes in Cameroon: what is the role of tropical diabetes?

Diabetes is a worldwide public health problem made more acute in Africa by low socio-economic standards. Cases with an unusual clinical course are frequent and probably related to tropical diabetes, a syndrome that has not yet been precisely defined. This study reports the results of a prospective study carried out in Cameroon on 550 diabetic patients attending the Yaounde Central Hospital who were followed between December 1990 and July 1994.

[Diabetes and travel].

With the continuing expansion in international air travel, increasing numbers of diabetic patients consult physicians for advice before going abroad. Careful planning is required taking into account climatic and medical conditions at the destination. Diabetic travelers should pack an appropriate treatment kit and contract special insurance coverage for medical evacuation.

[Prevalence of hypertension in a black African diabetic population].

Background: It has been established that hypertension prevalence rate was higher in American Blacks than Whites or Mexicans. And hypertension is more frequent in diabetics. The prevalence of hypertension among diabetic African Blacks is not well documented.

[Development of blood pressure level over a three years period in non-insulin dependent diabetic subjects according to their microalbuminuria].

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study is to compare over a three year period blood pressure modifications of type 2 diabetic subjects who suffer of incipient nephropathy to those who remain unharmed of this complication.

Patients And Method: This study population is composed of 83 normotensive (BP < 140/90 mmHg) type 2 diabetic patients not receiving cardio-vascular treatment and unharmed of nephropathy (microalbuminuria inferior to 30 mg/24 hours). An evaluation of the diabetes mellitus is undertaken at a three year interval (A0 and A3).

A prevalence survey of diabetes in Mauritania.

Objective: To perform an epidemiological study of the prevalence of diabetes in Mauritania, West Africa, with little data available on diabetes in West Africa.

Research Design And Methods: The study was performed with a representative sample of the Mauritanian population. A random selection of the study population (n = 744) was drawn by a cluster sampling method.

[Diabetes in Cameroon. Classification difficulties in Africa].

Diabetes is a major health problem in Africa where management is complicated by poor socioeconomic conditions. Atypical presentations of diabetes appear to be common in tropical countries although there is still little accurate data in this regard. We describe 550 diabetic patients treated in Cameroon between December 1990 and July 1994.

[Prolactinoma and pregnancy. Six cases and review of the literature].

Prolactinoma is the most frequent of secreting pituitary adenomas. It is often discovered among women of childbearing-age presenting an association of amenorrhea and galactorrhea. Data in the literature from large series indicate the current risks of interaction between prolactinoma and pregnancy.

[Modification of hemorheological parameters in microvascular complications of diabetes].

The aim of the present study was to assess the possible modifications in the parameters of red cell aggregation and blood and plasma viscosity in 92 diabetic patients compared to 82 non diabetic control subjects. Based on the presence of microalbuminuria (> 30 mg/24 h) and/or retinopathy each group of diabetic patients was divided into two subgroups. This study shows increased red cell aggregation and blood viscosity among diabetic patients with microangiopathy.

[Secondary effects of the treatment of hypermicrofilaremic loiasis using ivermectin].

In the last ten years ivermectin appeared an efficient and safe alternative to diethylcarbamazine which is known to induce severe adverse reactions in loiasis, including encephalitis. After these results, large scale ivermectin treatments against onchocerciasis were carried out in Central Africa where loiasis is also endemic; and seven cases of severe reaction were reported in Cameroon since 1991, during these mass ivermectin treatments. In order to study adverse reactions in patients harbouring high load of Loa loa microfilariae (mf), we realized careful hospital based treatment in 112 patients with more than 3,000 mf/ml (ml) blood.

[Diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma by needle puncture--aspiration and cytological test. The experience in Cameroon].

The authors report their experience of the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma using needle aspiration cytology over a four year period (1989-1992). In 116 of the 119 patients presenting with histologically proven hepatocellular carcinoma, the diagnosis was previously established by cytology. This method has a 97% sensitivity.

Reliability of glucose measurement by glucose test strips in tropical conditions.

The reliability of glucose test strips and reflectance meters after storage in tropical conditions was assessed. In a first experiment, sealed bottles containing glucose test strips were stored for 1 month in closed sterilising ovens at 40 degrees C, one in dry (0% humidity) and the other in wet (75% humidity) conditions. Results were compared to measurements obtained with glucose test strips stored under standard Western conditions, in non-diabetic and diabetic patients, using the same standard reflectance meter.

[Tropical diabetes mellitus, a new nutritional indicator?].

Studies on diabetes mellitus in tropical zones indicate that its traditional link with overnutrition depends not only on the economic level, but also on some ethnic, social and cultural factors. At present, we insist on the unexpected relationship between diabetes mellitus and undernutrition either in some major infantile forms (described in India and Nigeria) with calcareous pancreatitis, or some less severe forms observed in Africa. This tropical diabetes mellitus occurs in some patients with normal weight or inferior to normal; it is not very ketogenic, responding to glucagon stimulation, and seems more frequent in the chronic malnutrition areas.

[Survey of nutritional pathology in Mauritania].

A display of the different nutritional problems in Mauritania, such as they could be studied under the working medical conditions in this country. This study shows the coexistence, into a low life level country, of nutritional deficiency diseases, and obesity induced diseases, especially frequent among the mature women. This reality emphasizes the complexity of the mechanisms responsible for the nutritional diseases, and advocates for a global action to improve the nutritional status of a population.