The A445C Variant in Apelin Receptor and Diabetic Retinopathy in Tunisian Patients.

Background: Apelin and apelin receptor (APLN/APLNR) are involved in the retinal neovascularization of diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: This study investigated the impact of the APLNR A445C variant on the risk of DR in a sample of the Tunisian population (100 patients with DR and 105 healthy controls) using PCR-RFLP.

Results: The genotype frequencies of the APLNR A445C variant were not significantly different between the patient and control groups.

A lower-cost protocol for sickle cell disease neonatal screening in Tunisia.

Background And Objectives: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of hereditary chronic anemias that manifest essentially as painful crisis and susceptibility to infection. Neonatal screening is a preventive action that reduces the rates of mortality due to complications arising from infections by encouraging early prophylactic penicillin use and pneumococcal vaccination. The purpose of this pilot study was to set up a neonatal screening protocol at a lower cost than one that uses commercially available screening kits.