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Biomedical subjects

M Molokhia

Publications and source records attributed to M Molokhia.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Systemic lupus erythematosus: genes versus environment in high risk populations.

The risks of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are known to vary considerably with ethnic origin. Prevalence of lupus is increased in African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Native American, Asian Indian, Polynesian and Chinese populations compared with people of European descent. The consistency with which high prevalence of lupus occurs in these populations descent living in different environments suggests that genetic factors are likely to underlie the high risk in this group. However the increased risk of lupus in high risk groups such as West Africans compared with Europeans does not appear to be accounted for by differences in allele frequencies at any of the loci where associations with SLE have been found, including those in the HLA region. To date the contribution of environmental factors to a complex disease such as lupus is still not fully understood. This article explores possible environmental risk factors for SLE in high risk ethnic groups. Smoking, occupational exposures to silica and exposure to infection in childhood may explain some non-genetic risk factors for SLE in these groups.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed2003

Relation of risk of systemic lupus erythematosus to west African admixture in a Caribbean population.

Risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is higher in people of west African descent than in Europeans. The objective of this study was to distinguish between genetic and environmental explanations for this ethnic difference by examining the relationship of disease risk to individual admixture (defined as the proportion of the genome that is of west African ancestry); 124 cases of SLE and 219 matched controls resident in Trinidad were studied. Analysis of admixture was restricted to 52 cases and 107 controls who reported no Indian or Chinese ancestry. These individuals were typed with a panel of 26 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and five insertion/deletion polymorphisms chosen to have large allele frequency differentials between west African, European and Native American populations. A Bayesian model for population admixture, individual admixture and locus ancestry was fitted by Markov chain simulation. Mean west African admixture (M) was 0.81 in cases and 0.74 in controls (P=0.01). The risk ratio for SLE associated with unit change in M was estimated as 32.5 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 2.0-518. Adjustment for measures of socioeconomic status (household amenities in childhood and years of education) altered this risk ratio only slightly (adjusted risk ratio: 28.4, 95% CI 1.7-485). These results support an additive genetic model for the ethnic difference in risk of SLE between west Africans and Europeans, rather than an environmental explanation or an "overdominant" model in which risk is higher in heterozygous than in homozygous individuals. This conclusion lays a basis for localizing the genes underlying this ethnic difference in risk of SLE by admixture mapping.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Systemic lupus erythematosus in migrants from west Africa compared with Afro-Caribbean people in the UK.

SLE has a high prevalence in Afro-Caribbean populations but has been reported to be rare in west Africa. We assessed prevalence (per 100000) of SLE in women in an area of south London and estimated it to be 177 (95% CI 135-220) in Afro-Caribbeans, 110 (58-163) in west Africans, and 35 (26-43) in Europeans. The high prevalence of SLE in recent migrants from west Africa suggests that the disease is not rare in west Africa, and that there is a genetic basis for the high risk of SLE in people of west African descent compared with other groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Risk for rheumatic disease in relation to ethnicity and admixture.

Risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is high in west Africans compared with Europeans, and risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is high in Native Americans compared with Europeans. These differences are not accounted for by differences in allele or haplotype frequencies in the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) region or any other loci known to influence risk of rheumatic disease. Where there has been admixture between two or more ethnic groups that differ in risk of disease, studies of the relationship of disease risk to proportionate admixture can help to distinguish between genetic and environmental explanations for ethnic differences in disease risk and to map the genes underlying these differences.

Africa↗
PubMed2000

A pilot study of cardiovascular risk assessment in Afro-Caribbean patients attending an inner city general practice.

BACKGROUND: Afro-Caribbean ethnic minorities are at high risk of stroke and the sequelae of hypertension. OBJECTIVE: To investigate cardiovascular risk factors and Dundee risk rank in Afro-Caribbeans attending one inner city general practice and to find which methods of health promotion patients preferred. METHODS: We assessed cardiovascular risk including systolic and diastolic blood pressure in 98 patients of Afro-Caribbean origin. RESULTS: Fifty per cent of the patients had at least two risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Focus groups suggested that the barriers to effective health promotion included lack of risk awareness, cultural and lifestyle influences, time restrictions and language difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: The small pilot study highlights both the need for and some of the problems of GP-based cardiovascular health promotion in Afro-Caribbeans.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Obesity wars: a pilot study of very low calorie diets in obese patients in general practice.

In this study we aimed to determine whether very low calorie diets (VLCDs) can be an effective means of weight reduction in obese patients in general practice. Twenty-six patients showed a mean reduction in weight of 15 kg and in body mass index (BMI) of 6.1% within a 12-month period. VLCDs with regular monitoring and feedback were shown to be effective in reducing and maintaining weight loss for up to a year with no reported serious side effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

A simple method for measuring zinc absorption in man using a short-lived isotope (69mZn).

Using a short-lived isotope of zinc (69mZn) with a half-life of 13.9 hr, we have developed a simple test of zinc absorption. After an oral dose of isotope (50 muCi) with 2 mg of elemental zinc a plasma appearance curve was constructed from radioactivity determined in blood samples taken sequentially over 8 hr. Two week later an iv dose of isotope (25 muCi) was administered and a plasma disappearance curve was constructed. Absorption was calculated by computer analysis of appearance and disappearance curves using a deconvolution programme. Mean absorption in five normal subjects was 61% (range 41 to 79%). In three subjects given food with, or 1 hr before the isotope, absorption was delayed and reduced to less than 20% of the oral dose at 8 hr. This test of zinc absorption is simple to perform and, because the isotope has a short half-life, has the advantage of subjecting patients to only limited radiation.

Absorption↗