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Biomedical subjects

R F Lowe

Publications and source records attributed to R F Lowe.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Serum cholinesterase variants in African leprosy patients resident in Rhodesia.

Blood samples from 580 African leprosy patients living in Rhodesia have been phenotyped for the plasma cholinesterase variants. The Africans have been grouped according to country of origin and tribal affiliation. We have found no individual with an Ea1 gene and are unable to resolve the contradictory evidence for an association between this gene and leprosy. The frequency of the Ef1 gene is higher than that usually found in Caucasian populations, being 0.046 in lepromatous leprosy patients and similar to the 0.056 found in healthy African controls. In tuberculoid leprosy patients the frequency is, however, significantly lower at 0.019. On the other hand, the frequency of the C5+ variant is essentially the same for the tuberculoid leprosy patients and the healthy controls (4%) while for the lepromatous leprosy patients it is about 7% approaching the 10-15% found in many Caucasian populations.

Cholinesterases↗

The cholinesterase variants found in some African tribes living in Rhodesia.

Blood samples from 1,614 Africans living in Rhodesia have been phenotyped for the cholinesterase variants at the E1 and E2 loci. 24% of the African population were non-Rhodesian by birth. 1,227 Rhodesians aligned themselves to 20 tribes, 191 Malawians to 8 tribes. 162 Mozambique Africans to 9 tribes and 34 Zambians to 8 tribes. A high frequency of 0.036 for the Ef1 gene, which varies from tribe to tribe, has been found in Rhodesian and Malawian Africans. Similar high frequencies for this gene are recorded for Zambian (0.045) and Mozambique Africans (0.034). The frequencies of the Es1 gene in these groups are 0.013 (Rhodesian), 0.009 (Malawian), and 0.016 (Mozambique African). The small Zambian sample showed evidence for neither the Es1 nor the C5+ electrophoretic variant. The absence of the Ea1 gene in the 1,613 Africans provides additional evidence of the rarity of this gene in negroid populations. The frequency of the C5+ variant in Rhodesian, Malawian and Mozambique Africans, although varying from tribe to tribe within the range of 0-8%, averages 3% in each group. These represent low frequencies for this variant when compared to other populations. No rare or 'private' electrophoretic variant has been found.

Cholinesterases↗