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PubMed2004

Most of the extant mtDNA boundaries in south and southwest Asia were likely shaped during the initial settlement of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans.

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in the understanding of the maternal and paternal heritage of south and southwest Asian populations have highlighted their role in the colonization of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans. Further understanding requires a deeper insight into the topology of the branches of the Indian mtDNA phylogenetic tree, which should be contextualized within the phylogeography of the neighboring regional mtDNA variation. Accordingly, we have analyzed mtDNA control and coding region variation in 796 Indian (including both tribal and caste populations from different parts of India) and 436 Iranian mtDNAs. The results were integrated and analyzed together with published data from South, Southeast Asia and West Eurasia. RESULTS: Four new Indian-specific haplogroup M sub-clades were defined. These, in combination with two previously described haplogroups, encompass approximately one third of the haplogroup M mtDNAs in India. Their phylogeography and spread among different linguistic phyla and social strata was investigated in detail. Furthermore, the analysis of the Iranian mtDNA pool revealed patterns of limited reciprocal gene flow between Iran and the Indian sub-continent and allowed the identification of different assemblies of shared mtDNA sub-clades. CONCLUSIONS: Since the initial peopling of South and West Asia by anatomically modern humans, when this region may well have provided the initial settlers who colonized much of the rest of Eurasia, the gene flow in and out of India of the maternally transmitted mtDNA has been surprisingly limited. Specifically, our analysis of the mtDNA haplogroups, which are shared between Indian and Iranian populations and exhibit coalescence ages corresponding to around the early Upper Paleolithic, indicates that they are present in India largely as Indian-specific sub-lineages. In contrast, other ancient Indian-specific variants of M and R are very rare outside the sub-continent.

Asia↗

PubMed1991

Organisation of veterinary public health in the south Asia region.

In the South Asia region vast human populations are exposed daily and with considerable intensity to close contact with vast animal populations and their excreta. There is no veterinary public health unit in the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) in New Delhi (India), the Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) in Manila (Philippines) or the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) in Alexandria (Egypt). However, these offices do support a number of activities on zoonoses and food-borne diseases in WHO member countries of the region. Maintenance of the health of farmers and of their families (often termed "rural health") has assumed increasing importance in most member countries of the region. In most of the countries, there is no actual veterinary public health unit functioning as a national body common to the ministries of health and agriculture. Among the commonest zoonotic diseases prevalent in member countries are rabies, brucellosis, Japanese encephalitis, echinococcosis, tuberculosis, visceral leishmaniasis, taeniasis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and leptospirosis. A national plan is necessary for each country to give priority to controlling these diseases, based on health systems research or primary health care, with intersectoral and regional cooperation through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) under Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC). There should be a strong unit for veterinary public health in all WHO regional offices to coordinate zoonotic disease surveillance, training and control programmes in countries of the region.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in U.S. military personnel--Southwest/Central Asia, 2002-2003.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a vector-borne parasitic disease, is a risk for persons, including military personnel, who travel to or live in areas of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe where the disease is endemic. This report provides preliminary data about 22 cases of CL in military personnel deployed during 2002-2003 to three countries in Southwest/Central Asia (Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait). The patients were evaluated and treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in the District of Columbia during August 2002-September 2003. U.S. health-care providers should consider the possibility of CL in persons with chronic skin lesions who were deployed to Southwest/Central Asia or who were in other areas where leishmaniasis is endemic.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma in Southeast Asia.

Scientists of several countries in Southeast Asia are exchanging information on research efforts on hepatocellular carcinoma under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization. It was agreed to direct preventive measures to hepatitis B virus and aflatoxins, but research should be continued on viruses, parasites, hepatotoxins of plant organisms, food contaminants, and drugs. Preventive measures include 1) blood transfusion services, 2) other transmission controls, 3) food hygiene, and 5) the establishment of pilot projects for the study of the efficiency of control measures. International collaboration and adequate data exchange are necessary for the successful continued pursuit of knowledge in chronic liver diseases in the countries of Southeast Asia, with the goal of prevention of debilitating and fatal diseases among a large segment of the world's population.

Asia↗

PubMed2005

Re-evaluating the burden of rabies in Africa and Asia.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the public health and economic burden of endemic canine rabies in Africa and Asia. METHODS: Data from these regions were applied to a set of linked epidemiological and economic models. The human population at risk from endemic canine rabies was predicted using data on dog density, and human rabies deaths were estimated using a series of probability steps to determine the likelihood of clinical rabies developing in a person after being bitten by a dog suspected of having rabies. Model outputs on mortality and morbidity associated with rabies were used to calculate an improved disability-adjusted life year (DALY) score for the disease. The total societal cost incurred by the disease is presented. FINDINGS: Human mortality from endemic canine rabies was estimated to be 55 000 deaths per year (90% confidence interval (CI) = 24 000-93 000). Deaths due to rabies are responsible for 1.74 million DALYs lost each year (90% CI = 0.75-2.93). An additional 0.04 million DALYs are lost through morbidity and mortality following side-effects of nerve-tissue vaccines. The estimated annual cost of rabies is USD 583.5 million (90% CI = USD 540.1-626.3 million). Patient-borne costs for post-exposure treatment form the bulk of expenditure, accounting for nearly half the total costs of rabies. CONCLUSION: Rabies remains an important yet neglected disease in Africa and Asia. Disparities in the affordability and accessibility of post-exposure treatment and risks of exposure to rabid dogs result in a skewed distribution of the disease burden across society, with the major impact falling on those living in poor rural communities, in particular children.

Africa↗

PubMed1997

Psychogeriatrics in South-East Asia.

A common phenomenon in South-East Asia is ageing of the population. This article describes the various stages of development of psychogeriatrics in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is only in the last few years that more systematic development of psychogeriatric services has begun under the pressure of an ageing population. The model of service delivery in Hong Kong can serve as an example of development of psychogeriatric services in South-East Asia.

Aged↗

PubMed1987

Late Pleistocene and Holocene population history of East Asia based on dental variation.

The purpose of this communication is to provide a summary description and analysis of 28 dental traits studied in a number of skeletal samples that originated in eastern Asia. The objectives of the analysis are to define the nature of Mongoloid dental variation, use it to measure Asian intergroup relationships, and develop in greater detail and with larger samples a dental anthropological model of the late Pleistocene and Holocene population history of eastern Asia.

Asia↗

PubMed1991

Dimensions of face in Asia in the perspective of geography and prehistory.

Data from 24 craniofacial dimensions were compiled for samples representing all the human populations of the world. These were converted into C scores and used to construct Euclidean Distance dendrograms. The populations of the world are best depicted as 8 major regional clusters representing: Africa, Amerind, Asia-Mainland, Australo-Melanesia, Eskimo-Siberia, Europe, India, and Jomon-Pacific. The mainland Asian cluster divided into northern and southern components. The Neolithic in both areas is less clearly associated with the northern or southern components and may represent the form of their undifferentiated precursors. This needs to be tested by the addition of further specimens and an adequate sample from South China. Mongols are peripheral members of the Asia-Mainland cluster and should not be thought of as typifying the region as a whole. The use of the term "Mongoloid" is inappropriate in both theory and practice.

Asia↗

PubMed1992

Negritos, Australian aborigines, and the "proto-sundadont" dental pattern: the basic populations in east Asia, V.

Five evolutionarily significant dental traits were identified from a B-square distance analysis of nine crown characters recorded for several populations of East Asia and Oceania. Intergroup variation in these traits distinguishes three major divisions of the Mongoloid dental complex: sundadonty, sinodonty, and the dental pattern of Australian Aborigines. The Australian crown features may be characterized as having high frequencies of evolutionarily conservative characters. Negritos, one of the probable representatives of indigenous inhabitants of Southeast Asia who may have shared a common ancestor with Australians, possess the more derived sundadont dental pattern. As far as the five crown traits treated here are concerned, Australian dental features may be described as conforming to a "proto-sundadont" dental pattern, applying Turner's terminology. This pattern may represent a microevolutionary step prior to the emergence of the sundadont and sinodont patterns.

Asia, Southeastern↗

PubMed2005

Brief communication: mtDNA variation in North Cameroon: lack of Asian lineages and implications for back migration from Asia to sub-Saharan Africa.

The hypervariable region-1 and four nucleotide positions (10400, 10873, 12308, and 12705) of the coding region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were analyzed in 441 individuals belonging to eight populations (Daba, Fali, Fulbe, Mandara, Uldeme, Podokwo, Tali, and Tupuri) from North Cameroon and four populations (Bakaka, Bassa, Bamileke, and Ewondo) from South Cameroon. All mtDNAs were assigned to five haplogroups: three sub-Saharan (L1, L2, and L3), one northern African (U6), and one European (U5). Our results contrast with the observed high frequencies of a Y-chromosome haplogroup of probable Asian origin (R1*-M173) in North Cameroon. As a first step toward a better understanding of the evident discrepancy between mtDNA and Y-chromosome data, we propose two contrasting scenarios. The first one, here termed "migration and asymmetric admixture," implies a back migration from Asia to North Cameroon of a population group carrying the haplotype R1*-M173 at high frequency, and an admixture process restricted to migrant males. The second scenario, on the other hand, temed "divergent drift," implies that modern populations of North Cameroon originated from a small population group which migrated from Asia to Africa and in which, through genetic drift, Y-chromosome haplotype R1*-M173 became predominant, whereas the Asian mtDNA haplogroups were lost.

Africa South of the Sahara↗

PubMed2007

Peopling of South Asia: investigating the caste-tribe continuum in India.

In recent years, mtDNA and Y chromosome studies involving human populations from South Asia and the rest of the world have revealed new insights about the peopling of the world by anatomically modern humans during the late Pleistocene, some 40,000-60,000 years ago, over the southern coastal route from Africa. Molecular studies and archaeological record are both largely consistent with autochthonous differentiation of the genetic structure of the caste and tribal populations in South Asia. High level of endogamy created by numerous social boundaries within and between castes and tribes, along with the influence of several evolutionary forces such as genetic drift, fragmentation and long-term isolation, has kept the Indian populations diverse and distant from each other as well as from other continental populations. This review attempts to summarize recent genetic studies on Indian caste and tribal populations with the focus on the information embedded in the socially defined structure of Indian populations.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Demographic, clinical, and virological characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma in Asia: survey of 414 patients from four countries.

Demographic, etiological, clinical characteristics and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were surveyed in 414 patients in Asia, including 107 from China, 15 from India, 101 from Indonesia and 191 from Japan. Males predominated in all countries, accounting for up to 75%. The mean +/- SD age at the development of HCC was about 10 years older for the patients from Japan (63.8 +/- 9.5, P < 0.001) and India (63.1 +/- 11.2, P < 0.05) than those from China (54.0 +/- 13.7) and Indonesia (53.7 +/- 14.2). Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in serum was detected in 67% of patients from China who were tested, 27% from India, 21% from Indonesia and 18% from Japan, whereas antibody to hepatitis C virus was detected in 4%, 53%, 40% and 70%, respectively; co-occurrence of hepatitis B and C infections was seen only in 7%, 0%, 2%, and 1%, leaving an etiology other than hepatitis viruses in 22%, 20%, 36% and 11%. HCC was diagnosed primarily by ultrasonography in China (43%) and Japan (52%), and on physical examination in India (60%) and Indonesia (52%). The size of the largest tumor exceeded 5.0 cm in diameter only in 24% of the patients from Japan, much less often than in 67%, 87%, and 71%, respectively, of those from China, India and Indonesia (P < 0.001). The most favored treatment was chemolipidolization in China (81%) and Japan (81%), whereas it was transarterial embolization in India (13%) and Indonesia (26%). These results highlight common as well as distinct characteristics of HCC in Asia, and warrant the need for close cooperation toward early diagnosis and effective treatment of HCC.

Adult↗

PubMed2026

Targeting EGFR-Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Asia: An Update on Monotherapy and Combination Therapy With EGFR Inhibitors.

EGFR-mutant lung cancer represents a major subtype of non-small cell lung cancer in Asia, with particularly high prevalence in never-smokers, women, and patients with adenocarcinoma histology. Although this clinicopathologic enrichment has been recognized for more than two decades, the mechanisms underlying the excess frequency of EGFR-mutant disease in Asian populations remain only partially understood. Accumulating evidence suggests a multifactorial basis involving host genetic susceptibility and diversity, endogenous mutational processes and exogenous exposures such as ambient particulate matter. In particular, recent genomic and experimental studies support a tumour-promotion framework in which inflammatory microenvironmental cues may facilitate the outgrowth of pre-existing oncogenic clones, while mutational signatures provide genomic footprints of these processes. In parallel, the treatment landscape for EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer has evolved substantially with successive generations of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), leading to marked improvements in survival. However, acquired resistance remains inevitable in most patients with advanced disease and is driven by both genetic and non-genetic mechanisms, including secondary EGFR alterations, bypass pathway activation, TP53-associated genomic instability, adaptive mutagenesis, and drug-tolerant persister states. These insights have provided a strong rationale for combination strategies beyond EGFR-TKI monotherapy. In this review, we summarize current understanding of the epidemiology and biological basis of EGFR-mutant lung cancer in Asia and discuss the preclinical rationale and emerging clinical evidence supporting combination approaches with chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic agents, and EGFR/MET-directed therapies.

EGFR mutations↗

PubMed2000

The influence of life history and diet on the distribution of catarrhine primates during the Pleistocene in eastern Asia.

Environmental changes during the Pleistocene in eastern Asia had profound impacts on the distributions of mammalian groups. Critical for many mammals were the southward latitudinal shifts of the tropical and subtropical vegetational zones, and decreases in the areas of these zones. Examination of the responses of members of a single clade, the Catarrhini, indicates that the main catarrhine genera of eastern Asia responded individually to the environmental changes in the Pleistocene. These responses were influenced by the life history parameters and diets of the genera involved. Those animals (macaques, langurs) with shorter gestation times, shorter weaning periods, shorter interbirth intervals, higher intrinsic rates of increase of population, and abilities to survive on a wider variety of vegetation in seasonal habitats were less adversely affected than those (gibbons, orangutans and the giant extinct hominoid, Gigantopithecus) with more protracted reproductive schedules, lower intrinsic rates of population increase and preferences for the higher quality foods (especially ripe fruits) of less seasonal environments. Hominids, while displaying "hyper-ape" life history parameters, increasingly overcame the constraints of these parameters through extrasomatic means not available to other catarrhines. This ability made possible their colonization, by the Late Pleistocene, of highly seasonal habitats such as tundra, which were off-limits to non-culture-bearing catarrhines.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Oligocene sivaladapid primate from the Bugti Hills (Balochistan, Pakistan) bridges the gap between Eocene and Miocene adapiform communities in Southern Asia.

A new species of Guangxilemur (Sivaladapidae, Adapiformes) is described from the early Oligocene Chitarwata Formation (Bugti Member) of the Bugti Hills, Sulaiman geological Province, Balochistan, Pakistan. Guangxilemur singsilai n. sp. provides further diagnostic morphological characters from its newly described upper and lower dentitions, confirming its intermediate phylogenetic position between Eocene and Miocene Asian sivaladapid adapiforms. G. singsilai possesses moderately developed shearing and puncturing molar features and maintains lingual cusps on upper molars as in Eocene hoanghoniines; in contrast, it possesses a typical molariform P(4) as in Miocene sivaladapines. The important paleogeographic changes that have affected South Asia during the Tertiary (related to the collision between the Indian and Eurasian Plates) have played a critical role in reforming circulation and climatic differentiation. The presence in Pakistan of an unique and well-diversified Oligocene primate fauna, clearly demonstrates that South Asia maintained favourable environmental conditions during the middle Caenozoic global climatic deterioration that coincides with drastic changes in faunal structure on the whole Holarctic Province, including the extinction of adapiform primates.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Antimalarial multi-drug resistance in Asia: mechanisms and assessment.

The emergence and spread of drug-resistant parasites poses a major problem for management of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in endemic areas. Nowhere is this more apparent than in southeast Asia, where multi-drug resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine was exacerbated when mefloquine monotherapy began failing in the 1980s. A better understanding of mechanisms of (multi-) drug resistance is urgently warranted to monitor and guide antimalarial chemotherapy regimens more efficiently. Here we review recent advances on identification of molecular markers that can be employed in predicting in vitro and in vivo resistance in southeast Asia. Examples include amplification of PfMDR1 (P. falciparum multi-drug resistant gene 1) and mefloquine, K76T PfCRT and chloroquine, as well as mutations in the dihydroperoate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase genes and the antifolate class of drugs.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

PubMed2002

Restructuring of international council for standardization in haematology (ICSH) in Asia.

Standardization and harmonization in Laboratory testing are a key issue in the midst of globalization era, because most of laboratory testing has been currently achieved with various kinds of automated systems. In the developed countries, automated systems with highly-regulated principles are commonly used in the routine laboratory. However, there are so many undeveloped and developing countries in Asia that diversity of testing levels can be observed in the area. Some laboratories use glass chamber method for blood cell counting, while other laboratory use semi-automated or fully automated analyzers for complete blood count. International standardization on Hematology is focused on the developed system but not for the developing system. Established standardized documents therefore whould not be unsuitable for Asian societies. In the context, International Council for Standardization in Hematology (ICSH) changed its rules to adjust our Asian Societies and ICSH started to restructure the body. International ICSH society is divided into 5 region sub-groups. Asian area is able to possess one new sub-society, ICSH-Asia. Its reconstruction work has been just started with Asain colleagues, and we are now extending the new societies to discuss Asian problems on the quality of hematology testing.

Asia↗

PubMed2001

Changing approaches to mountain watersheds management in mainland South and Southeast Asia.

Mountain watersheds, comprising a substantial proportion of national territories of countries in mainland South and Southeast Asia, are biophysical and socioeconomic entities, regulating the hydrological cycle, sequestrating carbon dioxide, and providing natural resources for the benefit of people living in and outside the watersheds. A review of the literature reveals that watersheds are undergoing degradation at varying rates caused by a myriad of factors ranging from national policies to farmers' socioeconomic conditions. Many agencies--governmental and private--have tried to address the problem in selected watersheds. Against the backdrop of the many causes of degradation, this study examines the evolving approaches to watershed management and development. Until the early 1990s, watershed management planning and implementation followed a highly centralized approach focused on heavily subsidized structural measures of soil conservation, planned and implemented without any consultation with the mainstream development agencies and local people. Watershed management was either the sole responsibility of specially created line agencies or a project authority established by external donors. As a consequence, the initiatives could not be continued or contribute to effective conservation of watersheds. Cognizant of this, emphasis has been laid on integrated, participatory approaches since the early 1990s. Based on an evaluation of experiences in mainland South and Southeast Asia, this study finds not much change in the way that management plans are being prepared and executed. The emergence of a multitude of independent watershed management agencies, with their own organizational structures and objectives and planning and implementation systems has resulted in watershed management endeavors that have been in complete disarray. Consistent with the principle of sustainable development, a real integrated, participatory approach requires area-specific conservation programs that are well incorporated into integrated socioeconomic development plans prepared and implemented by local line agencies in cooperation with nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and concerned people.

Agriculture↗