Ovarian Tumors in Senegalese Women: Impact of D-Loop Mutations between Healthy and Cancerous Tissues

In Senegal in particular, ovarian cancer, which is one of the most common gynecological cancers, accounts for 2.8% of deaths. The most important risk factor is genetic, with 10% of cases occurring in a context of genetic predisposition. The sequencing of the human genome, which has led to the discovery of millions of sequence variations, makes it possible to study variations within sequences. These variations are limited to Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and this common form of polymorphism occurs approximately every 1000 bases in the human genome and 1.8 million SNPs are currently listed according to [1]. The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of the impact of mutations in the D-loop region of mtDNA on ovarian cancer in Senegalese women. This study involved searching for mutations in our study population after DNA extraction and sequencing. Mutations were found after a comparison of our sequences with the Cambridge reference sequence (NC_012920). The mutations found in the DNA studied extend from position 7 to position 16568 and most of these mutations are located in the hypervariate zones (HV1 and HV2). Heteroplasmy with three mutant alleles was also found in certain variants. Common mutations were found in both healthy and cancerous tissues, with almost identical frequencies in both types of tissue. This enabled us to understand the spread of tumor cells throughout the ovary.

Evaluation of Malnutrition in Infants Aged 0 - 59 Months in the Suburbs of Dakar

Introduction: Child malnutrition is a major public health concern worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The latest report from Senegal’s Continuous Demographic and Health Survey revealed that 18% of children in Senegal were stunted (chronic malnutrition), 8% were wasted (acute malnutrition) and 14% were underweight. Thus, this study aimed to assess the characteristics associated with malnutrition in children according to their nutritional status. Methods: This descriptive transverse study was conducted at the Pediatric Social Institute of Pikine/Guediawaye and the National Hospital Center of Pikine, in Senegal between October and December 2019. A total of 94 children were recruited, with the consent of their legal tutors. Descriptive and multivariate analyses of the factors associated with malnutrition were performed. The z-scores for the indices of nutrition were determined with WHO Anthro® software version 3.2.2. All the data analyses were performed using R software version 4.2.2. Result: From the 94 children recruited, 51.06% were female, with a sex ratio (male/female) of 0.96. Acute malnutrition was recorded in 62.77% of cases, chronic malnutrition in41.49%, and underweight in 71.27%. Linear regression analysis showed that many factors, such as the female gender [OR = 1.82 CI (1.02 - 3.3), P-value = 0.04], consanguinity [OR = 2.84 CI (1.14 - 7.65), P-value = 0.03], low birth weight [OR = 4.83 CI (2.15 - 12.89), P-value = 0.0004], were associated with acute malnutrition. Low birth weight (<2.5 kg) [OR = 10.66 CI (3.82 - 44.39) P-value < 0.0001], non-exclusive breastfeeding [OR = 3 CI (1.40 - 7.13)] P-value = 0.007], dietary diversification before six months [OR = 2.04 CI (1.23 - 3.51), P-value = 0.007] and others factors were associated with underweight. The most frequently recorded clinical signs are weight loss (30.85%), fever (23.40%), diarrhea (34.04%), and anemia (70.21%). Conclusion: Problems associated with malnutrition are multifactorial. Dietary diversification, consanguinity, and low birth weight are factors associated with malnutrition in children in Senegal. Thus, special attention must be paid to this problem because of its impact on child survival. .

Phylogenetic Relationship and Molecular Divergence Dating Using SRY Gene Polymorphism about Four Ladoum Sheep Lineages in Senegal

Animal genetic resources are playing a vital role in livestock production and are essential to food security. The present study aims to contribute to a better understanding genetic local sheep breeds and to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships through the evolution of the SRY gene in four different lineages of Ladoum sheep raised in Senegal. After a brief analysis of genetic diversity, the phylogenetic relationships and molecular dating were inferred through haplotype networks and four phylogenetic reconstruction methods. The different haplotype networks are constructed with NETWORK ver. 5.0.0.0 using the Median-Joining method. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The robustness of the nodes in phylogenetic trees of the three first methods was assessed by 1000 bootstraps. For Bayesian inference, the posterior probability distribution of the trees was estimated by 4 MCMC chains. 5,000,000 generations were performed for each of the chains by sampling the different parameters every 1000 generations. Results show a low polymorphism. Haplotypic diversity is much higher than the average nucleotide divergence between all pairs of haplotypes. The majority and central haplotype indicates a close relationship between “Batling” and “Tyson” individuals. “Birahim” lineage is very distinct from the rest. Phylogenetic trees confirm two genetically separate clades between “Birahim” and the other lineages. The period of divergence between “Birahim” lineage versus the common ancestor of the other three lineages was 2504 years ago. The polyphyly revealed in “Birahim” lindicates that this lineage does not contain the common ancestor of all individuals who compose it. It could therefore be derived from two or more sheep breeds with a common ancestor, Ovis aries. The monophyletic clade appears to be a group including a common ancestor and all of its genetic descendants. This group, bringing together the other three lineages, is in the process of being structured into sub-lineages. This study is the first to show that there are only two genetic lines within ladoum sheep in Senegal.

Bat 26 Microsatellite Instability in Oral Cavity Cancers in Senegal

Oral cavity cancers are part of head and neck cancers. They have become frequent in the world in general and Senegal in particular. This study evaluates microsatellite instability tumors in oral cavity cancers in Senegal. Forty cancerous tissues, 20 healthy tissues, and 12 blood tissues were included in this study. These tissues were collected from each patient during the biopsy after obtaining consent. DNA extraction, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and sequencing were carried out to obtain sequences. Mutation surveyor, Bioedit and Dnasp software were used to perform our analyses. High instability was found in 57.5% of patients with cancer. Moreover, 90% of the patients had the same motif on healthy and cancerous tissue. Furthermore, 26.12%, 20.72%, and 11.71% polymorphic sites were found in cancerous, healthy and blood tissue respectively. Thus, a similarity between cancerous and healthy tissues seems to exist. This implies that instability of the Bat 26 microsatellite could occur early in the occurrence of oral cavity cancers.

Epidemiological Approach to Understand Rheumatic Heart Valve Disease: Case of Thoracic Cardiovascular Clinic of Fann Hospital (Dakar)

Objective: Rheumatic heart disease is the major cause of heart valve disease in developing countries. In Senegal, cardiac pathology is dominated by rheumatic pathology whose hospital prevalence was estimated at 0.15% [1]. Epidemiological data on rheumatic heart valve disease (RHVD) are unfortunately imprecise due to the lack of good quality data collection in a large number of countries, especially in sub-Saharan areas and in Central Asia. The objective of this epidemiological study is to collect data about rheumatic heart valve disease in our clinic which is the only surgical center of Senegal. Patients and Methods: Our study conducted between 2014 and 2017 involved a population of one hundred and eighty-three patients with complete medical records, all followed at the Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic at Fann Hospital for rheumatic valve disease. This population was the subject of an epidemiological survey based on a questionnaire covering clinical parameters as consanguinity, clinical signs, diagnosis and surgical intervention. Results: Our work is an epidemiological study involving one hundred and eighty-three (183) patients with various types of rheumatic valve disease, followed at the Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic at Fann Hospital, and who responded to a questionnaire about clinical aspects of this disease. Our results showed 5.46% of family cases, of which 2.18% came from consanguineous marriages. Mean age at onset of clinical signs was 14 ± 9 years with 14.20% before 6 years of age, 65.91% between 6 and 21 years and 19.89% in adulthood. Average age of diagnosis was 21 ± 11 years with an average delay between diagnosis and intervention of 10 years ± 14. Mitral stricture (22.5%) was the most common diagnosis, followed by mitral disease (17.9%) and mitral regurgitation (6.9%). Surgical procedures involved 31.8% of mitral valve, 8.79% of aortic valve, 12.09% of mitral and aortic valves, 13.74% of mitral and tricuspid valves, 2.75% of 3 valves mitral, aortic and tricuspid. 27.49% of patients were awaiting surgery. Conclusion: It appears that a considerable effort should be made to prevent the pathology, to make population aware of the clinical signs and to improve the accessibility of patients to surgical procedure. These different actions would reduce the incidence and prevalence of the disease in Senegal.