Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Diagnosis of toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) in patients with AIDS is not straightforward because clinicians rely initially on an empiric diagnosis based on clinical and radiographic improvement to specific anti-Toxoplasma gondii therapy. There is therefore a need for biological tools to improve the diagnosis of TE, especially in tropical areas where this diagnosis is likely to be underestimated. The use of PCR testing in blood samples for the diagnosis of TE has been limited by its poor sensitivity in the studies conducted in Europe. In tropical South America, the results of PCR sensitivity in blood samples were controversial. Considering that T. gondii strains from tropical South America have substantial genetic and pathogenic differences with those from USA and Europe, it is therefore important to re-evaluate the performance of the PCR assay in blood samples for the diagnosis of TE in AIDS patients from this region. Our results showed that the only interest of PCR would be in the most severe forms of TE with altered consciousness because PCR is more likely to be positive. We also provided important genotyping data on T. gondii strains isolated in human cases of toxoplasmosis in the Caribbean and in South America.
ISSN: 1935-2727

hal-01503761
https://hal-unilim.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01503761
https://hal-unilim.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01503761/document
https://hal-unilim.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01503761/file/journal.pntd.0004790.pdf
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004790

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
The CoPanFlu-France cohort of households was set up in 2009 to study the risk factors for infection by the pandemic influenza virus (H1N1pdm) in the French general population. The authors developed an integrative data-driven approach to identify individual, collective and environmental factors associated with the post-seasonal serological H1N1pdm geometric mean titer, and derived a nested case-control analysis to identify risk factors for infection during the first season. This analysis included 1377 subjects (601 households). The GMT for the general population was 47.1 (95% confidence interval (CI): 45.1, 49.2). According to a multivariable analysis, pandemic vaccination, seasonal vaccination in 2009, recent history of influenza-like illness, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, social contacts at school and use of public transports by the local population were associated with a higher GMT, whereas history of smoking was associated with a lower GMT. Additionally, young age at inclusion and risk perception of exposure to the virus at work were identified as possible risk factors, whereas presence of an air humidifier in the living room was a possible protective factor. These findings will be interpreted in light of the longitudinal analyses of this ongoing cohort.
ISSN: 1932-6203

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/
hal-01122215
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122215
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122215/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122215/file/journal.pone.0060127.pdf
PUBMED : 23613718

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BioMed Central
Résumé : International audience
Background: Despite intensive research over several decades, the etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) remains poorly understood, although environmental factors are supposedly implicated. Our goal was to identify spatial clusters of MS incident cases at the small-area level to provide clues to local environmental risk factors that might cause or trigger the disease. Methods: A population-based and multi-stage study was performed in the French Brittany region to accurately ascertain the clinical onset of disease during the 2000-2004 period. The municipality of residence at the time of clinical onset was geocoded. To test for the presence of MS incidence clusters and to identify their approximate locations, we used a spatial scan statistic. We adjusted for socioeconomic deprivation, known to be strongly associated with increased MS incident rates, and scanned simultaneously for areas with either high or low rates. Sensitivity analyses (focusing on relapsing-remitting forms and/or places of residence available within the year following clinical onset) were performed. Results: A total of 848 incident cases of MS were registered in Brittany, corresponding to a crude annual incidence rate of 5.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. The spatial scan statistic did not find a significant cluster of MS incidence in either the primary analysis (p value >= 0.56) or in the sensitivity analyses (p value >= 0.16). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that MS incidence is not markedly affected across space, suggesting that in the years preceding the first clinical expression of the disease, no environmental trigger is operative at the small-area population level in the French Brittany region.
ISSN: 1476-072X

hal-01616063
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01616063
DOI : 10.1186/s12942-017-0108-6
PUBMED : 28934989

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD SAGE Publications (UK and US)
Résumé : International audience
Molecular evolutionary analysis is an efficient method to predict and/or validate amino acid substitutions that could lead to a genetic disease and to highlight residues and motifs that could play an important role in the protein structure and/or function. We have applied such analysis to amelotin (AMTN), a recently identified enamel protein in the rat, mouse, and humans. An in silico search for AMTN provided 42 new mammalian sequences that were added to the 3 published sequences with which we performed the analysis using a dataset representative of all lineages (circa 220 million years of evolution), including 2 enamel-less species, sloth and armadillo. During evolution, of the 209 residues of human AMTN, 17 were unchanged and 34 had conserved their chemical properties. Substituting these important residues could lead to amelogenesis imperfecta (AI). Also, AMTN possesses a well-conserved signal peptide, 2 conserved motifs whose function is certainly important but unknown, and a putative phosphorylation site (SXE). In addition, the sequences of the 2 enamel-less species display mutations revealing that AMTN underwent pseudogenization, which suggests that AMTN is an enamel-specific protein.
ISSN: 0022-0345

hal-01545488
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01545488
DOI : 10.1177/0022034512460551

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms GSTM1 and/or GSTT1 contribute to prostate cancer risk in a Caribbean population of African descent in Guadeloupe. METHODS: We performed a hospital-based case-control study with 134 prostate cancer patients and 134 cancer-free, age-matched control subjects. Epidemiologic data were collected using a standard questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and compute confidence intervals (CIs). Genotypes were determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The frequency of the GSTM1-positive genotype was 81% in patients and 73% in control subjects, with an adjusted OR of 1.4 (95% CI 0.7 to 2.5). The frequency of the GSTT1-positive genotype was 78% in patients and 63% in control subjects, with an adjusted OR of 2.6 (95% CI 1.4 to 4.9). CONCLUSIONS: A functional GSTT1 polymorphism may be associated with prostate cancer susceptibility in a Caribbean population of African descent.
ISSN: 0090-4295

hal-00688449
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00688449
DOI : 10.1016/j.urology.2007.02.039
PUBMED : 17572208

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that reproductive abnormalities are increasing in frequency in both human population and among wild fauna. This increase is probably related to exposure to toxic contaminants in the environment. The use of sentinel species to raise alarms relating to human reproductive health has been strongly recommended. However, no simultaneous studies at the same site have been carried out in recent decades to evaluate the utility of wild animals for monitoring human reproductive disorders. We carried out a joint study in Guadeloupe assessing the reproductive function of workers exposed to pesticides in banana plantations and of male wild rats living in these plantations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed to assess semen quality and reproductive hormones in banana workers and in men working in non-agricultural sectors. These reproductive parameters were also assessed in wild rats captured in the plantations and were compared with those in rats from areas not directly polluted by humans. RESULTS: No significant difference in sperm characteristics and/or hormones was found between workers exposed and not exposed to pesticide. By contrast, rats captured in the banana plantations had lower testosterone levels and gonadosomatic indices than control rats. CONCLUSION: Wild rats seem to be more sensitive than humans to the effects of pesticide exposure on reproductive health. We conclude that the concept of sentinel species must be carefully validated as the actual nature of exposure may varies between human and wild species as well as the vulnerable time period of exposure and various ecological factors.
Environmental health : a global access science source [electronic resource]

hal-00669505
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00669505
DOI : 10.1186/1476-069X-7-40
PUBMED : 18667078