Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease in University Clinic of Nephrology and Haemodialysis of Cotonou: clinical and genetical findings.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common hereditary kidney disease, but poorly studied in Africa. Its frequency in the University Clinic of Nephrology and Hemodialysis of Cotonou during the ten last years was 7 cases per year with a hospital prevalence estimated at 18 per 1000. The mean age of patients was 47.2 years extending from 29 to 70 years. Males were predominant with a sex ratio of 1.13. Family history was found in 47% of patients. The most common manifestations were lumbar pain (62%), high blood pressure (59%) urinary tract infections (53%), hematuria (46%), and abdominal masses (43%). Hepatic cysts were the most extra renal manifestations, found in 34% of cases. Renal failure was observed in 72% of patients of our series, six of them were under dialysis. Direct sequencing of polycystin 1 gene enabled us to identify some new mutations: 4 nonsense mutations (p.Q2824X exon 23, p.Q1651X exon 15, p.W1666X exon 15, p.R966W exon 12), a duplication (c_1761.1745 dup exon 9), a deletion (c.9397 + 1_9397 + 8del intron 26) and a deletion-insertion (c.7290_7291delins CTGCA exon 18).

Toxicity and gastric tolerance of essential oils from Cymbopogon citratus, Ocimum gratissimum and Ocimum basilicum in Wistar rats.

Oils of Cymbopogon citratus, Ocimum gratissimum and Ocimum basilicum are widely used for their medicinal properties, and as food flavours and perfumes. Recently in a study in West Africa, these oils have been recommended to combat Fusarium verticillioides and subsequent fumonisin contamination in stored maize, but their toxicological profile was not investigated. The current study was undertaken to provide data on acute and subacute toxicity as well as on gastric tolerance of these oils in rat. For this purpose, the oils were given by gavage to Wistar rats for 14 consecutive days. The animals were observed daily for their general behaviour and survival, and their visceral organs such as stomach and liver were taken after sacrifice for histological analyses. A dose-dependent effect of the tested oils was observed during the study. Applied at doses generally higher than 1500 mg/kg body weight, the oils caused significant functional damages to stomach and liver of rat. Unlike the other oils, administration of O. gratissimum oil did not result in adverse effects in rat liver at the tested doses. The no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of the tested oils has been established. The three tested oils can be considered as safe to human when applied on stored maize at recommended concentrations.

Tumoral calcinosis due to GALNT3 C.516-2A >T mutation in a black African family.

Familial Tumoral Calcinosis (FTC) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of the phosphocalcic metabolism caused by mutations in the FGF23 or GALNT3 genes. We have identified a Beninese family in which two brothers present FTC caused by a homozygous A>T transversion at the acceptor splice site in intron 1 of GALNT3 gene. We report on the clinical, biochemical, histopathological and molecular spectrum of the disorder in this family. The particularly severe phenotype, the amelogenesis imperfecta, and the carbapatite deposit observed in these patients, seem to be characteristic of our observations.

Wolf Hirshhorn syndrome in a case of ring chromosome 4: phenotype and molecular cytogenetic findings.

Ring chromosome 4 associates concomitant loss of the telomeric 4p and 4q regions and leads to variable clinical manifestations depending on the size of the deleted chromosomal material. We report on a patient with ring chromosome 4, showing the Wolf-Hirshhorn Syndrome (WHS) phenotype and minor symptoms of distal 4q deletion syndrome; the severity of the signs of WHS masks the symptomatology of the 4q deletion syndrome. The absence of seizures despite the absence of the specific 4p16.3 region with haploinsufficiency of the LETM1 gene is striking. The double telomeric deletion due to the ring chromosome formation confirmed by FISH has been rarely described in WHS.

Calcium binding proteins immunohistochemistry and identification of neurons in the mammalian pineal gland of the African giant rat: Cricetomys gambianus.

The presence of true neurons in the rodent pineal gland is still a matter of controversy. In this work, by using immunohistochemistry with five antibodies against calcium-binding proteins (calbindin-D28k, calretinin, calmodulin, neurocalcin and S-100 beta) and Cricetomys gambianus, a rodent belonging to Muridae family living in Africa, we were able to illustrate the presence of neurons in the pineal gland. Anti-calbindin-D28k and anti-calretinin labelled neurons belonging to two neural ganglia. One ganglion was localized in the anterior part of the gland near the pineal stalk and the other one in the posterior portion of the organ. Immunoreactive neurons are medium in size (15-20 microns) and have long thick processes running towards the stalk. Calretinin and calbindin-D28k positive neurons stained with different intensities. Thin processes were detected by anti-calretinin whereas thick processes were preferentially calbindin-D28k positive. Neurocalcin labelled a few smaller neurons and many thin processes within the ganglion. Calmodulin could not be detected immunochemically. Within the ganglia many astrocytic processes were S-100 beta positive. The afferent and the efferent pathways of the pineal ganglia remain to be elucidated.

[Apert's syndrome: a case report]. / Le syndrome d'Apert: à propos d'une observation.

Apert's syndrome is a type of acrocephalosyndactylia that is from part of the great group of craniofacial synostoses. It is characterized by craniofacial dysmorphia and syndactylia on hands and feet, which differentiates it from Crouzon's disease. It is a rare affection that is often transmitted through an autosome dominant mode, but sporadic cases exist. We report the case of a 15-year-old girl who presented characteristic clinical signs of Apert's syndrome with normal karyotype without parental consanguinity. The Ser 252 Trp mutation of the FGFR2 gene was found, confirming the molecular diagnosis. This study illustrates the severity of ocular and neurological problems of untreated Apert's syndrome. The presence of hemoglobinopathy (Hb AS) is also a mark of its originality.

[The uteropelvic junction in children: from the clinical problems to the morphogenetic approach]. / La jonction pyélourétérale chez l'enfant: de la problématique clinique à l'approche morphogénique.

The responsibility of the uteropelvic junction (UPJ) syndrome or abnormalities for renal affections and also for high obstructive uropathy is well-known. But, controversies still remain about the anatomic approach of this clinical feature. Our purpose is to elucidate the developmental anatomy of UPJ and eventually to set the steps of the anatomic approach of the UPJ abnormalities. This study also leads to a better understanding of the mechanism of the intrinsic ureteropelvic junction obstructions. A total number of 122 post-mortem specimens with ages ranging from 1 day to 30 months in both sexes underwent formalin treatment for histological investigation. We performed both transverse and longitudinal sections. Hematein-eosin-safran and Masson's trichrome staining were used. Histological examination revealed that myoarchitecture of UPJ set increasingly up. Circular muscle fibers were first to put in. They had an initial arrangement as a ring in neonates and infants. We conclude that circular layer appears first and sooner than others. On the other hand, coincidence in time between ages of our specimens and ages of patients sufferning from UPJ syndrome leads to further investigations to determine the implication of ring-shaped circular layer in intrinsic ureteropelvic junction obstruction.