Disease relevance of Polynesia

• A large tandem duplication within the COL4A5 gene is responsible for the high prevalence of Alport syndrome in French Polynesia [1].
• The recent dengue epidemic in French Polynesia in 2001 was probably due to the introduction of a new DEN-1 virus from Southeast Asia, since the minimum nucleotide divergence was 3.3% with A88, the Indonesian strain isolated in 1988 in Jakarta [2].
• A randomized investigator-blinded trial of oral ivermectin 100 micrograms/kg single dose vs. benzyl benzoate 10% application in the treatment of scabies, was conducted in 1992 in French Polynesia [3].
• The high prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus in an isolated Polynesian population, Manihiki, Cook Islands [4].
• Compared efficacy of repeated annual and semi-annual doses of ivermectin and diethylcarbamazine for prevention of Wuchereria bancrofti filariasis in French Polynesia. Final evaluation [5].

High impact information on Polynesia

• METHODS: A prospective clinical study of 50 patients with CP on Rarotonga, Cook Islands, was conducted to better define the neurologic picture of CP and to study the effect of mannitol or normal saline under double-blind randomized conditions over a 24-hour period [6].
• The habitual diets of the toll dwellers from both Pukapuka and Tokelau are high in saturated fat but low in dietary cholesterol and sucrose [7].
• A large tandem duplication within the COL4A5 gene is responsible for the high prevalence of Alport syndrome in French Polynesia [1].
• A recombinant truncated form of paramyosin was expressed as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein and used to evaluate humoral responses of adults from a W. bancrofti-endemic area in French Polynesia according to their parasitological status [8].
• BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that children in Tokelau have a lower prevalence of asthma and atopy compared to Tokelauan children resident in New Zealand. We hypothesized that the low asthma and atopy prevalence in Tokelau may be associated with low indoor allergen levels [9].

Biological context of Polynesia

• The availability of genealogical material, historical information, and mal/absorption frequencies for Tokelau (a Polynesian population) presents a unique opportunity to examine the role of gene flow in establishing lactose absorption in Pacific isolates [10].
• Allele frequency distributions of the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 genes were investigated in four Pacific Islands populations from the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tokelau and Tonga [11].
• Paternal European ancestry in French Polynesia detected by Y-chromosome haplotypes [12].

Anatomical context of Polynesia

• Identification and phylogenetic characterization of a human T-cell leukaemia virus type I isolate from a native inhabitant (Rapa Nui) of Easter Island [13].

Associations of Polynesia with chemical compounds

• Cholesterol, coconuts, and diet on Polynesian atolls: a natural experiment: the Pukapuka and Tokelau island studies [7].
• Tokelau: a unique low allergen environment at sea level [9].
• Comparison of dengue-1 virus envelope glycoprotein gene sequences from French Polynesia [2].
• Glucose tolerance in Polynesia. Population-based surveys in Rarotonga and Niue [14].
• In 1993, a three-arm double-blind controlled trial was implemented in French Polynesia to compare the tolerance and efficacy of a single dose of the combination ivermectin (IVR) 400 micrograms/kg plus diethylcarbamazine (DEC) 6 mg/kg vs. IVR 400 micrograms/kg alone vs. DEC 6 mg/kg alone, for treatment of Wuchereria bancrofti carriers [15].

Gene context of Polynesia

• In this study, we determined the plasma levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF beta-1) in 52 children with laboratory-confirmed dengue virus infection admitted to hospital during the recent dengue 2 outbreak in French Polynesia [16].
• Thyroid cancer in French Polynesia between 1985 and 1995: influence of atmospheric nuclear bomb tests performed at Mururoa and Fangataufa between 1966 and 1974 [17].
• Identical digeneans in coral reef fishes from French Polynesia and the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) demonstrated by morphology and molecules [18].
• Six studies have been carried out in France and French Polynesia to investigate the prevalence of asthma in adolescents attending secondary school and in Paris university students (68,179 subjects overall) [19].
• No evidence for linkage between leprosy susceptibility and the human natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (NRAMP1) gene in French Polynesia [20].

References