Disease relevance of Central America

• The pol fragments from 21 different BLV strains, isolated from cattle in North and Central America, were cloned and sequenced, and compared to other published BLV and PTLV pol sequences [1].
• The first outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in Central America was documented on the Azuero peninsula of Panama in late 1999 and 2000 [2].
• Hepatitis A virus isolates from anti-HAV IgM positive sera of 70 hepatitis cases in two outbreaks and 216 other cases in Central America, 136 sporadic cases and 53 cases from an hyper-endemic region in Costa Rica, were compared by phylogenetic analyses within the VP1 region [3].
• Hydroxyurea treatment in children with sickle cell anemia in Central America and the Caribbean countries [4].
• A 67-year-old woman presented to a community emergency department in Orange County, CA, after she was stung by a scorpion identified as Centruroides limbatus from Central America. She developed local pain and systemic symptoms, including parasthesias, flushing, hypertension, and wheezing [5].

High impact information on Central America

• BACKGROUND: Misoprostol is commonly used to induce abortion in Brazil, and in other countries in South and Central America where abortions are illegal [6].
• BACKGROUND: Calcium fortification of maize has been achieved for millennia in Central America by the process of nixtamalization [7].
• BACKGROUND: Corn masa flour is widely consumed in Central America and is therefore a potentially useful vehicle for iron fortification [8].
• The sample included 460 Guatemalan children who were exposed to either a high-energy, high-protein drink (atole) or a low-energy, no-protein drink (fresco) during their first 36 mo of life [INCAP (Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama) supplementation trial] [9].
• We examined the phylogenetic relationships of 16 northern species of the aplocheiloid genus Rivulus inhabiting the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. A total of 714 base pairs per taxon were sequenced from two segments of the mitochondrial genome, 12S rRNA and cytochrome b [10].

Biological context of Central America

• The IGS diversity in Central America was 50% greater than in South America. These results suggest that barriers to gene flow exist among Atlantic and Pacific coast populations of An. albimanus [11].
• The increasing number of immigrants from Central America who enter California and other states may have public health implications in regard to the introduction of pathogenic strains that are capable of producing cardiomyopathy [12].
• We have inferred the phylogenetic relationships of Synbranchus marmoratus and Ophisternon aenigmaticum from 45 drainages throughout South, Central America, and Cuba based on mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b and ATPase 8/6) [13].
• PURPOSE: To describe the clinical findings of an autosomal dominant macular dystrophy in a family of Mayan Indian ancestry in Belize, Central America, and to determine its molecular genetic relationship with the original North Carolinian family [14].
• Allele frequencies for 11 STR autosomal loci (F13A01, F13B, FESFPS, LPL, CSF1PO, TH01, TPOX, VWA, D16S539, D7S820 and D13S317) were obtained from a sample of 200 unrelated individuals from Costa Rica, Central America [15].

Associations of Central America with chemical compounds

• The chelate of iron and ethylenediaminetetraacetate, NaFeEDTA, an iron-fortifying agent suggested for application in Central America, slightly but not significantly depressed plasma nickel rise at 2 hours, whereas disodium EDTA depressed plasma nickel levels significantly below the fasting nickel curve at 3 and 4 hours postdose [16].
• Sequence variation in the cytochrome oxidase I, internal transcribed spacer 1, and Ts14 diagnostic antigen sequences of Taenia solium isolates from South and Central America, India, and Asia [17].
• The study area was in El Salvador, Central America, and antimalarial activities consisted of the residual application of the pesticide, propoxur, and drug distribution through a combination of active and passive case detection [18].
• Concentrations of p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, and HCH isomers all varied over many orders of magnitude in the butter samples, with highest levels in areas of current use (e.g. India and south/central America for DDT; India, China, and Spain for HCH) [19].
• OBJECTIVE: A study of children (2-8 years; n = 613) in Belize, Central America, was conducted to determine what proportion of the children might be at risk of vitamin A (vit A) deficiency [20].

Gene context of Central America

• Among 52 APL patients (28 from Mexico and Central America diagnosed in Los Angeles and 24 from Peru, South America), bcr1, bcr2 and bcr3 expression was 75%, 10% and 15% respectively [21].
• By contrast, in the nifD tree almost all isolates were placed into one of three groups each exclusively composed of taxa from a single geographic region (North Temperate, Central America or Australia) [22].
• In this study we examined the genetic structure in the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene of two genera of lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) occurring on multiple sympatric species of doves in southern North and Central America. One genus, Columbicola, is generally less host-specific than the other, Physconelloides [23].
• Leishmania braziliensis is endemic in Guatemala and Belize in Central America. To help identify the vector(s) of this parasite in Guatemala, phlebotomine sand flies that were aspirated from the clothing of collectors at Tikal National Park in the Department of the Peten were examined for flagellates [24].
• Alkaline-cooked corn, called nixtamal, is the basis for many traditional corn products such as tortillas, chips, and taco shells that are used widely in Mexico and Central America and in the preparation of snack foods that are consumed globally [25].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Central America

• The data reviewed come from two studies carried out over two decades: the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) longitudinal study (1966-1977) and its follow-up (1988-1989) [26].
• Characterization of 17 Y-STR loci in a population from El Salvador (San Salvador, Central America) and their potential for DNA profiling [27].

References