SummaryThroughout biomedical research, there is growing interest in the use of ancestry informative markers (AIMs) to deconstruct racial categories into useful variables. Studies on recently admixed populations have shown significant population substructure due to differences in individual ancestry; however, few studies have examined Caribbean populations. Here we used a panel of 28 AIMs to examine the genetic ancestry of 298 individuals of African descent from the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, St. Thomas and Barbados. Differences in global admixture were observed, with Barbados having the highest level of West African ancestry (89.6% ± 2.0) and the lowest levels of European (10.2% ± 2.2) and Native American ancestry (0.2% ± 2.0), while Jamaica possessed the highest levels of European (12.4% ± 3.5) and Native American ancestry (3.2% ± 3.1). St. Thomas, USVI had ancestry levels quite similar to African Americans in continental U.S. (86.8% ± 2.2 West African, 10.6% ± 2.3 European, and 2.6% ± 2.1 Native American). Significant substructure was observed in the islands of Jamaica and St. Thomas but not Barbados (K=1), indicating that differences in population substructure exist across these three Caribbean islands. These differences likely stem from diverse colonial and historical experiences, and subsequent evolutionary processes. Most importantly, these differences may have significant ramifications for case-control studies of complex disease in Caribbean populations.

Studies of diet and prostate cancer have focused primarily on food and nutrients; however, dietary patterns examine the overall diet, particularly foods eaten in combination, and risk of disease. We evaluated the association of dietary patterns and prostate cancer and low- and high-grade subgroups in Jamaican men. In a case-control study, we enrolled 243 incident cases and 273 urology controls in Jamaican clinics, March 2005-July 2007. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis. Four food patterns were identified: a "vegetable and legume" pattern, a "fast food" pattern, a "meat" pattern, and a "refined carbohydrate" pattern. Men in the highest tertile for the refined carbohydrate pattern, characterized by high intakes of rice, pasta, sugar sweetened beverages, and sweet baked foods were at increased risk of total prostate cancer [odds ratio (OR) = 2.02; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-3.87 (Ptrend = 0.029)] and low-grade disease [OR = 2.91; 95% CI = 1.18-7.13 (Ptrend = 0.019)] compared with men in the lowest tertile. The vegetable and legumes pattern (healthy), meat pattern, or fast food pattern were not associated with prostate cancer risk. These data suggest a carbohydrate dietary pattern high in refined carbohydrates may be a risk factor for prostate cancer in Jamaican men.

Whole-blood and dietary MUFA reduced the risk of prostate cancer. The association may be related to avocado intakes. High blood linolenic acid was directly related to prostate cancer. These associations warrant further investigation.

BACKGROUND Multiple genetic studies have confirmed associations of 8q24 variants with susceptibility to prostate cancer (CaP). However, the magnitude of risk conferred in men living in west Africa is unknown. METHODS Here we determine the prevalence of 8q24 risk alleles and test for association with CaP risk alleles in west African descent populations from rural Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Caribbean island of Jamaica. Ten 8q24 SNPs were genotyped in histologically-confirmed CaP cases (n=308) and clinically evaluated controls (n=469). In addition, unrelated individuals from Sierra Leone (n=380) were genotyped for comparison of allele frequency comparisons. RESULTS SNPs rs6983561, rs7008482, and rs16901979 were significantly associated with CaP risk in west Africans (P<0.03). No associations with CaP were observed in our Caribbean samples. Risk alleles for rs6983267, rs7008482, and rs7000448 were highly prevalent (>84%) in West Africa. We also reveal that the A-risk allele for the ‘African-specific’ SNP bd11934905 was not observed in 1,886 chromosomes from three west African ethnic groups suggesting that this allele may not be common across west Africa, but is geographically restricted to specific ethnic group(s). CONCLUSIONS We provide evidence of association of 8q24 SNPs with prostate cancer risk in men from Nigeria and Cameroon. Our study is the first to reveal genetic risk due to 8q24 variants (in particular, region 2) with CaP within two west Africa countries. Most importantly, in light of the disparate burden of CaP in African Americans, our findings support the need for larger genetic studies in west African descent populations to validate and discern function of susceptibility loci in the 8q24 region.

A 44-year-old diabetic female presented to a hospital in Jamaica with thermal burns. Trichosporon asahii was isolated from facial wounds, sputum, and a meningeal swab. Dissemination of the fungus was demonstrated in stained histological sections of the meninges and a brain abscess at autopsy. Pure growth of the fungus from patient samples submitted and an environmental isolate obtained from a wash basin in the hospital supported the diagnosis. CASE REPORTA 44-year-old hypertensive, diabetic woman presented with partial and full-thickness thermal burns involving 50% of her total body surface area, including the face and neck, torso, upper limbs, and proximal portion of the lower limbs. She was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for ventilatory support for suspected inhalational injury. Her initial hemoglobin level was 5.2 g/dl, her white blood cell count was 6.4 ϫ 10 9 /liter, her platelet count was 239 ϫ 10 9 /liter, and her blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels were 2 mmol/liter and 54 mol/liter, respectively. Management included fluid resuscitation, topical and systemic antibiotic therapy, surgical intervention for control of wound sepsis, and limb perfusion. She also received ceftriaxone for empirical antibiotic coverage, tetracycline ointment for facial burn wounds, and twice daily application of dressings using flumazine to the wounds on the body. Nursing and dietary supportive measures were also instituted.The patient was clinically stable on admission when a primary culture of sputum yielded a light growth of a yeast reported as "yeast not Candida albicans." However, despite broad-spectrum antibiotic coverage, signs of sepsis appeared within 5 days of admission. She developed multiorganism infection of the burn wounds, which were culture positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus group D, Bacteroides, Alcaligenes sp., and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Blood culture and culture of a femoral central venous catheter tip were also positive for Streptococcus group D and Acinetobacter sp. Sputum and urine cultures were negative at that time. Appropriate antibiotic intervention following antibiotic susceptibility testing of isolates was commenced, and 0.25% acetic acid was included in the dressings applied to wounds that were positive for Pseudomonas. Despite the continued use of antibiotics, she persistently showed clinical, biochemical, and hematological signs of sepsis. The patient's clinical status continued to deteriorate, and she developed multiorgan dysfunction.Over the period of hospitalization, gradually increasing BUN levels (mean, 20.9 mmol/liter; range, 9.1 to 32.1 mmol/ liter) and creatinine levels (mean, 287.2 mol/liter; range, 54 to 353 mol/liter) were recorded. Levels remained relatively high throughout the remainder of the patient's hospital stay and were consistent with renal failure.