Publications

Skin pigmentation is a complex trait that varies largely among populations. Most genome-wide association studies of this trait have been performed in Europeans and Asians. We aimed to uncover genes influencing skin colour in African-admixed individuals. We performed a genome-wide association study of melanin levels in 285 Hispanic/Latino individuals from Puerto Rico, analyzing 14 million genetic variants. A total of 82 variants with p-value ≤1 × 10 were followed up in 373 African Americans. Fourteen single nucleotide polymorphisms were replicated, of which nine were associated with skin colour at genome-wide significance in a meta-analysis across the two studies. These results validated the association of two previously known skin pigmentation genes, SLC24A5 (minimum p = 2.62 × 10, rs1426654) and SLC45A2 (minimum p = 9.71 × 10, rs16891982), and revealed the intergenic region of BEND7 and PRPF18 as a novel locus associated with this trait (minimum p = 4.58 × 10, rs6602666). The most significant variant within this region is common among African-descent populations but not among Europeans or Native Americans. Our findings support the advantages of analyzing African-admixed populations to discover new genes influencing skin pigmentation.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to examine the frequency and clinical impact of different cessation patterns of dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents among patients with and those without diabetes mellitus (DM).

BACKGROUND

Early DAPT suspension after percutaneous coronary intervention increases the risk for major adverse cardiac events. However, temporal variability in risk and relation to DAPT cessation patterns among patients with DM remain unclear.

METHODS

Using data from the PARIS (Patterns of Non-Adherence to Anti-Platelet Regimens in Stented Patients) registry, 1,430 patients with DM (34%) and 2,777 without DM (66%) treated with drug-eluting stents were identified. DAPT cessation modes were classified as temporary interruption (<14 days), disruption because of bleeding or poor compliance, and physician-recommended discontinuation.

RESULTS

During 2-year follow-up, DM was associated with an increased risk for thrombotic events but a similar risk for bleeding. The cumulative incidence of DAPT cessation was significantly lower in patients with versus those without DM (50.1% vs. 55.4%; p < 0.01), driven largely by less frequent physician-guided discontinuation beyond 1 year. In contrast, 2-year rates of interruption and disruption were similar between groups. When DAPT was interrupted or discontinued under physician guidance, the risk for major adverse cardiac events was unchanged compared with patients with DM on uninterrupted DAPT. Conversely, when DAPT was disrupted, the risk for major adverse cardiac events increased compared with uninterrupted DAPT, regardless of diabetic status, with no evidence of statistical interaction.

CONCLUSIONS

DAPT cessation patterns vary according to diabetic status, with less frequent physician-guided discontinuation among patients with DM. The presence of DM does not emerge as a modifier of cardiovascular risk after DAPT cessation.

Global tuberculosis incidence has declined marginally over the past decade, and tuberculosis remains out of control in several parts of the world including Africa and Asia. Although tuberculosis control has been effective in some regions of the world, these gains are threatened by the increasing burden of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis. XDR tuberculosis has evolved in several tuberculosis-endemic countries to drug-incurable or programmatically incurable tuberculosis (totally drug-resistant tuberculosis). This poses several challenges similar to those encountered in the pre-chemotherapy era, including the inability to cure tuberculosis, high mortality, and the need for alternative methods to prevent disease transmission. This phenomenon mirrors the worldwide increase in antimicrobial resistance and the emergence of other MDR pathogens, such as malaria, HIV, and Gram-negative bacteria. MDR and XDR tuberculosis are associated with high morbidity and substantial mortality, are a threat to health-care workers, prohibitively expensive to treat, and are therefore a serious public health problem. In this Commission, we examine several aspects of drug-resistant tuberculosis. The traditional view that acquired resistance to antituberculous drugs is driven by poor compliance and programmatic failure is now being questioned, and several lines of evidence suggest that alternative mechanisms-including pharmacokinetic variability, induction of efflux pumps that transport the drug out of cells, and suboptimal drug penetration into tuberculosis lesions-are likely crucial to the pathogenesis of drug-resistant tuberculosis. These factors have implications for the design of new interventions, drug delivery and dosing mechanisms, and public health policy. We discuss epidemiology and transmission dynamics, including new insights into the fundamental biology of transmission, and we review the utility of newer diagnostic tools, including molecular tests and next-generation whole-genome sequencing, and their potential for clinical effectiveness. Relevant research priorities are highlighted, including optimal medical and surgical management, the role of newer and repurposed drugs (including bedaquiline, delamanid, and linezolid), pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic considerations, preventive strategies (such as prophylaxis in MDR and XDR contacts), palliative and patient-orientated care aspects, and medicolegal and ethical issues.