Quarshie Jude T, Mensah Esther N, Quaye Osbourne, Aikins Anastasia R
Department of Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), Accra, Ghana.
Parkinsons Dis. 2021 Sep 30;2021:7479423. doi: 10.1155/2021/7479423. eCollection 2021.
Parkinsonism is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases among the elderly. Africa is experiencing an increasing burden of age-related conditions including parkinsonism. However, there is not enough data on the prevalence, symptoms, and management of the disorder in West African patients. This systematic review examines the current state of parkinsonism in West Africa by discussing its epidemiology, symptomatology, and treatment. We searched PubMed, BioMed Central, and AJOL databases from January 2000 to December 2020 for studies on parkinsonism conducted in West African countries. We included 32 studies in this review: 23 from Nigeria, 5 from Ghana, and 1 each from Benin, Mali, Niger, and Senegal. Out of the 32 reviewed studies, 11 focused on the prevalence of parkinsonism, 4 examined the genetics of Parkinson's disease (PD), and 17 described the symptomatology and therapy of parkinsonism. The prevalence of parkinsonism in West Africa ranges from 6.0% to 8.3% of neurologic admissions/consultations. The estimated crude prevalence of PD in West Africa varies from 15 to 572 per 100,000 people. Thus far, no pathogenic genetic variants have been associated with PD in the region. Levodopa is frequently used singly or in combination with other medications to manage parkinsonian symptoms, which is consistent with reports from other African regions. Most of the reviewed studies focused only on PD, limiting assessment of other forms of parkinsonism. Almost all the prevalence studies were hospital-based and monocentric, making it impossible to accurately estimate the true prevalence of parkinsonism in West Africa. Larger community-based prevalence studies are recommended to enable accurate quantification of disease burden. Future genetic investigations should consider a wider array of gene mutations associated with parkinsonism. Moreover, public health surveillance strategies should be established to monitor the epidemiology of the disorder.
帕金森症是老年人中最常见的神经退行性疾病之一。非洲正面临包括帕金森症在内的与年龄相关疾病日益加重的负担。然而，关于西非患者该疾病的患病率、症状及治疗方面的数据并不充足。本系统综述通过探讨帕金森症在西非的流行病学、症状学及治疗情况，来审视其当前状况。我们检索了2000年1月至2020年12月期间PubMed、BioMed Central和AJOL数据库中有关在西非国家开展的帕金森症研究。本综述纳入了32项研究：23项来自尼日利亚，5项来自加纳，贝宁、马里、尼日尔和塞内加尔各1项。在这32项被综述的研究中，11项聚焦于帕金森症的患病率，4项研究了帕金森病（PD）的遗传学，17项描述了帕金森症的症状学及治疗。帕金森症在西非的患病率在神经科住院/会诊病例中占6.0%至8.3%。西非PD的估计粗患病率为每10万人中有15至572例。迄今为止，该地区尚未发现与PD相关的致病基因变异。左旋多巴常单独使用或与其他药物联合使用来控制帕金森症状，这与非洲其他地区的报道一致。大多数被综述的研究仅聚焦于PD，限制了对其他形式帕金森症的评估。几乎所有患病率研究都是基于医院且为单中心的，这使得无法准确估计西非帕金森症的真实患病率。建议开展更大规模的基于社区的患病率研究，以便准确量化疾病负担。未来的基因研究应考虑与帕金森症相关的更广泛的基因突变。此外，应建立公共卫生监测策略来监测该疾病的流行病学情况。
