Genetics of schizophrenia in the South African Xhosa
- Authors: Gulsuner, S , Stein, D J , Susser, E S , Sibeko, G , Pretorius, A , Walsh, T , Majara, L , Mndini, M M , Mqulwana, S G , Ntola, O A , Casadei, S , Zingela, Zukiswa , Nagdee, M , Ramesar, R S , King, M-C , McClellan, J M , Ngqengelele, L L , Korchina, V , van der Merwe, C , Malan, M , Fader, K M , Feng, M , Willoughby, E , Munzi, D , Andrews, H F , Gur, R C , Gibbs, R A
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Schizophrenia -- Diagnosis -- Cross-cultural studies , Medical genetics , Xhosa (African people)
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/4217 , vital:44044 , https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay8833
- Description: Africa, the ancestral home of all modern humans, is the most informative continent for understanding the human genome and its contribution to complex disease. To better understand the genetics of schizophrenia, we studied the illness in the Xhosa population of South Africa, recruiting 909 cases and 917 age-, gender-, and residence-matched controls. Individuals with schizophrenia were significantly more likely than controls to harbor private, severely damaging mutations in genes that are critical to synaptic function, including neural circuitry mediated by the neurotransmitters glutamine, γ-aminobutyric acid, and dopamine. Schizophrenia is genetically highly heterogeneous, involving severe ultrarare mutations in genes that are critical to synaptic plasticity. The depth of genetic variation in Africa revealed this relationship with a moderate sample size and informed our understanding of the genetics of schizophrenia worldwide.
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- Date Issued: 2020
An anthropological investigation into the challenges that affect Xhosa traditional circumcision: a case of Mngqesha Village, Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
- Authors: Qegu, Mzukisi
- Date: 2018-06
- Subjects: Circumcision , Xhosa (African people)
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26683 , vital:65851
- Description: The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges that affect Xhosa traditional circumcision in Mngqesha village. Mngqesha village is situated in Dimbaza, Eastern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa. The study population employed random and purposive sampling to draw a representative sample of 25 research informants traditional leaders, traditional surgeons, traditional nurses, Initiates, elders of the community and Department of Health officials, each group was represented by five research informants from the population of this study. This study employed a mixed research approach. Questionnaires were distributed amongst research informants for quantitative purposes, and interviews were conducted for qualitative purposes, among the selected representative sample. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis and was used to substantiate quantitative findings. The findings of this study prolonged on how injuries, diseases and high death rates of initiates affect Xhosa Traditional Circumcision in Mngqesha village. The findings of this study divulge that carelessness amongst parents of initiates, dehydration, physical abuse and lack of proper screening of initiates have a tremendous contribution to injuries, diseases and high death rates of initiates in Mngqesha villages. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2018
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- Date Issued: 2018-06