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Frequency of Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency, Red-Green Colour Blindness and Xga Blood-group among Chamorros

Abstract

PROGRESSIVE fatal neurological diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, occur with exceptionally high incidence in the indigenous population of Guam and the other Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific. Recent investigations indicate that these neurological problems are not limited to the Chamorros, the indigenous population of the Marianas1,2. Since extensive pedigree and epidemiological data revealed no single genetic defect which might reasonably account for such abnormalities, ancestral relationships among different aboriginal populations of the Western Pacific are being examined. If the ancestry of these groups can be defined in terms of several common genetic markers, then a comparison of the incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinsonism-dementia or other neurological diseases occurring within these groups might facilitate the separation of genetic and non-genetic disease-producing factors. This communication reports the results of a preliminary survey for three sex-linked traits: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency, red-green colour blindness and Xga blood-group in Chamorro males. The results are summarized in Table 1.

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PLATO, C., CRUZ, M. & KURLAND, L. Frequency of Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency, Red-Green Colour Blindness and Xga Blood-group among Chamorros. Nature 202, 728 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/202728a0

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