Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 36 in total

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  1. Watihayati MS, Fatemeh H, Marini M, Atif AB, Zahiruddin WM, Sasongko TH, et al.
    Brain Dev, 2009 Jan;31(1):42-5.
    PMID: 18842367 DOI: 10.1016/j.braindev.2008.08.012
    Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder caused by mutations in the SMN1 gene. The SMN2 gene is highly homologous to SMN1 and has been reported to be correlated with severity of the disease. The clinical presentation of SMA varies from severe to mild, with three clinical subtypes (type I, type II, and type III) that are assigned according to age of onset and severity of the disease. Here, we aim to investigate the potential association between the number of copies of SMN2 and the deletion in the NAIP gene with the clinical severity of SMA in patients of Malaysian origin. Forty-two SMA patients (14 of type I, 20 type II, and 8 type III) carrying deletions of the SMN1 gene were enrolled in this study. SMN2 copy number was determined by fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. Twenty-nine percent of type I patients carried one copy of SMN2, while the remaining 71% carried two copies. Among the type II and type III SMA patients, 29% of cases carried two copies of the gene, while 71% carried three or four copies of SMN2. Deletion analysis of NAIP showed that 50% of type I SMA patients had a homozygous deletion of exon 5 of this gene and that only 10% of type II SMA cases carried a homozygous deletion, while all type III patients carried intact copies of the NAIP gene. We conclude that there exists a close relationship between SMN2 copy number and SMA disease severity, suggesting that the determination of SMN2 copy number may be a good predictor of SMA disease type. Furthermore, NAIP gene deletion was found to be associated with SMA severity. In conclusion, combining the analysis of deletion of NAIP with the assessment of SMN2 copy number increases the value of this tool in predicting the severity of SMA.
  2. Sasongko TH, Gunadi, Yusoff S, Atif AB, Fatemeh H, Rani A, et al.
    Brain Dev, 2010 May;32(5):385-9.
    PMID: 19664890 DOI: 10.1016/j.braindev.2009.06.008
    The majority of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients showed homozygous deletion or other mutations of SMN1. However, the genetic etiology of a significant number of SMA patients has not been clarified. Recently, mutation in the gene underlying cat SMA, limb expression 1 (LIX1), has been reported. Similarity in clinical and pathological features of cat and human SMA may give an insight into possible similarity of the genetic etiology.
  3. Sasongko TH, Salmi AR, Zilfalil BA, Albar MA, Mohd Hussin ZA
    Ann Saudi Med, 2010 Nov-Dec;30(6):427-31.
    PMID: 21060155 DOI: 10.4103/0256-4947.72259
    Abortion has been largely avoided in Muslim communities. However, Islamic jurists have established rigorous parameters enabling abortion of fetuses with severe congenital abnormalities. This decision-making process has been hindered by an inability to predict the severity of such prenatally-diagnosed conditions, especially in genetic disorders with clinical heterogeneity, such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Heterogeneous phenotypes of SMA range from extremely severe type 1 to very mild type 4. Advances in molecular genetics have made it possible to perform prenatal diagnosis and to predict the types of SMA with its potential subsequent severity. Such techniques will make it possible for clinicians working in predominantly Muslim countries to counsel their patients accurately and in harmony with their religious beliefs. In this paper, we discuss and postulate that with our current knowledge of determining SMA types and severity with great accuracy, abortion is legally applicable for type 1 SMA.
  4. Sasongko TH, Gunadi, Zilfalil BA, Zabidi-Hussin Z
    J. Neurogenet., 2011 Mar;25(1-2):15-6.
    PMID: 21338334 DOI: 10.3109/01677063.2011.559561
    The authors suggest a simplification for the current molecular genetic testing of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Deletion analysis of SMN1 exon 7 alone may be necessary and sufficient for the diagnosis of SMA. It is based on sole contribution of survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) exon 7 to SMA pathogenesis.
  5. Rani AQ, Malueka RG, Sasongko TH, Awano H, Lee T, Yagi M, et al.
    Mol Genet Metab, 2011 Jul;103(3):303-4.
    PMID: 21514860 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2011.04.002
    In Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), identification of one nonsense mutation in the DMD gene has been considered an endpoint of genetic diagnosis. Here, we identified two closely spaced nonsense mutations in the DMD gene. In a Malaysian DMD patient two nonsense mutations (p.234S>X and p.249Q>X, respectively) were identified within exon 8. The proband's mother carried both mutations on one allele. Multiple mutations may explain the occasional discrepancies between genotype and phenotype in dystrophinopathy.
  6. Al-Khateeb A, Zahri MK, Mohamed MS, Sasongko TH, Ibrahim S, Yusof Z, et al.
    BMC Med Genet, 2011;12:40.
    PMID: 21418584 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2350-12-40
    Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder mainly caused by defects in the low-density lipoprotein receptor gene. Few and limited analyses of familial hypercholesterolemia have been performed in Malaysia, and the underlying mutations therefore remain largely unknown.We studied a group of 154 unrelated FH patients from a northern area of Malaysia (Kelantan). The promoter region and exons 2-15 of the LDLR gene were screened by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography to detect short deletions and nucleotide substitutions, and by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification to detect large rearrangements.
  7. Marini M, Sasongko TH, Watihayati MS, Atif AB, Hayati F, Gunadi, et al.
    Indian J Med Res, 2012;135:31-5.
    PMID: 22382180
    Genetic diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is complicated by the presence of SMN2 gene as majority of SMA patients show absence or deletion of SMN1 gene. PCR may amplify both the genes non selectively in presence of high amount of DNA. We evaluated whether allele-specific PCR for diagnostic screening of SMA is reliable in the presence of high amount of genomic DNA, which is commonly used when performing diagnostic screening using restriction enzymes.
  8. Rani AQ, Sasongko TH, Sulong S, Bunyan D, Salmi AR, Zilfalil BA, et al.
    J. Neurogenet., 2013 Jun;27(1-2):11-5.
    PMID: 23438214 DOI: 10.3109/01677063.2012.762580
    We undertook the clinical feature examination and dystrophin analysis using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and direct DNA sequencing of selected exons in a cohort of 35 Malaysian Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) patients. We found 27 patients with deletions of one or more exons, 2 patients with one exon duplication, 2 patients with nucleotide deletion, and 4 patients with nonsense mutations (including 1 patient with two nonsense mutations in the same exon). Although most cases showed compliance to the reading frame rule, we found two unrelated DMD patients with an in-frame deletion of the gene. Two novel mutations have been detected in the Dystrophin gene and our results were compatible with other studies where the majority of the mutations (62.8%) are located in the distal hotspot. However, the frequency of the mutations in our patient varied as compared with those found in other populations.
  9. Mohseni J, Zabidi-Hussin ZA, Sasongko TH
    Genet Mol Biol, 2013 Sep;36(3):299-307.
    PMID: 24130434 DOI: 10.1590/S1415-47572013000300001
    Histone acetylation plays an important role in regulation of transcription in eukaryotic cells by promoting a more relaxed chromatin structure necessary for transcriptional activation. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) remove acetyl groups and suppress gene expression. HDAC inhibitors (HDACIs) are a group of small molecules that promote gene transcription by chromatin remodeling and have been extensively studied as potential drugs for treating of spinal muscular atrophy. Various drugs in this class have been studied with regard to their efficacy in increasing the expression of survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein. In this review, we discuss the current literature on this topic and summarize the findings of the main studies in this field.
  10. Mohseni J, Boon Hock C, Abdul Razak C, Othman SN, Hayati F, Peitee WO, et al.
    Gene, 2014 Jan 1;533(1):240-5.
    PMID: 24103480 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2013.09.081
    Hyperargininemia is a very rare progressive neurometabolic disorder caused by deficiency of hepatic cytosolic arginase I, resulting from mutations in the ARG1 gene. Until now, some mutations were reported worldwide and none of them were of Southeast Asian origins. Furthermore, most reported mutations were point mutations and a few others deletions or insertions.
  11. Ismail NF, Nik Abdul Malik NM, Mohseni J, Rani AM, Hayati F, Salmi AR, et al.
    Jpn J Clin Oncol, 2014 May;44(5):506-11.
    PMID: 24683199 DOI: 10.1093/jjco/hyu024
    Tuberous sclerosis complex is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disorder affecting multiple organs. Tuberous sclerosis complex is caused by mutation in either one of the two disease-causing genes, TSC1 or TSC2, encoding for hamartin and tuberin, respectively. TSC2/PKD1 contiguous gene deletion syndrome is a very rare condition due to deletion involving both TSC2 and PKD1 genes. Tuberous sclerosis complex cannot be easily diagnosed since there is no pathognomonic feature, although there are consensus diagnostic criteria for that. Mutation analysis is useful and plays important roles. We report here two novel gross deletions of TSC2 gene in Malay patients with tuberous sclerosis complex and TSC2/PKD1 contiguous gene deletion syndrome, respectively.
  12. Sasongko TH, Ismail NF, Nik Mohd Ariff NA, Zabidi-Hussin ZA
    Jpn J Clin Oncol, 2014 Nov;44(11):1130.
    PMID: 25320338 DOI: 10.1093/jjco/hyu157
  13. Sasongko TH, Nagalla S, Ballas SK
    PMID: 26041152 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD009191.pub3
    BACKGROUND: Sickle cell disease is a group of disorders characterized by deformation of erythrocytes. Renal damage is a frequent complication in sickle cell disease as a result of long-standing anemia and disturbed circulation through the renal medullary capillaries. Due to the improvement in life expectancy of people with sickle cell disease, there has been a corresponding significant increase in the incidence of renal complications. Microalbuminuria and proteinuria are noted to be a strong predictor of subsequent renal failure. There is extensive experience and evidence with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors over many years in a variety of clinical situations for patients who do not have sickle cell disease, but their effect in people with this disease is unknown. It is common practice to administer ACE inhibitors for sickle nephropathy due to their renoprotective properties; however, little is known about their effectiveness and safety in this setting. This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2013.

    OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of ACE inhibitor administration in people with sickle cell disease for decreasing intraglomerular pressure, microalbuminuria and proteinuria and to to assess the safety of ACE inhibitors as pertains to their adverse effects.

    SEARCH METHODS: The authors searched the Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group's Hameoglobinopathies Trials Register comprising references identified from comprehensive electronic database searches and handsearches of relevant journals and abstract books of conference proceedings.Date of the most recent search: 03 June 2015.

    SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials of ACE inhibitors designed to reduce microalbuminuria and proteinuria in people with sickle cell disease compared to either placebo or standard treatment regimen.

    DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Three authors independently applied the inclusion criteria in order to select studies for inclusion in the review. Two authors assessed the risk of bias of studies and extracted data and the third author verified these assessments.

    MAIN RESULTS: Five studies were identified through the searches, only one met our inclusion criteria. The included study randomized 22 participants (seven males and 15 females) having proteinuria or microalbuminuria with sickle cell disease and treated the participants for six months (median length of follow up of three months) with captopril or placebo. The overall quality of the outcomes reported was high, since most aspects that may contribute to bias were regarded to be of low risk, although allocation concealment was not reported. At six months, the study reported no significant difference in urinary albumin excretion between the captopril group and the placebo group, although the mean urinary albumin excretion in the captopril group was lower by a mean difference of -49.00 (95% confidence interval -124.10 to 26.10) compared to that of placebo. However, our analysis on the absolute change score showed significant changes between the two groups by a mean difference of -63.00 (95% confidence interval -93.78 to -32.22). At six months albumin excretion in the captopril group was noted to decrease from baseline by a mean of 45 ± 23 mg/day and the placebo group was noted to increase by 18 ± 45 mg/day. Serum creatinine and potassium levels were reported constant throughout the study. The potential for inducing hypotension should be highlighted; the study reported a decrease of 8 mmHg in systolic pressure and 5 mmHg in diastolic and mean blood pressure.

    AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is not enough evidence to show that the administration of ACE inhibitors is associated with a reduction of microalbuminuria and proteinuria in people with sickle cell disease, although a potential for this was seen. More long-term studies involving multiple centers and larger cohorts using a randomized-controlled design are warranted, especially among the pediatric age group. Detailed reporting of each outcome measure is necessary to allow a clear cut interpretation in a systematic review. One of the difficulties encountered in this review was the lack of detailed data reported in the included study.

  14. Sasongko TH, Ismail NF, Nik Abdul Malik NM, Zabidi-Hussin ZA
    Orphanet J Rare Dis, 2015;10:95.
    PMID: 26259610 DOI: 10.1186/s13023-015-0317-7
    Rapamycin has gained significant attention for its potential activity in reducing the size of TSC-associated tumors, thus providing alternative to surgery. This study aimed at determining the efficacy of rapamycin and rapalogs for reducing the size of TSC-associated solid tumors in patients with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC).
  15. Sasongko TH, Ismail NF, Zabidi-Hussin Z
    Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2016 Jul 13;7:CD011272.
    PMID: 27409709 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD011272.pub2
    BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown potential benefits of rapamycin or rapalogs for treating people with tuberous sclerosis complex. Although everolimus (a rapalog) is currently approved by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and the EMA (European Medicines Agency) for tuberous sclerosis complex-associated renal angiomyolipoma and subependymal giant cell astrocytoma, applications for other manifestations of tuberous sclerosis complex have not yet been established. A systematic review is necessary to establish the clinical value of rapamycin or rapalogs for various manifestations in tuberous sclerosis complex.

    OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of rapamycin or rapalogs in people with tuberous sclerosis complex for decreasing tumour size and other manifestations and to assess the safety of rapamycin or rapalogs in relation to their adverse effects.

    SEARCH METHODS: Relevant studies were identified by authors from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Ovid MEDLINE, and clinicaltrials.gov. Relevant resources were also searched by the authors, such as conference proceedings and abstract books of conferences, from e.g. the Tuberous Sclerosis Complex International Research Conferences, other tuberous sclerosis complex-related conferences and the Human Genome Meeting. We did not restrict the searches by language as long as English translations were available for non-English reports.Date of the last searches: 14 March 2016.

    SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized or quasi-randomized studies of rapamycin or rapalogs in people with tuberous sclerosis complex.

    DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data were independently extracted by two authors using standard acquisition forms. The data collection was verified by one author. The risk of bias of each study was independently assessed by two authors and verified by one author.

    MAIN RESULTS: Three placebo-controlled studies with a total of 263 participants (age range 0.8 to 61 years old, 122 males and 141 females, with variable lengths of study duration) were included in the review. We found high-quality evidence except for response to skin lesions which was judged to be low quality due to the risk of attrition bias. Overall, there are 175 participants in the treatment arm (rapamycin or everolimus) and 88 in the placebo arm. Participants all had tuberous sclerosis complex as proven by consensus diagnostic criteria as a minimum. The quality in the description of the study methods was mixed, although we assessed most domains as having a low risk of bias. Blinding of treatment arms was successfully carried out in all of the studies. However, two studies did not report allocation concealment. Two of the included studies were funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.Two studies (235 participants) used oral (systemic) administration of everolimus (rapalog). These studies reported response to tumour size in terms of the number of individuals with a reduction in the total volume of tumours to 50% or more relative to baseline. Significantly more participants in the treatment arm (two studies, 162 participants, high quality evidence) achieved a 50% reduction in renal angiomyolipoma size, risk ratio 24.69 (95% confidence interval 3.51 to 173.41) (P = 0.001). For the sub-ependymal giant cell astrocytoma, our analysis of one study (117 participants, high quality evidence) showed significantly more participants in the treatment arm achieved a 50% reduction in tumour size, risk ratio 27.85 (95% confidence interval 1.74 to 444.82) (P = 0.02). The proportion of participants who showed a skin response from the two included studies analysed was significantly increased in the treatment arms, risk ratio 5.78 (95% confidence interval 2.30 to 14.52) (P = 0.0002) (two studies, 224 participants, high quality evidence). In one study (117 participants), the median change of seizure frequency was -2.9 in 24 hours (95% confidence interval -4.0 to -1.0) in the treatment group versus -4.1 in 24 hour (95% confidence interval -10.9 to 5.8) in the placebo group. In one study, one out of 79 participants in the treatment group versus three of 39 in placebo group had increased blood creatinine levels, while the median percentage change of forced expiratory volume at one second in the treatment arm was -1% compared to -4% in the placebo arm. In one study (117 participants, high quality evidence), we found that those participants who received treatment had a similar risk of experiencing adverse events compared to those who did not, risk ratio 1.07 (95% confidence interval 0.96 - 1.20) (P = 0.24). However, as seen from two studies (235 participants, high quality evidence), the treatment itself led to significantly more adverse events resulting in withdrawal, interruption of treatment, or reduction in dose level, risk ratio 3.14 (95% confidence interval 1.82 to 5.42) (P < 0.0001).One study (28 participants) used topical (skin) administration of rapamycin. This study reported response to skin lesions in terms of participants' perception towards their skin appearance following the treatment. There was a tendency of an improvement in the participants' perception of their skin appearance, although not significant, risk ratio 1.81 (95% confidence interval 0.80 to 4.06, low quality evidence) (P = 0.15). This study reported that there were no serious adverse events related to the study product and there was no detectable systemic absorption of the rapamycin during the study period.

    AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence that oral everolimus significantly increased the proportion of people who achieved a 50% reduction in the size of sub-ependymal giant cell astrocytoma and renal angiomyolipoma. Although we were unable to ascertain the relationship between the reported adverse events and the treatment, participants who received treatment had a similar risk of experiencing adverse events as compared to those who did not receive treatment. Nevertheless, the treatment itself significantly increased the risk of having dose reduction, interruption or withdrawal. This supports ongoing clinical applications of oral everolimus for renal angiomyolipoma and subependymal giant cell astrocytoma. Although oral everolimus showed beneficial effect on skin lesions, topical rapamycin only showed a non-significant tendency of improvement. Efficacy on skin lesions should be further established in future research. The beneficial effects of rapamycin or rapalogs on tuberous sclerosis complex should be further studied on other manifestations of the condition.

  16. Mohseni J, Al-Najjar BO, Wahab HA, Zabidi-Hussin ZA, Sasongko TH
    J Hum Genet, 2016 Sep;61(9):823-30.
    PMID: 27251006 DOI: 10.1038/jhg.2016.61
    Several histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) are known to increase Survival Motor Neuron 2 (SMN2) expression for the therapy of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). We aimed to compare the effects of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and Dacinostat, a novel HDACi, on SMN2 expression and to elucidate their acetylation effects on the methylation of the SMN2. Cell-based assays using type I and type II SMA fibroblasts examined changes in transcript expressions, methylation levels and protein expressions. In silico methods analyzed the intermolecular interactions between each compound and HDAC2/HDAC7. SMN2 mRNA transcript levels and SMN protein levels showed notable increases in both cell types, except for Dacinostat exposure on type II cells. However, combined compound exposures showed less pronounced increase in SMN2 transcript and SMN protein level. Acetylation effects of SAHA and Dacinostat promoted demethylation of the SMN2 promoter. The in silico analyses revealed identical binding sites for both compounds in HDACs, which could explain the limited effects of the combined exposure. With the exception on the effect of Dacinostat in Type II cells, we have shown that SAHA and Dacinostat increased SMN2 transcript and protein levels and promoted demethylation of the SMN2 gene.
  17. Islam MA, Wong KK, Sasongko TH, Gan SH, Wong JS
    Eur J Rheumatol, 2016 Sep;3(3):139-141.
    PMID: 27733946 DOI: 10.5152/eurjrheum.2015.0068
    Here we present a case report of three familial primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) patients from Malaysia. The three familial patients comprised two females and one male with a mean age of 26.3 years. The first diagnosis was made between 2005 and 2009, and all patients demonstrated deep vein thrombosis, high levels of IgM and IgG anticardiolipin antibodies, and received warfarin treatment international normalized ratio (INR) 2.0-3.0. The patients ceased to show clinical symptoms after treatment. Recently (August 2014), we investigated whether the levels of antiphospholipid antibodies remained elevated, and we found that seronegativity occurred in the patients. We suspect that prolonged anticoagulant treatment might be one of the causes of reduced levels of antiphospholipid antibodies in these familial PAPS patients.
  18. Islam MA, Alam F, Khalil MI, Sasongko TH, Gan SH
    Curr Pharm Des, 2016;22(20):2926-46.
    PMID: 26951101
    Globally, thrombosis-associated disorders are one of the main contributors to fatalities. Besides genetic influences, there are some acquired and environmental risk factors dominating thrombotic diseases. Although standard regimens have been used for a long time, many side effects still occur which can be life threatening. Therefore, natural products are good alternatives. Although the quest for antithrombotic natural products came to light only since the end of last century, in the last two decades, a considerable number of natural products showing antithrombotic activities (antiplatelet, anticoagulant and fibrinolytic) with no or minimal side effects have been reported. In this review, several natural products used as antithrombotic agents including medicinal plants, vegetables, fruits, spices and edible mushrooms which have been discovered in the last 15 years and their target sites (thrombogenic components, factors and thrombotic pathways) are described. In addition, the side effects, limitations and interactions of standard regimens with natural products are also discussed. The active compounds could serve as potential sources for future research on antithrombotic drug development. As a future direction, more advanced researches (in quest of the target cofactor or component involved in antithrombotic pathways) are warranted for the development of potential natural antithrombotic medications (alone or combined with standard regimens) to ensure maximum safety and efficacy.
  19. Islam MA, Alam F, Sasongko TH, Gan SH
    Curr Pharm Des, 2016;22(28):4451-69.
    PMID: 27229722
    Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by a persistently high titer of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). In addition to pregnancy morbidity, arterial and/or venous thrombosis is another clinical feature of APS. Regardless of the type of APS, the thrombi formed by the induction of aPLs can lead to deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, stroke and gangrene. Although the concept of APS was introduced approximately 32 years ago, its thrombogenic pathophysiology is still unclear. Therefore, patients are treated with anticoagulant and/or antiplatelet regimens just as in other thrombotic disorders even though the thrombotic pathophysiology is mainly aPLs-mediated. In this review, we provided an update of the cellular, auto-immune and genetic factors known to play important roles in the generation of thrombi. Current successful regimens are also outlined along with potential emerging treatment strategies that may lead to the optimum management of thrombotic APS patients.
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