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  1. Tsuchida N, Nakashima M, Kato M, Heyman E, Inui T, Haginoya K, et al.
    Clin Genet, 2018 03;93(3):577-587.
    PMID: 28940419 DOI: 10.1111/cge.13144
    Epilepsies are common neurological disorders and genetic factors contribute to their pathogenesis. Copy number variations (CNVs) are increasingly recognized as an important etiology of many human diseases including epilepsy. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) is becoming a standard tool for detecting pathogenic mutations and has recently been applied to detecting CNVs. Here, we analyzed 294 families with epilepsy using WES, and focused on 168 families with no causative single nucleotide variants in known epilepsy-associated genes to further validate CNVs using 2 different CNV detection tools using WES data. We confirmed 18 pathogenic CNVs, and 2 deletions and 2 duplications at chr15q11.2 of clinically unknown significance. Of note, we were able to identify small CNVs less than 10 kb in size, which might be difficult to detect by conventional microarray. We revealed 2 cases with pathogenic CNVs that one of the 2 CNV detection tools failed to find, suggesting that using different CNV tools is recommended to increase diagnostic yield. Considering a relatively high discovery rate of CNVs (18 out of 168 families, 10.7%) and successful detection of CNV with <10 kb in size, CNV detection by WES may be able to surrogate, or at least complement, conventional microarray analysis.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease*
  2. Hamanaka K, Imagawa E, Koshimizu E, Miyatake S, Tohyama J, Yamagata T, et al.
    Am J Hum Genet, 2020 04 02;106(4):549-558.
    PMID: 32169168 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.02.011
    De novo variants (DNVs) cause many genetic diseases. When DNVs are examined in the whole coding regions of genes in next-generation sequencing analyses, pathogenic DNVs often cluster in a specific region. One such region is the last exon and the last 50 bp of the penultimate exon, where truncating DNVs cause escape from nonsense-mediated mRNA decay [NMD(-) region]. Such variants can have dominant-negative or gain-of-function effects. Here, we first developed a resource of rates of truncating DNVs in NMD(-) regions under the null model of DNVs. Utilizing this resource, we performed enrichment analysis of truncating DNVs in NMD(-) regions in 346 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) trios. We observed statistically significant enrichment of truncating DNVs in semaphorin 6B (SEMA6B) (p value: 2.8 × 10-8; exome-wide threshold: 2.5 × 10-6). The initial analysis of the 346 individuals and additional screening of 1,406 and 4,293 independent individuals affected by DEE and developmental disorders collectively identified four truncating DNVs in the SEMA6B NMD(-) region in five individuals who came from unrelated families (p value: 1.9 × 10-13) and consistently showed progressive myoclonic epilepsy. RNA analysis of lymphoblastoid cells established from an affected individual showed that the mutant allele escaped NMD, indicating stable production of the truncated protein. Importantly, heterozygous truncating variants in the NMD(+) region of SEMA6B are observed in general populations, and SEMA6B is most likely loss-of-function tolerant. Zebrafish expressing truncating variants in the NMD(-) region of SEMA6B orthologs displayed defective development of brain neurons and enhanced pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure behavior. In summary, we show that truncating DNVs in the final exon of SEMA6B cause progressive myoclonic epilepsy.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics*
  3. de la Rosette J, Laguna P, Álvarez-Maestro M, Eto M, Mochtar CA, Albayrak S, et al.
    Int J Urol, 2020 11;27(11):981-989.
    PMID: 32772434 DOI: 10.1111/iju.14340
    OBJECTIVES: To determine the well-being of urologists worldwide during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, and whether they have adequate personal protective equipment knowledge and supplies appropriate to their clinical setting.

    METHODS: Urologists worldwide completed a Société Internationale d'Urologie online survey from 16 April 2020 until 1 May 2020. Analysis was carried out to evaluate their knowledge about protecting themselves and others in the workplace, including their confidence in their ability to remain safe at work, and any regional differences.

    RESULTS: There were 3488 respondents from 109 countries. Urologists who stated they were moderately comfortable that their work environment offers good protection against coronavirus disease 2019 showed a total mean satisfaction level of 5.99 (on a "0 = not at all" to "10 = very" scale). A large majority (86.33%) were confident about protecting themselves from coronavirus disease 2019 at work. However, only about one-third reported their institution provided the required personal protective equipment (35.78%), and nearly half indicated their hospital has or had limited personal protective equipment availability (48.08%). Worldwide, a large majority of respondents answered affirmatively for testing the healthcare team (83.09%). Approximately half of the respondents (52.85%) across all regions indicated that all surgical team members face an equal risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (52.85%). Nearly one-third of respondents reported that they had experienced social avoidance (28.97%).

    CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that urologists lack up-to-date knowledge of preferred protocols for personal protective equipment selection and use, social distancing, and coronavirus disease 2019 testing. These data can provide insights into functional domains from which other specialties could also benefit.

    Matched MeSH terms: Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional/prevention & control*
  4. Rethanavelu K, Fung JLF, Chau JFT, Pei SLC, Chung CCY, Mak CCY, et al.
    Am J Med Genet A, 2020 02;182(2):279-288.
    PMID: 31755649 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.61412
    Alström syndrome (AS) is a monogenic syndromic ciliopathy caused by mutations in the ALMS1 (Alström Syndrome 1) gene. A total of 21 subjects with AS from 20 unrelated Chinese families were recruited. Our cohort consists of 9 females and 12 males, between 5 months and 20 years old. The first symptom(s) appeared between 3 and 24 months. They were recorded to be either visual impairments (83%) or dilated cardiomyopathy (17%). Median time from symptom onset to seeking medical attention was 6 months (3-36 months) and the median time needed to reach the final molecular diagnosis is 54 months (6-240 months). System involvement at the time of the survey was as follows: visual symptoms (100%), hearing Impairment (67%), endocrine symptoms (43%), neurological symptoms (19%), hepatic symptoms (14%), and renal Involvement (14%). These findings are comparable to data reported in the literature. However, the proportion of subjects with cognitive impairment (33%) and behavioral problems (19%) were higher. Thirty-three unique mutations were identified in the ALMS1 gene, of which 18 are novel mutations classified as pathogenic/likely pathogenic according to the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) guideline. Four recurrent mutations were identified in the cohort, in particular; c.2084C>A, p. (Ser695Ter), is suggestive to be a founder mutation in people of Chinese ancestry. The participation of AS subjects of differing ethnicities is essential to improve the algorithm in facial recognition/phenotyping, as well as to understand the mutation spectrum beyond than just those of European ancestry.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease*
  5. Hutson JM, Hynes MC, Kearsey I, Yik YI, Veysey DM, Tudball CF, et al.
    Pediatr Surg Int, 2020 Jan;36(1):11-19.
    PMID: 31673760 DOI: 10.1007/s00383-019-04587-x
    Children with chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) often end up at the surgeon when medical treatments have failed. This opinion piece discusses a recently described pattern of CIC called 'Rapid transit constipation (RTC)' first identified in 2011 as part of surgical workup. RTC was identified using a nuclear medicine gastrointestinal transit study (NMGIT or nuclear transit study) to determine the site of slowing within the bowel and to inform surgical treatment. Unexpectedly, we found that RTC occured in 29% of 1000 transit studies in a retrospective audit. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) occurs in 7-21% of the population, with a higher prevalence in young children and with constipation type dominating in the young. While 60% improve with time, 40% continue with symptoms. First-line therapy for IBS in adults is a diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols which reduces symptoms in > 70% of patients. In children with functional gastrointestinal disorders, fructose intolerance occurs in 35-55%. Reducing fructose produced significant improvement in 77-82% of intolerant patients. In children with RTC and a positive breath test upon fructose challenge, we found that exclusion of fructose significantly improved constipation, abdominal pain, stool consistency and decreased laxative use. We hypothesise that positive breath tests and improvement of pain and bowel frequency with sugar exclusion diets in RTC suggest these children have IBS-C. These observations raise the possibility that many children with CIC could be treated by reducing fructose early in their diet and this might prevent the development of IBS in later life.
    Matched MeSH terms: Hirschsprung Disease/surgery
  6. Sekiguchi F, Tsurusaki Y, Okamoto N, Teik KW, Mizuno S, Suzumura H, et al.
    J Hum Genet, 2019 Dec;64(12):1173-1186.
    PMID: 31530938 DOI: 10.1038/s10038-019-0667-4
    Coffin-Siris syndrome (CSS, MIM#135900) is a congenital disorder characterized by coarse facial features, intellectual disability, and hypoplasia of the fifth digit and nails. Pathogenic variants for CSS have been found in genes encoding proteins in the BAF (BRG1-associated factor) chromatin-remodeling complex. To date, more than 150 CSS patients with pathogenic variants in nine BAF-related genes have been reported. We previously reported 71 patients of whom 39 had pathogenic variants. Since then, we have recruited an additional 182 CSS-suspected patients. We performed comprehensive genetic analysis on these 182 patients and on the previously unresolved 32 patients, targeting pathogenic single nucleotide variants, short insertions/deletions and copy number variations (CNVs). We confirmed 78 pathogenic variations in 78 patients. Pathogenic variations in ARID1B, SMARCB1, SMARCA4, ARID1A, SOX11, SMARCE1, and PHF6 were identified in 48, 8, 7, 6, 4, 1, and 1 patients, respectively. In addition, we found three CNVs including SMARCA2. Of particular note, we found a partial deletion of SMARCB1 in one CSS patient and we thoroughly investigated the resulting abnormal transcripts.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics*
  7. Moriya S, Tan VP, Yee AK, Parhar IS
    Neurosci Lett, 2019 08 24;708:134330.
    PMID: 31201839 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.134330
    In Parkinson's disease (PD), several genes have been identified as the PD-related genes, however, the regulatory mechanisms of these gene expressions have not been fully identified. In this study, we investigated the effect of inflammation, one of the major risk factors in PD on expressions of the PD-related genes. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was intraperitoneally administered to mature male zebrafish and gene expressions in the brains were examined by real-time PCR. In the inflammation-related genes, expressions of tnfb, il1b and il6 were increased at 2 days post administration in the 10 μg group, and tnfb expression was also increased at 4 days post administration in the 1 μg and 10 μg group. In the PD-related genes, pink1 expression was significantly decreased at 4 days, atp13a2 expression was significantly increased at 7 days, and uchl1 expression was significantly decreased at 7 days. This suggests that pink1, atp13a2 and uchl1 expressions are regulated by inflammation, and this regulatory mechanism might be involved in the progress of PD.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parkinson Disease/genetics
  8. Imada T, Abdul Rahman MA, Kashiwazaki Y, Tanimura N, Syed Hassan S, Jamaluddin A
    J Vet Med Sci, 2004 Jan;66(1):81-3.
    PMID: 14960818
    Eight clones of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) to Nipah virus (NV) were produced against formalin-inactivated NV antigens. They reacted positive by indirect immunofluorescent antibody test, and one of them also demonstrated virus neutralizing activity. They were classified into six different types based on their biological properties. These Mabs will be useful for immunodiagnosis of NV infections in animals and further research studies involving the genomes and proteins of NV.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disease Outbreaks/veterinary
  9. de Silva JR, Amir A, Lau YL, Ooi CH, Fong MY
    PLoS One, 2019;14(9):e0222681.
    PMID: 31536563 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222681
    The Duffy blood group plays a key role in Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium vivax invasion into human erythrocytes. The geographical distribution of the Duffy alleles differs between regions with the FY*A allele having high frequencies in many Asian populations, the FY*B allele is found predominately in European populations and the FY*Bes allele found predominantly in African regions. A previous study in Peninsular Malaysia indicated high homogeneity of the dominant FY*A/FY*A genotype. However, the distribution of the Duffy genotypes in Malaysian Borneo is currently unknown. In the present study, the distribution of Duffy blood group genotypes and allelic frequencies among P. knowlesi infected patients as well as healthy individuals in Malaysian Borneo were determined. A total of 79 P. knowlesi patient blood samples and 76 healthy donor samples were genotyped using allele specific polymerase chain reaction (ASP-PCR). Subsequently a P. knowlesi invasion assay was carried out on FY*AB/ FY*A and FY*A/ FY*A Duffy genotype blood to investigate if either genotype conferred increased susceptibility to P. knowlesi invasion. Our results show almost equal distribution between the homozygous FY*A/FY*A and heterozygous FY*A/FY*B genotypes. This is in stark contrast to the Duffy distribution in Peninsular Malaysia and the surrounding Southeast Asian region which is dominantly FY*A/FY*A. The mean percent invasion of FY*A/FY*A and FY*A/FY*B blood was not significantly different indicating that neither blood group confers increased susceptibility to P. knowlesi invasion.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics*
  10. Khoo S, Wong VW, Goh GB, Fan J, Chan WK, Seto WK, et al.
    J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2020 Feb;35(2):320-325.
    PMID: 31336392 DOI: 10.1111/jgh.14794
    BACKGROUND AND AIM: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients often have dyslipidemia, and optimal treatment of dyslipidemia lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Our aim was to study the prescription of statin and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol treatment targets in NAFLD patients.

    METHODS: Consecutive NAFLD patients attending five clinics in Asia were included in this study. The 10-year cardiovascular disease risk was calculated based on the Framingham Heart Study, and patients were categorized as moderate, high, or very high risk for cardiovascular disease on the basis of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologist 2017 Guidelines. The low-density lipoprotein cholesterol treatment goal for each of the risk groups was 2.6, 2.6, and 1.8 mmol/L, respectively.

    RESULTS: The data for 428 patients were analyzed (mean age 54.4 ± 11.1 years, 52.1% male). Dyslipidemia was seen in 60.5% (259/428), but only 43.2% (185/428) were on a statin. The percentage of patients who were at moderate, high, and very high risk for cardiovascular disease was 36.7% (157/428), 27.3% (117/428), and 36.0% (154/428), respectively. Among patients who were on a statin, 58.9% (109/185) did not achieve the treatment target. Among patients who were not on a statin, 74.1% (180/243) should be receiving statin therapy. The percentage of patients who were not treated to target or who should be on statin was highest among patients at very high risk for cardiovascular disease at 79.6% (78/98) or 94.6% (53/56), respectively.

    CONCLUSION: This study highlights the suboptimal treatment of dyslipidemia and calls for action to improve the treatment of dyslipidemia in NAFLD patients.

    Matched MeSH terms: Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/complications*
  11. Mehdi WA, Mehde AA, Yusof F, Raus RA, Resen AK, Ghazali H
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2019 Nov 01;140:719-726.
    PMID: 31445152 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.08.184
    BACKGROUND: The genetic features indicate a crucial role in nephrolithiasis. The present study was aimed to investigate the role of Glutathione-S-transferase Mu (GSTM1), Glutathione-S- transferase Theta (GSTT1) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOs) gene polymorphism in nephrolithiasis.

    METHODS: We involved a case-control study in which 480 individuals were divided into 240 healthy control and 240 patients with nephrolithiasis. For each patient and control, we measured biochemical criteria, levels of glutathione S-transferase, eNOs, GSTM1, GSTT1genes and eNOS genes polymorphism by PCR-RFLP.

    RESULTS: GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes are not a risk features for nephrolithiasis. The eNOS frequency GG, GT, and TT genotypes by using Ban II enzyme as restriction enzyme were found to be (48.33, 36.67, and 15.00) %. The eNOS frequency TT, GT, and GG genotypes by using the Ban II enzyme as restriction enzyme were found to be 15.84, 25.83, and 58.33%, respectively. The result showed an increase in serum eNOs levels were in the patient's group comparing to control.

    CONCLUSIONS: This work is the first in the literature to study the relation between eNOs genes polymorphisms and nephrolithiasis. The results conclude that TT genotypes in the eNOs genes are associated with an increase the oxidative stress in patients.

    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics
  12. Bicchierai G, Nori J, De Benedetto D, Boeri C, Vanzi E, Bianchi S, et al.
    Breast J, 2020 02;26(2):299-302.
    PMID: 31486197 DOI: 10.1111/tbj.13598
    Matched MeSH terms: Fibrocystic Breast Disease/pathology
  13. Dua K, Chellappan DK, Singhvi G, de Jesus Andreoli Pinto T, Gupta G, Hansbro PM
    Panminerva Med, 2018 Dec;60(4):230-231.
    PMID: 30563304 DOI: 10.23736/S0031-0808.18.03459-6
    Matched MeSH terms: Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/therapy
  14. Sharif OM, Hassan R, Mohammed Basbaeen AA, Mohmed AH, Ibrahim IK
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2019 07 01;20(7):1939-1943.
    PMID: 31350948 DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2019.20.7.1939
    Background: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a multifunctional cytokine with both immunosuppressive and antiangiogenicfunctions
    and may have both tumor-promoting and -inhibiting properties. We examined the association
    between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in IL-10 -1082G/A (rs1800896) in Sudanese acute myeloid leukemia
    (AML) patients and to assess the association between polymorphisms in IL-10 -1082G/A (rs1800896) and the
    hematological profile in Sudanese patients with AML. Methods: A total of 30 patients with acute myeloid leukemia
    and 30 control subjects were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were collected from all patients in EDTA containing
    tubes. Genomic DNA was extracted from all blood samples using salting out method. The genotypic variants of
    IL-10 (-1082G/A) polymorphism were detected by allele specific-PCR. Results: We found that (36.7%) of patients have
    homogenous GG genotype, (43.3%) have heterogeneous GA genotype and (20.0%) have AA genotype. GA genotype
    was significantly associated with higher risk of AML compared with the homozygous Genotypes (GG and AA), there is
    no association between IL-10 (-1082G/A) polymorphism and AML sub-type, gender, age group, mean of hematological
    parameters. Conclusion: Our study concluded that GA genotype of IL-10 -1082G/A (rs1800896) polymorphism is a
    risk factor for AML and G allele is insignificantly higher than A allele in AML patient. No association between IL-10
    (-1082G/A) polymorphism and AML sub-type, gender, age group, mean of hematological parameters.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease*
  15. Kongpakwattana K, Dejthevaporn C, Krairit O, Dilokthornsakul P, Mohan D, Chaiyakunapruk N
    Value Health, 2019 10;22(10):1137-1145.
    PMID: 31563256 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2019.04.1937
    BACKGROUND: Although an increase in the burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is evident worldwide, knowledge of costs and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) associated with AD in low- and middle-income countries is still lacking.

    OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to collect real-world cost and HRQOL data, and investigate their associations with multiple disease-severity indicators among AD patients in Thailand.

    METHODS: We recruited AD patients aged ≥60 years accompanied by their caregivers at a university-affiliated tertiary hospital. A one-time structured interview was conducted to collect disease-severity indicators, HRQOL, and caregiving information using standardized tools. The hospital's database was used to retrieve healthcare resource utilization occurred over 6 months preceding the interview date. Costs were annualized and stratified based on cognitive status. Generalized linear models were employed to evaluate determinants of costs and HRQOL.

    RESULTS: Among 148 community-dwelling patients, average annual total societal costs of AD care were $8014 (95% confidence interval [CI]: $7295-$8844) per patient. Total costs of patients with severe stage ($9860; 95% CI: $8785-$11 328) were almost twice as high as those of mild stage ($5524; 95% CI: $4649-$6593). The major cost driver was direct medical costs, particularly those incurred by AD prescriptions. Functional status was the strongest determinant for both total costs and patient's HRQOL (P value

    Matched MeSH terms: Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology*
  16. Wan Ahmad WA, Nakayoshi T, Mahmood Zuhdi AS, Ismail MD, Zainal Abidin I, Ino Y, et al.
    Heart Vessels, 2020 Apr;35(4):463-473.
    PMID: 31587103 DOI: 10.1007/s00380-019-01516-9
    Recent clinical trials have raised concerns about the safety and efficacy of ABSORB™ bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS). The difference in the vascular healing process between SYNERGY™ bioabsorbable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stents (BP-EES) and BVS remains unclear. The aim of the ENHANCE study was to compare vascular healing on BP-EES versus BVS by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and coronary angioscopy (CAS) at 4- and 12-month follow-ups. This is a prospective, non-randomized, single center clinical trial. Thirteen eligible patients with multivessel disease were enrolled. BP-EES and BVS were simultaneously implanted in the same patients, but in different coronary vessels. Imaging follow-up with both OCT and CAS was completed in 11 patients at 12 months. Neointimal coverage rates were similar between the two groups based on OCT measurements. The neointimal thickness of BP-EES was significantly thicker at the 12th month than at the 4th month, whereas the neointimal thickness of BVS did not change between the measurements taken at the 4th and 12th month. Existence of intra-stent thrombus was significantly higher in the BVS group, compared to the BP-EES group. On the other hand, CAS revealed that red-thrombi and yellow-plaque were more frequently observed in BVS at 4 months and up to 12-month follow-ups than in BP-EES. These findings suggested that the evidence of instability remained up to 12 months in the vascular healing with BVS, compared to that with BP-EES. Vascular healing of the stented wall was recognized at the very early phase after BP-EES implantation. However, vascular healing with BVS was still incomplete after 12 months.
    Matched MeSH terms: Coronary Artery Disease/therapy*
  17. Lim YY, Chin YM, Tai MC, Fani S, Chang KM, Ong TC, et al.
    Leuk Lymphoma, 2015 Jan;56(1):163-8.
    PMID: 24684230 DOI: 10.3109/10428194.2014.907895
    We evaluated the association of two IL10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1800896 and rs1800871) with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) risk in the three major races of the Malaysian population (Malay, Chinese and Indian; 317 cases and 330 controls). Our initial screening demonstrated that rs1800871 but not rs1800896 was significantly associated with increased NHL risk in Malays (pMalay-Rec = 0.007) and Chinese only (pChinese-Rec = 0.039). Subsequent combined analysis of the Malay and Chinese revealed significant association of rs1800871 with all (ALL) NHL subtypes (pMeta-ALL-NHL-Rec = 0.001), ALL B-cell subtypes (pMeta-ALL-B-cell-Rec = 0.003), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) subtype (pMeta-DLBCL-Rec = 0.002) and ALL T-cell subtypes (pMeta-ALL-T-cell-Rec = 0.031). SNP rs1800896 showed increased risk only in follicular lymphoma (FL) (pMeta-FL-Dom = 0.0004). We also detected a male-specific association of rs1800871 with increased NHL risk (pMeta-Male-ALL-NHL-Rec = 0.006) in the combined analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the association of IL10 promoter SNPs with NHL susceptibility in the three major races of Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease*
  18. Zain SM, Mohamed R, Mahadeva S, Cheah PL, Rampal S, Basu RC, et al.
    Hum Genet, 2012 Jul;131(7):1145-52.
    PMID: 22258181 DOI: 10.1007/s00439-012-1141-y
    The adiponutrin (PNPLA3) rs738409 polymorphism has been found to be associated with susceptibility to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in various cohorts. We further investigated the association of this polymorphism with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) severity and with histological features of NAFLD. A total of 144 biopsy-proven NAFLD patients and 198 controls were genotyped for PNPLA3 gene polymorphism (rs738409 C>G). The biopsy specimens were histologically graded by a qualified pathologist. We observed an association of G allele with susceptibility to NAFLD in the pooled subjects (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.69-3.24, p < 0.0001), and following stratification, in each of the three ethnic subgroups, namely Chinese, Indian and Malay (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.12-3.37, p = 0.018; OR 3.51, 95% CI 1.69-7.26, p = 0.001 and OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.25-3.35, p = 0.005, respectively). The G allele is associated with susceptibility to NASH (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.85-3.75, p < 0.0001), with NASH severity (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.05-3.26, p = 0.035) and with presence of fibrosis (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.17-3.26, p = 0.013) but not with simple steatosis nor with other histological parameters. Although the serum triglyceride level is significantly higher in NAFLD patients compared to controls, the G allele is associated with decreased level of triglycerides (p = 0.029) in the NAFLD patients. Overall, the rs738409 G allele is associated with severity of NASH and occurrence of fibrosis in patients with NAFLD.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
  19. Mondal MN, Shitan M
    Jpn J Infect Dis, 2013;66(5):421-4.
    PMID: 24047742
    Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) presents a serious healthcare threat to young individuals in Malaysia and worldwide. This study aimed to identify trends in HIV-related risk behaviors among recognized high-risk groups and to estimate HIV transmission up to the year 2015. Data and necessary information were obtained from the Ministry of Health Malaysia, published reports from the World Health Organization and United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, and other articles. The Estimation and Projection Package was used to estimate HIV transmission. The results of the present study revealed that within the high-risk groups, intravenous drug users (IDUs) had the highest prevalence rate of HIV transmission, followed by patients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs), female sex workers (SWs), and men who have sex with men (MSM). Within these at-risk populations, patients with STIs have the highest prevalence of HIV, followed by IDUs, MSM, and SWs. If the transmission rate continues to increase, the situation will worsen; therefore, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive prevention program to control HIV transmission in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disease Transmission, Infectious*
  20. Grove J, Ripke S, Als TD, Mattheisen M, Walters RK, Won H, et al.
    Nat Genet, 2019 03;51(3):431-444.
    PMID: 30804558 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-019-0344-8
    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable and heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental phenotypes diagnosed in more than 1% of children. Common genetic variants contribute substantially to ASD susceptibility, but to date no individual variants have been robustly associated with ASD. With a marked sample-size increase from a unique Danish population resource, we report a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 18,381 individuals with ASD and 27,969 controls that identified five genome-wide-significant loci. Leveraging GWAS results from three phenotypes with significantly overlapping genetic architectures (schizophrenia, major depression, and educational attainment), we identified seven additional loci shared with other traits at equally strict significance levels. Dissecting the polygenic architecture, we found both quantitative and qualitative polygenic heterogeneity across ASD subtypes. These results highlight biological insights, particularly relating to neuronal function and corticogenesis, and establish that GWAS performed at scale will be much more productive in the near term in ASD.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics*
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