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Authorship: few myths and misconceptions

Menezes RG, Kharoshah MA, Madadin M, Marakala V, Lasrado S, Al Tamimi DM

Sci Eng Ethics, 2016 12;22(6):1843-1847.
PMID: 26670920 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-015-9742-1

This article seeks to address and dispel some of the popular myths and misconceptions surrounding authorship of a scientific publication as this is often misconstrued by beginners in academia especially those in the developing world. While ethical issues in publishing related to authorship have been increasingly discussed, not much has been written about the myths and misconceptions of who might be an author. Dispelling these myths and misconceptions would go a long way in shaping the thoughts and plans of students, junior faculty and researchers in academia especially in the developing world.
Fulltext Cigarette smoking dose-response and suicidal ideation among young people in Nepal: a cross-sectional study

Sathian B, Menezes RG, Asim M, Mekkodathil A, Sreedharan J, Banerjee I, et al.

Nepal J Epidemiol, 2020 Mar;10(1):821-829.
PMID: 32257512 DOI: 10.3126/nje.v10i1.28277

Background: Worldwide, tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for morbidity and early mortality among adult population. The present study aimed to find out the association between current smoking and suicidal ideation among young people in Nepal.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was carried out among 452 youths from Pokhara, Nepal. The present study included both genders (age 18-24 years) who were smokers as well as non-smokers.
Results: Across the study period, 452 participants were identified after matching for age, and sex (226 in the smoking group and 226 in the non-smoking group). The mean age of participants was 21.6±1.2 years and 58.8% were males. The overall rate of suicidal ideation in our cohort was 8.9%. Smokers were slightly more likely to report suicidal ideation than non-smokers (aOR 1.12). The risk of developing suicidal ideation was 3.56 (95% CI 1.26-10.09) times more in individuals who smoked greater than 3.5 cigarettes per week (p=0.01).
Conclusion: The rate of suicidal ideation was slightly higher among smokers and a dose-response relationship was identified with the number of cigarettes smoked per week. Being aware of the link between smoking and suicidal ideation may help health care professionals working with young people to address more effectively the issues of mental well-being and thoughts about suicide.
Dual mTORC1/mTORC2 blocker as a possible therapy for tauopathy in cellular model

Salama M, Elhussiny M, Magdy A, Omran AG, Alsayed A, Ashry R, et al.

Metab Brain Dis, 2018 04;33(2):583-587.
PMID: 29080085 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-017-0137-7

Tauopathy comprises a group of disorders caused by abnormal aggregates of tau protein. In these disorders phosphorylated tau protein tends to accumulate inside neuronal cells (soma) instead of the normal axonal distribution of tau. A suggested therapeutic strategy for tauopathy is to induce autophagy to increase the ability to get rid of the unwanted tau aggregates. One of the key controllers of autophagy is mTOR. Blocking mTOR leads to stimulation of autophagy. Recently, unravelling molecular structure of mTOR showed that it is formed of two subunits: mTORC1/C2. So, blocking both subunits of mTOR seems more attractive as it will explore all abilities of mTOR molecule. In the present study, we report using pp242 which is a dual mTORC1/C2 blocker in cellular model of tauopathy using LUHMES cell line. Adding fenazaquin to LUHMES cells induced tauopathy in the form of increased phospho tau aggregates. Moreover, fenazaquin treated cells showed the characteristic somatic redistribution of tau. PP242 use in the present tauopathy model reversed the pathology significantly without observable cellular toxicity for the used dosage of 1000 nM. The present study suggests the possible use of pp242 as a dual mTOR blocker to treat tauopathy.
Fulltext Tubulin and Tau: Possible targets for diagnosis of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases

Salama M, Shalash A, Magdy A, Makar M, Roushdy T, Elbalkimy M, et al.

PLoS One, 2018;13(5):e0196436.
PMID: 29742117 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196436

Neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are characterized by progressive neuronal loss and pathological accumulation of some proteins. Developing new biomarkers for both diseases is highly important for the early diagnosis and possible development of neuro-protective strategies. Serum antibodies (AIAs) against neuronal proteins are potential biomarkers for AD and PD that may be formed in response to their release into systemic circulation after brain damage. In the present study, two AIAs (tubulin and tau) were measured in sera of patients of PD and AD, compared to healthy controls. Results showed that both antibodies were elevated in patients with PD and AD compared to match controls. Curiously, the profile of elevation of antibodies was different in both diseases. In PD cases, tubulin and tau AIAs levels were similar. On the other hand, AD patients showed more elevation of tau AIAs compared to tubulin. Our current results suggested that AIAs panel could be able to identify cases with neuro-degeneration when compared with healthy subjects. More interestingly, it is possible to differentiate between PD and AD cases through identifying specific AIAs profile for each neurodegenerative states.