IGF 1, BDNF, and NGF mediate the neuro-modulatory role of stem cells in acrylamide-induced hippocampal toxic changes in rats.

Background: Acrylamide (ACR), a common industrial chemical, is a strong neurotoxic material. The hippocampus is a brain area of interest mostly affected by Alzheimer's disease. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) usefulness in various neurological diseases including Alzheimer's is being debated.

Host preference and human blood index of Phlebotomus orientalis, an exophilic sand fly vector of visceral leishmaniasis in eastern Sudan.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL, kala azar), caused by Leishmania donovani, transmitted by Phlebotomus orientalis, is a serious systemic disease that causes high morbidity and mortality rates in Sudan and other parts of East Africa and the world. Despite progress in understanding the epidemiology of the disease in East Africa, little is known about the host preference of P. orientalis in kala azar endemic villages of Sudan, which have some of the highest VL incidence rates in the world.

The role of mitochondrial haplogroups in glaucoma: a study in an Arab population.

Purpose: Glaucoma prevalence can vary geographically and ethnically, which suggests that a genetic element could play a significant role. Studies investigating the role of various mitochondrial haplogroups in the pathogenesis of glaucoma are scarce.

Methods: We compared the prevalence of different mitochondrial haplogroups in 107 glaucoma patients (49 primary open-angle glaucoma, POAG; 29 primary angle-closure glaucoma, PACG; and 29 pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, PEG) and 552 maternally unrelated normal controls.

Glutathione S-transferase M1 and T1 polymorphisms in Arab glaucoma patients.

Purpose: Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a family of enzymes that inactivate xenobiotics and endogenous end products formed as secondary metabolites during oxidative stress. In humans, GSTT1 and GSTM1 deletion genotypes (T0M1, T1M0, and T0M0) are associated with a variety of pathologic processes including certain ophthalmologic diseases.

Methods: We compared the prevalence of GSTT1 and GSTM1 deletion genotypes, which were determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction, in 107 Arab patients with glaucoma (49 with primary open-angle glaucoma, 29 with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, and 29 with primary angle-closure glaucoma) to 120 age, sex, and ethnically matched controls.

Polymorphisms of drug-metabolizing enzymes CYP1A1, GSTT and GSTP contribute to the development of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma risk in the Saudi Arabian population.

The last four decades have seen significant increase in the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) as a possible result of increasing environmental carcinogens exposure. Based on the increasing evidence for the association between carcinogen-exposure-related cancer risk and xenobiotic gene polymorphisms, we have undertaken a hospital based case-control study on xenobiotic gene polymorphisms in Saudi individuals with a diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Polymorphisms in five genes (CYP1A1, GSTT1, GSTP1, GSTM1, and NQO1) were characterized in 182 individuals with DLBCL and 513 normal controls using PCR-RFLP method.

The interactive role of type 2 diabetes mellitus and E-selectin S128R mutation on susceptibility to coronary heart disease.

Background: The role of gene-environment interactions as risk factors for coronary heart disease (CAD) remains largely undefined. Such interactions may involve gene mutations and disease conditions such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) predisposing individuals to acquiring the disease.

Methods: In the present study, we assessed the possible interactive effect of DM2 and E-selectin S128R polymorphism with respect to its predisposing individuals to CAD, using as a study model a population of 1,112 patients and 427 angiographed controls of Saudi origin.

E-selectin S128R polymorphism and severe coronary artery disease in Arabs.

Background: The E-selectin p. S128R (g. A561C) polymorphism has been associated with the presence of angiographic coronary artery disease (CAD) in some populations, but no data is currently available on its association with CAD in Arabs.

Beta 3 adrenergic receptor Trp64Arg polymorphism and manifestation of coronary artery disease in Arabs.

The substitution of tryptophan (Trp) by arginine (Arg) at position 64 in the beta3-adrenoceptor (beta3-AR) gene has been associated with obesity, diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease (CAD). We have investigated whether the Trp64Arg polymorphism is associated with the manifestation of CAD or one of its important risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels, or hypertension in the Arab population. All participating subjects were genotyped for this polymorphism using the polymerase chain reaction followed by enzymatic digestion and sequencing.

T null and M null genotypes of the glutathione S-transferase gene are risk factor for CAD independent of smoking.

Background: The association of the deletion in GSTT1 and GSTM1 genes with coronary artery disease (CAD) among smokers is controversial. In addition, no such investigation has previously been conducted among Arabs.

Methods: We genotyped 1054 CAD patients and 762 controls for GSTT1 and GSTM1 deletion by multiplex polymerase chain reaction.

The Glu27 genotypes of the beta2-adrenergic receptor are predictors for severe coronary artery disease.

Background: The role of the Beta2-adrenoceptor (beta2-AR) Gln27Glu polymorphism in the manifestation of cardiovascular diseases is still unclear.

Methods: In the present study, we evaluated the potential relevance of the c.79 C>G (p.