Publications by authors named "Muhammad Sulaman Nawaz"

Article Synopsis
  • Intracranial volume (ICV), measured through MRI or head circumference, is hereditary and linked to cognitive abilities and neurological disorders.
  • A genome-wide association study identified 64 genetic variants associated with ICV, explaining about 5% of its variation and pointing to 12 key genes involved in cranial conditions.
  • The study found that ICV is connected to brain region sizes and various traits, with Parkinson's disease linked to larger ICV and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) associated with smaller ICV.
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  • Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common nerve entrapment issue, and the biological reasons behind it are still not fully understood.
  • A large study involving nearly 50,000 CTS cases identified 53 genetic variants linked to the condition, with a specific gene variant (p.Glu366Lys in SERPINA1) showing protective effects against CTS.
  • The research indicates that CTS risk is influenced by 22 genes and highlights the extracellular matrix's importance, along with the genetic connections to traits like height and BMI, as well as factors such as hormonal therapy and osteoarthritis.
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Vertigo is the leading symptom of vestibular disorders and a major risk factor for falls. In a genome-wide association study of vertigo (N = 48,072, N = 894,541), we uncovered an association with six common sequence variants in individuals of European ancestry, including missense variants in ZNF91, OTOG, OTOGL, and TECTA, and a cis-eQTL for ARMC9. The association of variants in ZNF91, OTOGL, and OTOP1 was driven by an association with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

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Article Synopsis
  • * There are suggestions that it may be related to viral infections causing inflammation and nerve compression, alongside a genetic link with heritability estimates of 4-14%.
  • * A recent meta-analysis of genome-wide studies identified a specific genetic variant (rs9357446-A) associated with Bell's palsy, hinting at possible shared mechanisms with intervertebral disc disorders.
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Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological sensorimotor disorder often described as an unpleasant sensation associated with an urge to move the legs. Here we report findings from a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of RLS including 480,982 Caucasians (cases = 10,257) and a follow up sample of 24,977 (cases = 6,651). We confirm 19 of the 20 previously reported RLS sequence variants at 19 loci and report three novel RLS associations; rs112716420-G (OR = 1.

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Background: Cancer remains one of the most serious disease worldwide. Robust metabolism is the hallmark of cancer. PPAT (phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase) catalyzes the first committed step of de novo purine biosynthesis.

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In humans, purine synthesis pathway consists of multi-functional enzymes. Nucleotide metabolism enzymes are potential drug targets for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases. Glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase (GART) is one of the most important trifunctional enzymes involved in purine synthesis.

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Background: Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder with a strong genetic influence where copy number variations are suggested to play a role in disease pathogenesis. In a previous small-scale copy number variation study of a GTS cohort (n = 111), recurrent exon-affecting microdeletions of four genes, including the gene encoding arylacetamide deacetylase (AADAC), were observed and merited further investigations.

Methods: We screened a Danish cohort of 243 GTS patients and 1571 control subjects for submicroscopic deletions and duplications of these four genes.

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Nanoparticles (NPs) that are ∼100 nm in diameter can potentially cause toxicity in the central nervous system (CNS). Although NPs exhibit positive aspects, these molecules primarily exert negative or harmful effects. Thus, the beneficial and harmful effects should be compared.

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Selectively decreasing the availability of precursors for the de novo biosynthesis of purine nucleotides is a valid approach towards seeking a cure for leukaemia. Nucleotides and deoxynucleotides are required by living cells for syntheses of RNA, DNA, and cofactors such as NADP(+), FAD(+), coenzyme A and ATP. Nucleotides contain purine and pyrimidine bases, which can be synthesized through salvage pathway as well.

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The observed genetic alterations of various extracellular and intracellular WNT (Wingless, Int-1 proto-oncogene) signaling components can result in an increase or decrease in gene expression, and hence can be obstructed proficiently. These genetics target sites may include the prevention of WNT-FZD (Frizzled) binding, destruction of β-catenin and formation of Axin, APC and GSK-3β complex. Hence, the localized targeting of these interacting partners can help in devising novel inhibitors against WNT signaling.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease distinguished by progressive memory loss and cognitive decline. It is accompanied by classical neuropathological changes, including cerebral deposits of amyloid- beta peptide (Aβ) containing senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) of phosphorylated tau (p-tau), and clusters of activated glial cells. Postmortem studies strongly support a critical role for neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of AD, with activated microglia and reactive astrocytes surrounding senile plaques and NFTs.

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Parkinson's disease is a major age-related neurodegenerative disorder. As the classical disease-related motor symptoms are associated with the loss of dopamine-generating cells within the substantia nigra, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of catecholamines has become an important target in the development of Parkinson's disease drug candidates, with the focus to augment TH levels or its activity. By contrast, TH inhibitors are of relevance in the treatment of conditions associated with catecholamine over-production, as occurs in pheochromocytomas.

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Linking similar proteins structurally is a challenging task that may help in finding the novel members of a protein family. In this respect, identification of conserved sequence can facilitate understanding and classifying the exact role of proteins. However, the exact role of these conserved elements cannot be elucidated without structural and physiochemical information.

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