Variation in plasma leptin levels in young Iranian children with cystic fibrosis.

Introduction: Poor weight gain is one of the most important mortality hazards in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The mechanisms that may hinder body weight regulation are not completely understood. Leptin and its role in fat mass could be related to control of weight gain in CF patients.

PRKN, DJ-1, and PINK1 screening identifies novel splice site mutation in PRKN and two novel DJ-1 mutations.

We present results of mutation screening of PRKN gene in 93 Iranian Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with average age at onset (AAO) of 42.2 years. The gene was screened by direct sequencing and by a semi-quantitative PCR protocol for detection of sequence rearrangements.

Identification of four novel potentially Parkinson's disease associated LRRK2 variations among Iranian patients.

The results of mutation screening of 24 exons of LRRK2 in 60 Iranian Parkinson's Disease patients are presented. The Iranian cohort represents a novel population and was notably young (average age at onset of disease: 36.0 years).

Genome-wide linkage analysis of a Parkinsonian-pyramidal syndrome pedigree by 500 K SNP arrays.

Robust SNP genotyping technologies and data analysis programs have encouraged researchers in recent years to use SNPs for linkage studies. Platforms used to date have been 10 K chip arrays, but the possible value of interrogating SNPs at higher densities has been considered. Here, we present a genome-wide linkage analysis by means of a 500 K SNP platform.

Four mutations (three novel, one founder) in TACSTD2 among Iranian GDLD patients.

Purpose: To perform a mutation screening of TACSTD2 in 13 Iranian Gelatinous Drop-like Corneal Dystrophy (GDLD) pedigrees. To assess genotype-phenotype correlations. To determine intragenic SNP haplotypes associated with the mutations, so as to gain information on their origin.

Applying a neural network to predict the thermodynamic parameters for an expanded nearest-neighbor model.

Predicting the secondary and tertiary structure of RNAs largely depends on our capabilities in estimating the thermodynamics of RNA duplexes. In this work, an expanded nearest-neighbor model, designated INN-48, is established. The thermodynamic parameters of this model are predicted using both multiple linear regression analysis and neural network analysis.