A Study of the androgen receptor gene polymorphism and the level of expression of the androgen receptor in androgenetic alopecia among Egyptians

Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) occurs in men and women. Thenature of the genetic predisposition to androgenetic alopecia is still unresolved. The aim of the work is to study the genotype of the androgen receptor gene (StuI polymorphism) and its relationship to AGA in a case control study and to determine the level of androgen receptor expression (AR) in the balding scalp relative to the non-balding scalp area.Subjects and Methods: This study was conducted on one hundred individuals; 60 cases with AGA (36 males and 24 females) and 40 age and sex matched control patients (20 males and 20 females). StuI restriction fragment length polymorphism(RFLP) of exon 1 was detected by PCR based assay using genomic DNA of subjects with AGA and controls. Immunohistochemical detection of the androgen receptor (AR) using antihuman AR antibody was implemented to compare its level in the balding scalp and in the non-balding area in individuals having AGA.Results: Analysis of StuI restriction fragment length polymorphism in exon 1 of the androgen receptor (AR) gene revealed a relatively commoner incidence of the cut allele in males with AGA relative to age and sex matched controls (the association was of border line signifi cance p=0.07. Interestingly, all persons who had maternal uncles suffering from AGA had the Stu1 cut variant of AR gene (p= 0.03 using Chi square test). Semiquantitative immunohistochemical analysis of AR in the bold scalp biopsies showed higher expression in the level of AR than the non bold bioposies within the same individual.Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge this is the fi rst study of AR gene polymorphism and AR expression in AGA amongst Egyptians. This study contributes in the understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of AGA which could help in fi nding better therapeutic alternatives for such trait in the future.Keywords: Androgenetic alopecia, androgen receptor, StuI polymorphism, immunohistochemical expression

Polarity of the First Episode and Time to Diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder

Objective The current study explored the relationship between the polarity of the first episode and the timing of eventual diagnosis of bipolar I disorder, and associated clinical implications. Methods Twelve years of clinical data from the medical records of 258 inpatients meeting DSM-III-R or DSM-IV criteria for bipolar I disorder were analyzed. Subjects were divided into two groups according to the polarity of the first episode: those with depressive polarity (FE-D), and those with manic polarity (FE-M). Comparisons were made between the two groups on variables associated with the timing of diagnosis and related outcomes. Results In Population with bipolar I disorder, a significant longer time lapse from the first major mood episode to the confirmed diagnosis was associated with the FE-D group compared to the FE-M group [5.6 (+/- 6.1) vs. 2.5 (+/- 5.5) years, p<0.001]. FE-D subjects tended to have prior diagnoses of schizophrenia and major depressive disorder while FE-M subjects tended to have prior diagnoses of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. A significantly higher rate of suicide attempts was associated with the FE-D group compared to the FE-M group (12.7 vs. 1.7%, p<0.001). Conclusion The results of this study indicate that first-episode depressive polarity is likely to be followed by a considerable delay until an eventual confirmed diagnosis of bipolar I disorder. Given that first-episode depressive patients are particularly vulnerable to unfavorable clinical Outcomes Such as suicide attempts, a more systematic approach is needed to differentiate bipolar disorder among depressed patients in their early stages.Rosa AR, 2008, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V107, P45, DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2007.07.021Chaudhury SR, 2007, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V104, P245, DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2007.02.022Berk M, 2007, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V103, P181, DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2007.01.027Benazzi F, 2007, LANCET, V369, P935GOODWIN FK, 2007, MANIC DEPRESSIVE ILLDaban C, 2006, COMPR PSYCHIAT, V47, P433, DOI 10.1016/j.comppsych.2006.03.009McElroy SL, 2006, BIPOLAR DISORD, V8, P596Kassem L, 2006, AM J PSYCHIAT, V163, P1754Colom F, 2006, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V93, P13, DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2006.01.032Perlis RH, 2005, AM J MANAG CARE, V11, pS271Perlis RH, 2005, BIOL PSYCHIAT, V58, P549, DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.07.029Gazalle FK, 2005, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V86, P313, DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2005.01.003Ghaemi SN, 2005, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V84, P273, DOI 10.1016/S0165-0327(03)00196-4Post JC, 2005, CURR OPIN ALLERGY CL, V5, P5Mitchell PB, 2004, BIPOLAR DISORD, V6, P530Goodwin FK, 2003, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V290, P1467Morselli PL, 2003, BIPOLAR DISORD, V5, P265Daniels BA, 2003, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V75, P163, DOI 10.1016/S0165-0327(02)00041-1Baethge C, 2003, ACTA PSYCHIAT SCAND, V107, P260Hirschfeld RMA, 2003, J CLIN PSYCHIAT, V64, P161Goldberg JF, 2002, J CLIN PSYCHIAT, V63, P985Ghaemi SN, 2002, CAN J PSYCHIAT, V47, P125Suppes T, 2001, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V67, P45Hirsch M, 2001, YALE J CRIT, V14, P5Bowden CL, 2001, PSYCHIATR SERV, V52, P51Hirschfeld RMA, 2000, AM J PSYCHIAT, V157, P1873Ghaemi SN, 2000, J CLIN PSYCHIAT, V61, P804Perugi G, 2000, COMPR PSYCHIAT, V41, P13GHAEMI SN, 2000, J CLIN PSYCHIAT, V61, P809Ghaemi SN, 1999, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V52, P135Baldessarini RJ, 1999, J CLIN PSYCHIAT, V60, P77BALDESSARINI RJ, 1999, J CLIN PSYCHIAT S2, V60, P111LISH JD, 1994, J AFFECT DISORDERS, V31, P281WEHR TA, 1988, AM J PSYCHIAT, V145, P179

Lutzomyia Sand Fly Diversity and Rates of Infection by Wolbachia and an Exotic Leishmania Species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama

Certain sand fly species living inside or on the edge of tropical forests are well known to transmit a protozoan to humans, which in lowland Panama develops into a cutaneous form of leishmaniasis; open, itching sores on the face and extremities requiring aggressive treatment with antimonial compounds. Morphological characters and DNA sequence from mitochondrial and nuclear gene fragments permitted us to identify and then establish historical relationships among 20 common sand fly species occurring in the understory of Barro Colorado Island, a forested preserve in the middle of the Panama Canal. Individuals in three of these sand fly species were found to be 26–43% infected by Leishmania naiffi, a species hitherto known only from the Amazonian region and the Caribbean. We then screened the same 20 sand fly species for the cytoplasmically transmitted bacteria Wolbachia pipientis, finding three infected at high rates, each by a distinct strain. Lutzomyia trapidoi, the most likely transmitter of Leishmania to humans in Panama, was among the Wolbachia-infected species, thus marking it as a possible high-value target for future biocontrol studies using the bacteria either to induce mating incompatabilities or to drive selected genes into the population

Neglected Tropical Diseases of the Middle East and North Africa: Review of Their Prevalence, Distribution, and Opportunities for Control

The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are highly endemic but patchily distributed among the 20 countries and almost 400 million people of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and disproportionately affect an estimated 65 million people living on less than US$2 per day. Egypt has the largest number of people living in poverty of any MENA nation, while Yemen has the highest prevalence of people living in poverty. These two nations stand out for having suffered the highest rates of many NTDs, including the soil-transmitted nematode infections, filarial infections, schistosomiasis, fascioliasis, leprosy, and trachoma, although they should be recognized for recent measures aimed at NTD control. Leishmaniasis, especially cutaneous leishmaniasis, is endemic in Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, and elsewhere in the region. Both zoonotic (Leishmania major) and anthroponotic (Leishmania tropica) forms are endemic in MENA in rural arid regions and urban regions, respectively. Other endemic zoonotic NTDs include cystic echinococcosis, fascioliasis, and brucellosis. Dengue is endemic in Saudi Arabia, where Rift Valley fever and Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever have also emerged. Great strides have been made towards elimination of several endemic NTDs, including lymphatic filariasis in Egypt and Yemen; schistosomiasis in Iran, Morocco, and Oman; and trachoma in Morocco, Algeria, Iran, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. A particularly noteworthy achievement is the long battle waged against schistosomiasis in Egypt, where prevalence has been brought down by regular praziquantel treatment. Conflict and human and animal migrations are key social determinants in preventing the control or elimination of NTDs in the MENA, while local political will, strengthened international and intersectoral cooperative efforts for surveillance, mass drug administration, and vaccination are essential for elimination

Microduplications of 16p11.2 are associated with schizophrenia

Recurrent microdeletions and microduplications of a 600-kb genomic region of chromosome 16p11.2 have been implicated in childhood-onset developmental disorders1,2,3. We report the association of 16p11.2 microduplications with schizophrenia in two large cohorts. The microduplication was detected in 12/1,906 (0.63%) cases and 1/3,971 (0.03%) controls (P = 1.2 × 10−5, OR = 25.8) from the initial cohort, and in 9/2,645 (0.34%) cases and 1/2,420 (0.04%) controls (P = 0.022, OR = 8.3) of the replication cohort. The 16p11.2 microduplication was associated with a 14.5-fold increased risk of schizophrenia (95% CI (3.3, 62)) in the combined sample. A meta-analysis of datasets for multiple psychiatric disorders showed a significant association of the microduplication with schizophrenia (P = 4.8 × 10−7), bipolar disorder (P = 0.017) and autism (P = 1.9 × 10−7). In contrast, the reciprocal microdeletion was associated only with autism and developmental disorders (P = 2.3 × 10−13). Head circumference was larger in patients with the microdeletion than in patients with the microduplication (P = 0.0007)

Hiding RFID in the image matching based access control to a smart building

© 2018 IEEE. in recent years, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology gone from obscurity concept into traded applications that often use to increase the security systems. RFID has been defined as a wireless communication technology utilized to allow computers for reading the identity electronic tags from a distance. Although the many benefits and strengths of the RFID, it contains some weaknesses which led to the use of additional technology to support it. So, this paper used the face detection technique, as a method to support RFID work, to ensure that the person using RFID is the authorized user. The proposed model implements the Canny detection algorithm to identify the face user and verify the user was accepted or rejected. This model has been implemented by capture image of the user with used RFID to access the database. It contains user's image that holding the RFID hidden by LSB algorithm. after that, the model extracts the hidden RFID for matching it with the RFID used to verify its validity then identify the user is authorized or not

Sorafenib plus tegafur&ndash;uracil (UFT) versus sorafenib as first line systemic treatment for patients with advanced stage HCC: a Phase II trial (ESLC01 study)

Hamdy A Azim,1 Ashraf Omar,2 Hesham Atef,1,&dagger; Heba Zawahry,3 Mohamed K Shaker,4 AH Kamel Abdelmaksoud,5 Mohamed EzzElarab,6 Omar Abdel-Rahman,7 Mohamed Ismail,8 Loay Kassem,1 Imam Waked9 1Department of Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 2Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 3Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo, Egypt; 4Tropical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt; 5Department of Diagnostic and Intervention Radiology, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 6National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt; 7Clinical Oncology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt; 8Clinical Oncology Department, Cairo Oncology Center, Cairo, Egypt; 9Institute of Liver Disease, Menoufiya University, Menoufiya, Egypt &dagger;Dr Hesham Atef passed away on November 16, 2017, during the preparation of the manuscript Background: Phase II trials found that tegafur&ndash;uracil (UFT) is an effective drug in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while preclinical data suggested that its combination with sorafenib may have a promising activity. Our Phase II randomized trial aimed to evaluate efficacy and tolerability of sorafenib plus UFT vs sorafenib in advanced HCC.Methods: Patients with advanced HCC, with no prior systemic therapy, were randomized to receive either UFT at 125 mg/m2 twice daily for 4 out of 5 weeks plus sorafenib at 400 mg twice daily (arm 1) or single agent sorafenib at 400 mg twice daily (arm 2). Primary end point was time to progression (TTP).Results: Between March 2012 and March 2014, 76 eligible patients &ndash; out of 143 preplanned &ndash; were randomized. The study was terminated early because of futility. This is the final analysis of the study, after a median follow-up of 10.2 months and death of 86% of randomized patients (n=64). Median TTP was 7.5 months and 8.2 months in arms 1 and 2 respectively (HR: 1.07; 95% CI, 0.52&ndash;2.22; P=0.855), while the median overall survival was 8.2 months and 10.5 months respectively (HR: 1.58; 95% CI: 0.90&ndash;2.76, P=0.112). Nine patients (25%) in the combination arm discontinued treatment because of toxicity vs eight patients (21.1%) in the sorafenib monotherapy arm (P=0.899).Conclusion: In patients with advanced HCC, adding UFT to sorafenib is feasible, but it did not improve efficacy outcome over sorafenib monotherapy. Keywords: advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, sorafenib, tegafur/uracil, Egyp

The arginine methyltransferase PRMT1 regulates IGF-1 signaling in breast cancer

International audienceAside from its well-known nuclear routes of signaling, estrogen also mediates its effects through cytoplasmic signaling. Estrogen signaling involves numerous posttranslational modifications of its receptor ERα, the best known being phosphorylation. Our research group previously showed that upon estrogen stimulation, ERα is methylated on residue R260 and forms the mERα/Src/PI3K complex, central to the rapid transduction of nongenomic estrogen signals. Regulation of ERα signaling via its phosphorylation by growth factors is well recognized, and we wondered whether they could also trigger ERα methylation (mERα). Here, we found that IGF-1 treatment of MCF-7 cells induced rapid ERα methylation by the arginine methyltransferase PRMT1 and triggered the binding of mERα to IGF-1R. Mechanistically, we showed that PRMT1 bound constitutively to IGF-1R and that PRMT1 became activated upon IGF-1 stimulation. Moreover, we found that expression or pharmacological inhibition of PRMT1 impaired mERα and IGF-1 signaling. Our findings were substantiated in a cohort of breast tumors in which IGF-1R expression was positively correlated with ERα/Src and ERα/PI3K expression, hallmarks of nongenomic estrogen signaling, reinforcing the link between IGF-1R and mERα. Altogether, these results provide a new insight into ERα and IGF-1R interference, and open novel perspectives for combining endocrine therapies with PRMT1 inhibitors in ERα-positive tumors