👤 Muhammad Fiaz

Millions of people around the globe are affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD). This crippling condition has no treatment despite intensive studies. Some phytocompounds have been shown to protect against Alzheimer's in recent studies. Thus, this work aimed to examine Bacopa monnieri phytocompounds' synergistic effects on neurodegeneration, antioxidant activity, and cognition in the scopolamine-induced AD mice model. The toxicity study of two phytocompounds: quercetin and bacopaside X revealed an LD The neuroprotection experiment consists of 6 groups i.e., control (saline), scopolamine (1 mg/kg), donepezil (5 mg/kg), Q (25 mg/kg), BX (20 mg/kg), and Q + BX (25 mg/kg + 20 mg/kg). Visual behavioral assessment using the Morris water maze showed that animals in the diseased model group (scopolamine) moved more slowly toward the platform and exhibited greater thigmotaxis behavior than the treatment and control groups. Likewise, the concentration of biochemical NO, GSH, and MDA improved in treatment groups concerning the diseased group. mRNA levels of different marker genes including ChAT, IL-1α, IL-1 β, TNF α, tau, and β secretase (BACE1) improved in treatment groups with respect to the disease group. Both bacopaside X and quercetin synergistically have shown promising results in neuroprotection. Therefore, it is suggested that Q and BX may work synergistically due to their antioxidant and neuroprotective property. Show less

Obesity is highly polygenic disease where several genetic variants have been reportedly associated with obesity in different ethnicities of the world. In the current study, we identified the obesity risk or protective association and BMI raising effect of the minor allele of adiponectin, C1Q and collagen domain containing (ADIPOQ), cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CEPT), FTO alpha-ketoglutarate dependent dioxygenase (FTO), leptin (LEP), and leptin receptor (LEPR) genes in a large cohort stratified into four BMI-based body weight categories i.e., normal weight, lean, over-weight, and obese. Based on selected candidate genetic markers, the genotyping of all study subjects was performed by PCR assays, and genotypes and allele frequencies were calculated. The minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of all genetic markers were computed for total and BMI-based body weight categories and compared with MAFs of global and South Asian (SAS) populations. Genetic associations of variants with obesity risk were calculated and BMI raising effect per copy of the minor allele were estimated. The genetic variants with higher MAFs in obese BMI group were; rs2241766 (G = 0.43), rs17817449 (G = 0.54), rs9939609 (A = 0.51), rs1421085 (C = 0.53), rs1558902 (A = 0.63), and rs1137101 (G = 0.64) respectively. All these variants were significantly associated with obesity (OR = 1.03-4.42) and showed a high BMI raising effect (β = 0.239-0.31 Kg/m2) per copy of the risk allele. In contrast, the MAFs of three variants were higher in lean-normal BMI groups; rs3764261 A = 0.38, rs9941349 T = 0.43, and rs7799039 G = 0.40-0.43). These variants showed obesity protective associations (OR = 0.68-0.76), and a BMI lowering effect per copy of the protective allele (β = -0.103-0.155 Kg/m2). The rs3764261 variant also showed significant and positive association with lean body mass (OR = 2.38, CI = 1.30-4.34). Overall, we report six genetic variants of ADIPOQ, FTO and LEPR genes as obesity-risk markers and a CETP gene variant as lean mass/obesity protective marker in studied Pakistani cohort. Show less

To explore the association of rs662799 variants of Apolipoprotein A5 gene with metabolic syndrome in Pakistani population. The case-control study was conducted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan from 2014 to2016, and comprised subjects enrolled from the out-patient clinics. Groups were formed on the basis of preliminary screening for risk factors like obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and fasting blood glucose levels. Met S was diagnosed based on the international diabetes federation criteria. Blood samples were collected for biochemical testing and deoxyribonucleic acid extraction. Genotyping of rs662799 was performed a the Genome Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong using Sequenom Mass ARRAY, iPLEX Gold technology. Data was analysed using SPSS 16and Plink software. :There were 712 subjects in two groups of 356(50%) each. The overall mean age was 41.59}7.18 years. There was a significant association of risk allele C of rs662799 with metabolic syndrome (p=0.002). The risk showed strong association with dyslipidaemia (p=0.03) and obesity (p=0.01) which are risk phenotypes of metabolic syndrome in age- and gender-adjusted model. The association of risk allele C of genetic variant rs662799 of Apolipoprotein A5 gene with dyslipidaemia and obesity may lead to the development of metabolic syndrome in the Pakistan adult population. Show less