Movement disorders are heterogeneous neurological syndromes affecting voluntary movement, coordination, causing ataxia or some involuntary movements. Many of these disorders have a genetic cause and can have any mode of inheritance. The rate of consanguineous marriages is very high in Pakistan and therefore there is a high probability of recessively inherited rare genetic disorders, including movement disorders. The genetics of movement disorders is not very well studied in Pakistan. Next generation sequencing technology can facilitate diagnosis and identification of novel genes from affected individuals in families practicing consanguineous marriages. In this study, sixteen families with multiple affected individuals were recruited from Punjab province of Pakistan. The patients exhibited either all, or combination of symptoms including movement disability, abnormality in voluntary movements, abnormal postures, frequent falls, unusual gait with or without abnormal speech. A standard protocol was adopted for videotaping of participants. Diagnosis was made by neurologists either in Pakistan or UK. The required medical investigations and neuroimaging were performed for the probands in the families. The genetic causes of the disorder in eight families out of sixteen were identified. Most of these were in those genes which play vital roles in genome integrity, DNA repair and membrane trafficking. Novel homozygous and compound heterozygous missense variants in SETX were identified in families RDHT01, RDHT02 and RDHT10. These families were reverse phenotyped and found to suffer from ataxia with oculomotor apraxia type 2. Whole exome sequencing was performed for one or two members of all the sixteen families. Exome data was analyzed in a sequential way using appropriate filters. Variants having high frequency in public databases (>0.01) were excluded and others were prioritized based on their effect on the encoded proteins. Only homozygous and compound heterozygous variants were considered. Segregation of candidate variants was analyzed by Sanger Sequencing in all family participants. Functional assays and computational analysis were performed for selected missense variants to check their effect on protein function. ii Affected individuals in family RDHT04 were homozygous for an identified pathogenic variant in TFG and significantly extended the phenotypic spectrum of TFG related disorders. Sleep disturbances, poor intellect, undeveloped speech, obesity, and severity of the disability to bed ridden status are the important phenotypic extensions in RDHT04 patients. This report also reinforces the differential impact of same variant to cause the disease. Another family RDHT05 had a novel pathogenic homozygous variant in ALS2 in affected members. They were found to suffer from infantile onset of spastic paraplegia. The pathomechanism due to this variant is hypothesized to be a truncated protein with loss of important functional domains. This was hypothesized as mRNA was found to be expressed in blood samples of both unaffected and affected members of the family. Patients of family RDHT06 had a known pathogenic nonsense mutation in ATM which was identified for the first time in homozygous condition. The patients suffered from ataxia telangiectasia with onset at five years of age. One of their sibling was still asymptomatic at the age of six years although he also carried the variant in a homozygous form. Perhaps, he will manifest the disorder later in life or may be a modifier gene will prevent disease progression. In family RDHT08 a nonsense homozygous variant in C19orf12 was segregating with mitochondrial protein associated neurodegeneration (MPAN). The disease mechanism of this variant is hypothesized to be reduced mRNA as a result of nonsense mediated mRNA decay. The carriers for the variant exhibited no disease, which together with more than 70 unaffected C19orf12 heterozygous individuals from other reports supports the biallelic nature of neurological disorders due to C19orf12 variants. It further negates the monoallelic nature of disorder as suggested recently. In family RDHT03 a novel homozygous missense variant in DRD4 was segregating with dystonia phenotype. The variant was not conserved in zebrafish, chicken and pig, but none of the organisms had Arg>Cys substitution at this position. The segregation with dystonia in patients, absence in ethnically control chromosomes and absence of any other potential homozygous variant in affected individuals,supports the potential association of this variant with dystonia. Observation of the crystalline DRD4 at the position of the variant also supports the importance of this residue in DRD4-ligand interactions. A second homozygous novel variant in GENEA was fully conserved and segregated with iii phenotype of delayed milestones in this family. Absence of this variant in normal population and high pathogenicity scores support its disease association. Previous association of heterozygous variants in this gene with ataxia has been reported but recessive inheritance is presented for the first time, though with different phenotype. In family RDHT16, three variants were found to segregate with dopa responsive dystonia like phenotype.However, missense variant p.(Lys231Glu) in GENEB was the most likely candidate. Replication of the study is required in additional patients to establish it as bona fide gene implicated pathomechanism of neurological movement disorders if mutated. Fibroblasts of a South Asian patient who had a novel compound heterozygous variants in FGD4, associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, type 4H were collected at Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK. The fibroblasts were grown and their proliferation rates were observed to be normal. The stability and localization of the encoded protein was not affected by these pathogenic mutations which suggests that further exploration of pathomechanism of these variant is required. In a collaborative project at UCL, a novel bilallelic repeat expansion in RFC1was identified after analysis of whole genome sequencing in cerebellar atrophy, neuropathy and vestibular areflexia syndrome (CANVAS) (OMIM 614575) patients. A cohort of 304 normal individuals was screened by flanking PCR and reverse-prime PCR (RPPCR) for this newly identified expansion.The frequency of this mutant allele expansion was 0.7% in normal population with no homozygous individual for the variant. This work served as a verification that the variant is indeed rare and causes the disorder only in the homozygous condition. For five families, exome sequencing failed to identify a pathogenic variant. The genetic disorder characterization may be completed in future through whole genome sequencing.This will reveal the underlying genetic cause for the disorder and perhaps will identify some new gene involvement in these disorders. This study has benefited many families by providing the diagnosis and genetic counselling. At the same time it has revealed clinical and genetic information regarding movement disorders in Pakistani families. The results suggest that clinical and genetic diagnosis should be undertaken together to properly diagnose the disorders. Misdiagnosis undermines the possible treatment options and also negatively impacts the family in search of the right diagnosis. In future, once all genes have been identified, candidate panels could be developed for rapid identification of the involved genes and their variants.
Islamic teachings insist on good moral values. Holy Prophet (PBUH) `s life was an excellent example of morality. He teaches his companions to adopt good moral values. Hazrart Ayesha (R.A) played an important role in developing moral values among the females of her time. After the death of Holy Prophet (PBUH) she devoted her life for the education and training of Muslim women. She conveyed the message of Allah and His Prophet, regarding moral values to the masses. The present women can improve their ethical and dealing values by seeking the guidance for their daily life from the Seerah of Umm-ul-Momineen Ayesha Siddiqah, may Allah bless her soul.
Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by the species of Aspergillus, specifically Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. The aflatoxins are highly toxic, mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic compounds implicating as causative agents in human hepatic and extra hepatic carcinogenesis. The present project was divided into three parts. In the first part (Study I), the chemical changes in spices and groundnuts were studied under different packaging materials and storage conditions. There was no aflatoxin was detected in all groundnut varieties and spices. Cumin, red chillies and black pepper samples stored in jute bags showed maximum moisture contents as compared to high density polyethylene (HDPE) bags. Moisture content in cumin samples also increased significantly at 85% RH. Moisture content in all the samples increased as a result of storage and humidity. The storage, humidity and packaging materials showed non-significant effect on ash, protein, fat, fiber, nitrogen free extract (NFE) and total phenolics in groundnut varieties. The total fungal count, Aspergillus count and total aflatoxin in all spices was significantly (p< 0.01) affected due to packaging material, relative humidity, storage intervals and interactions of these variables. However, low level of total aflatoxin was detected in spices as compared to groundnuts. The chemical constituents like crude protein, crude protein, crude fiber, ash and NFE differed significantly among different groundnut varieties. However, storage intervals, packaging materials and interactions between these variables non-significantly affected the proximate composition of groundnuts varieties except moisture content which was increased during storage. In study II, after 120 days of storage the contaminated samples were packed in HDPE and irradiated by gamma radiation @ 2, 4 and 6 kGy and stored at room temperature and relative humidity in paper carton box along with control (0 kGy) for 90 days. The gamma radiation showed significant effect on total fungal count and aspergillus count as compared to control. Irradiation and storage showed non-significant effect on proximate composition and total phenolics of spices. The third (Study III) comprised the use of groundnut oil in cookies as to replace normal shortening and its effect on quality attributes of cookies during two month of storage period. The physico-chemical analyses and fatty acid profile of groundnut oil was performed. The results regarding fatty acids profile of groundnut oil indicated that GNO contain low level of saturated fatty acids; myristic acid (0.04%), palmitic acid (9.85), stearic acid (2.53), arachidic acid (1.21), behenic acid (2.52) and lignoceric acid (2.42%) while higher level of un-saturated fatty acids oleic acid (55.36%), linoleic acid (26.96%) and Eicosenoic acid (1.36%.). The groundnut oil was used in cookies preparation @ 25, 50, 75 and 100 % along with control (0% groundnut oil) and packed in HDPE bags for 2 months of storage at room temperature. The cookies were evaluated for physical, chemical, sensory and storage stability analyses. The moisture content, crude protein and Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) no. of cookies significantly varied as a function of storage, where as crude fiber, ash and NFE content of cookies varied non-significantly. The width, thickness and spread factor of cookies varied significantly due to variation of groundnut oil in cookies. The results of the present investigations indicated that spices and groundnuts can be safely stored in polyethylene bags for their better quality retention. The use of radiation can be helpful for the preservation of spices and groundnuts with respect to the production of aflatoxin during storage.