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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Mohammed Tariq.
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The human beta-2 adrenergic receptor (beta2AR) is responsible for the binding of endogenous catecholamines and their exogenously administered agonists and antagonists. Three functional polymorphisms in codons 16, 27 and 164 have been described which have clinical importance for several diseases, including asthma, hypertension, heart failure, cystic fibrosis and obesity, as well as response to beta-agonist therapy. These were evaluated in 726 individuals from 8 distinct ethnic populations (Chinese, Filipino, Southwest Asian, Saudi, Ghanaian, Kenyan, Sudanese, and European from Scotland). The results show that most haplotypes are shared among all populations, yet there are marked differences in their frequency distributions geographically. The genetic distance tree is different from standard human population distance trees, implying a different mode of evolution for this locus than that for human population gene-flow history. The multilocus frequency differences between the observed clusters of populations correspond to historical haplotype groupings that have been found to be functionally different with respect to multiple medically related phenotypes. Further studies are needed to see if functional relationships are the same across populations.
OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate whether fluconazole reduces multiple organ failure and mortality in early septic shock (<24 hrs). DESIGN: A prospective randomized double-blind study. SETTING: A medical and surgical adult intensive care unit in a tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Values were obtained from 71 general adult intensive care unit patients. INTERVENTIONS: During a 2.5-yr period, December 1998-June 2001, 71 patients with septic shock attributed to either nosocomial pneumonia (n = 37) or intra-abdominal sepsis (n = 34) were admitted to our intensive care unit and met the criteria of early septic shock and were entered into this study. All patients were randomized by our clinical pharmacist to receive daily either 200 mg of fluconazole in isotonic saline (fluconazole group = 32) or isotonic saline alone (placebo group = 39) intravenously during the course of their septic shock. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: All patients were closely monitored with pulmonary artery catheters and parameters to calculate daily organ dysfunction and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores. There was a highly significant increase in 30-day survival in the fluconazole-treated patients compared with the placebo patients (78% vs. 46%). However, fluconazole was found to be more effective in patients with septic shock attributed to intra-abdominal sepsis than to nosocomial pneumonia. Increased survival in the intra-abdominal sepsis clinical category was mirrored by a significantly lower number of organ failures in the treated group compared with the placebo group whereas the number of organ failures in the fluconazole group attributed to nosocomial pneumonia were not significantly increased compared with the control group. The septic shock state was considered in all cases to be attributed to bacterial and not to disseminated yeast infection with the exception of one patient in the control group who was admitted with candidemia. The mechanisms by which fluconazole exerts its protective effect against septic shock in patients is far from clear. However, fluconazole has been shown to enhance bactericidal activity of neutrophils and also to inhibit transmigration and adhesion of neutrophils in capillaries of distant organs. CONCLUSIONS: The development of organ failure and mortality in septic shock was significantly reduced by fluconazole given intravenously. The mechanism of action of fluconazole in reducing multiple organ dysfunction in this group of patients may be attributed to the ability of fluconazole to increase recruitment, improve bactericidal activity of neutrophils, and to contain microorganisms locally.
HER-2, a protooncogene located on chromosome 17q21, encodes a transmembrane glycoprotein (p185) with tyrosine kinase activity. Alterations of the HER-2 gene have been implicated in the carcinogenesis and prognosis of breast cancer and other solid tumors. It is also a cancer-therapeutic target for antibody-based therapy against the HER-2 protein. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at codon 655, resulting in a G-to-A transition (Ile655Val) in the transmembrane domain-coding region of this gene has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, particularly among younger women. To understand the importance of this finding throughout the world, we evaluated this polymorphism in Ghanaian, Kenyan, Sudanese, Caucasian, African-American, Saudi, and Filipino subjects using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. The frequency of the Val allele, which is associated with increased breast cancer risk, was highly variable between populations (0%-24%). Continental African populations had a lower frequency of the Val allele than did Saudi, Chinese, Filipino, Caucasian, and African-American subjects. The data suggest that this SNP has variable frequency in different ethnic groups. The findings in this study correspond with the lower incidence and lower risk of breast cancer in African women compared with Caucasian and African-American women.