ABSTRACT
Background@#Our study was designed to investigate the frequencies and distributions of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) associated genes in Saudi patients. @*Methods@#FHL associated gene screening was performed on 87 Saudi patients who were diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) between 1995 and 2014. The clinical and biochemical profiles were also retrospectively captured and analyzed. @*Results@#Homozygous mutations and mono-allelic variants were identified in 66 (75.9%) and 3 (3.5%) of the study participants, respectively. STXBP2 was the most frequently mutated gene (36% of patients) and mutations in STXBP2 and STX11 accounted for 58% of all FHL cases and demonstrated a specific geographical pattern. Patients in the FHL group presented at a significantly younger age than those belonging to the unknown-genetics group (median, 3.9 vs. 9.4 mo; P =0.005). The presenting clinical features were similar among the various genetic groups and the 5-year overall survival (OS) was 55.4% with a 5.6 year median follow-up. Patients with PRF1 mutations had a significantly poorer 5-year OS (21.4%, P =0.008) and patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (72.4%) had a significantly better 5-year OS (66.5% vs. 0%, P =0.001). @*Conclusion@#Our study revealed the predominance of the STXBP2 mutations in Saudi patients with FHL. A genetic diagnosis was possible in 80% of the cohort and our data showed improved survival in FHL patients who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
ABSTRACT
Background@#Our study was designed to investigate the frequencies and distributions of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) associated genes in Saudi patients. @*Methods@#FHL associated gene screening was performed on 87 Saudi patients who were diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) between 1995 and 2014. The clinical and biochemical profiles were also retrospectively captured and analyzed. @*Results@#Homozygous mutations and mono-allelic variants were identified in 66 (75.9%) and 3 (3.5%) of the study participants, respectively. STXBP2 was the most frequently mutated gene (36% of patients) and mutations in STXBP2 and STX11 accounted for 58% of all FHL cases and demonstrated a specific geographical pattern. Patients in the FHL group presented at a significantly younger age than those belonging to the unknown-genetics group (median, 3.9 vs. 9.4 mo; P =0.005). The presenting clinical features were similar among the various genetic groups and the 5-year overall survival (OS) was 55.4% with a 5.6 year median follow-up. Patients with PRF1 mutations had a significantly poorer 5-year OS (21.4%, P =0.008) and patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (72.4%) had a significantly better 5-year OS (66.5% vs. 0%, P =0.001). @*Conclusion@#Our study revealed the predominance of the STXBP2 mutations in Saudi patients with FHL. A genetic diagnosis was possible in 80% of the cohort and our data showed improved survival in FHL patients who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
ABSTRACT
Type 2 diabetes [T2D] is among the most challenging health issues of the 21st century and is associated with an alarming rise in the incidence. The Arab population is no exception to this trend. The pathophys-iological processes that lead to development of T2D are still unclear, however impairment in insulin secretion and/or action is clearly indicated. T2D is a complex disease with susceptibility being governed by the interaction of multiple genetic and environmental effects. Previous studies indicated that variants in genes encoding the pancreatic beta-cell K+ATP channel subunits Kir6.2 [KCNJ11] and SUR1 [ABCC8] are associated with type 2 diabetes. The common Prol2Ala polymorphism in peroxisome proliferator-acti-vated receptor-gamma gene [PPAR-gamma] was confirmed in several studies to be associated with type 2 diabetes as well. More recently, studies reported variants within a novel gene, TCF7L2, as a putative susceptibility gene for type 2 diabetes across many ethnic backgrounds around the world. However, studies to date in Arab cohorts remain limited