Association of BDNF rs6265 and MC4R rs17782313 with metabolic syndrome in Pakistanis

The goal of the current investigation was to prepare PEGylated Lipova E120 liposomes loaded with celecoxib for theeffective treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). PEGylated liposomes were prepared and were characterized using techniques such as particle size distribution, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency and in-vitrorelease, in-vivo and stability studies. The morphological study was characterized by scanning electron microscopy andtransmission electron microscopy. To determine the interaction between drug and polymer Fourier transform infrared,Raman, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry studies were performed. Results show that formulation F6 was optimized with a particle size of 92.12 ± 1.7 nm, a PDI of 0.278 ± 0.22, a zeta potential of- 40.8 ± 1.7 mV with a maximum encapsulation of 96.6 ± 0.05% of drug in the PEGylated liposomes. The optimizedformulation shows a maximum release of drug i.e. 94.45 ± 1.13% in 72 h. Tail immersion assay shows that the optimizedformulation F6 significantly increases the reaction time and carrageenan-induced assay shows that the optimized formulation inhibits the increase in paw edema thus providing a pain relief treatment in RA. These results suggest that thePEGylated liposomes provide a sustained release of celecoxib and helps in effective treatment of RA.

Role of leptin G-2548A polymorphism in age- and gender-specific development of obesity.

Leptin is involved in the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure, and therefore, is central to adipositysensing pathway. We examined the relationship of the leptin G-2548A polymorphism with obesity and obesityrelated anthropometric and metabolic parameters in a total of 394 (239 obese and 155 non-obese) subjects between 5 and 45 years of age. Body weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC) and blood pressure (BP) were measured. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were calculated. Levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin, leptin and leptin receptor were determined, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated. Genotyping was carried out by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The LEP G-2548A polymorphism showed association with obesity in children and adolescents ( 18 years of age) but not in adults. However, analysis by gender stratification revealed association with obesity in girls only. In addition, G-2548A polymorphism showed association with BMI, WC, HC, fasting blood glucose and serum leptin levels. This suggests that G-2548A polymorphism may influence the susceptibility to metabolic disturbances and obesity at an early life. Further investigation with a larger sample size is required to validate the effect of LEP G-2548A polymorphism in obese Pakistani girls.