Genetic Variants And Metabolic Diseases Volume Ii

Genetic variants and metabolic diseases, volume II

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a set of co-morbidities that collectively increase an individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Per the World Health Organization (WHO), MetS is typically characterized by obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Building on this point, some of the major risk factors for development of MetS include increased weight or an obese phenotype, lack of physical activity, and genetics. Interestingly, the last decade has witnessed a deluge of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) that have linked hundreds of genomic with both collective MetS traits, as well as individual metabolic disorders sitting within it. Currently, in the post-GWAS era, the focus has shifted to characterization of these novel genomic to establish causality and disease relevance. This is being pursued by way of functional validation such as gain- and loss-of-function studies, investigating resulting metabolic phenotypes, mechanisms and pathways underlying these phenotypes, their prevalence and potential for risk stratification across populations, and finally, identification of therapeutic targets for pharmacological intervention.

Novel Therapeutic Target and Drug Discovery for Neurological Diseases, Volume II

This Research Topic is the second volume of the Research Topic " Novel Therapeutic Target and Drug Discovery for Neurological Diseases". Please see the first volume here. Neurological diseases represent heterogeneous disorders that involve complex pathological alterations with only a few effective treatments; therefore, there is a great need for the development of novel therapeutic targets and therapies. There are more than six hundred neurological disorders, including dementia, cerebrovascular diseases, mental illness, brain tumor, and infection-caused central diseases, all arising from disruption to the central nervous system. Researchers are attempting to identify promising targets and potential drug candidates from new biological techniques and pharmacological animal studies. Thus, novel target discovery and mechanism elucidation, as well as the development of small-molecule entities, natural compounds, and polypeptides for the treatment of neurological dysfunction, may offer exciting clues for novel therapeutic strategies to halt or mitigate the course of neurological diseases.

Systems Genetics of Human Complex Diseases - Volume II