Publications by authors named "B Binukumar"

Depression during pregnancy and postpartum poses significant risks to both maternal and child well-being. The underlying biological mechanisms are unclear, but epigenetic variation could be exploited as a plausible candidate for early detection. We investigated whether DNA methylation signatures are associated with antenatal depressive symptoms (ADS) and whether early alterations in methylation patterns could be used to predict postpartum depressive symptoms (PDS).

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  • The study aimed to identify genomic variations linked to dystonia in the Asian Indian population using next-generation sequencing.
  • A total of 745 individuals were enrolled, and whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed on 267 patients, revealing pathogenic variants in 20.2% of them, including 14 novel variants.
  • The gene THAP1 was found to be the most common associated with dystonia, and factors like multifocal/generalized distribution and family history increased the likelihood of finding positive results from WES.
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  • The study investigates the role of a master regulator gene in the development of excitatory neurons, specifically focusing on its function in cerebellar granule neuron progenitors (GNPs).
  • Researchers found that dysfunction of this gene in GNPs reduced their proliferation and led to various cerebellar abnormalities, including hypoplasia and imbalances in neuron ratios.
  • The findings suggest that deletion of this gene during early development can cause autism-like behaviors in mice and highlight uncharacterized gene variants associated with autism spectrum disorder in humans.
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Oligodendrocytes, crucial myelinating glia in the central nervous system, play a vital role in maintaining axonal integrity and facilitating efficient nerve impulse conduction. The degradation of myelin in oligodendrocytes has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive dysfunction. Interestingly, individuals with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) have a significantly higher likelihood of developing cognitive impairment, possibly due to insulin resistance and glucose toxicity within the central nervous system (CNS).

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Aim: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) might predispose the mothers to depression. Studies have reported the role of biomarkers either in GDM or depression, but very few have examined them in GDM with depression. The present study profiled the circulating levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), Beta Endorphin (BE) and nesfatin-1 in women with GDM (with and without depression).

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