Degendering Menstruation: A Scoping Review Exploring the Experiences of Transgender and Non-Binary People.

Menstruation is a biological process experienced by up to 800 million people on any given day. Historically, menstruation has been studied from the female perspective. However, it should be considered that not all who menstruate are women. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to determine the status of evidence on transgender and non-binary individuals' experiences with menstruation. Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework for conducting a scoping study was used to guide this review. The authors used five steps of the six-step process to identify the research problem and search strategy, select studies based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, extract key information from five selected studies, and chart, summarize, and report the results as themes. The analysis resulted in the identification of four themes: (1) gender dysphoria and the influence on identity; (2) menstrual management and transformation as a turning point; (3) managing menstruation in precarious spaces; and (4) moving toward an open dialogue. Findings suggest a need for awareness of diverse and inclusive menstrual experiences. Inclusive advertising and menstrual products are needed to support transgender and non-binary people and reduce gender dysphoria. Policy initiatives should support the reconceptualization of infrastructure so that bathrooms are safe and comfortable places. Future opportunities for research exploring menstrual management within transgender and non-binary populations with emphasis on global research with diverse cultures and social structures is necessary to address gaps in the existing literature.

RIT2 Polymorphisms: Is There a Differential Association?

Neurological disorders include a wide variety of mostly multifactorial diseases related to the development, survival, and function of the neuron cells. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been extensively studied in neurological disorders, and in a number of instances have been reproducibly linked to disease as risk factors. The RIT2 gene has been recently shown to be associated with a number of neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and autism. In the study reported here, we investigated the association of the rs12456492 and rs16976358 SNPs of the RIT2 gene with PD, essential tremor (ET), autism, schizophrenia (SCZ), and bipolar disorder (BPD; total of 2290 patients), and 1000 controls, by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Significant association was observed between rs12456492 and two disorders, PD and ET, whereas rs16976358 was found to be associated with autism, SCZ, and BPD. Our findings are indicative of differential association between the RIT2 SNPs and different neurological disorders.

SIPA1L2, MIR4697, GCH1 and VPS13C loci and risk of Parkinson's diseases in Iranian population: A case-control study.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Prevalence of PD increases steadily with age. A recent meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies has identified six new loci to be linked with PD. Here we investigated the association of four of these new loci, SIPA1L2, MIR4697, GCH1 and VPS13C with PD in an Iranian population. Through a case-control study a total of 1800 subjects comprising 600 PD patients and 1200 unrelated healthy controls were recruited. Rs10797576, rs329648, rs11158026 and rs2414739 related to SIPA1L2, MIR4697, GCH1 and VPS13C loci respectively, were genotyped in all subjects. The difference of genotype and allele frequencies between case and control groups were investigated using chi-square test and logistic regression models with R software. Genotype and allele frequencies were significantly different in PD patients and control group for rs329648, rs11158026 and rs2414739 (p-value=0.018, 0.025, and 0.009 respectively for allele frequency differences). There was no difference in genotype nor allele frequencies between the two groups for rs10797576. We replicated the association of three new loci which are proposed for PD. More studies in other populations and also functional analysis are required to clear the role of these variants in PD.

The rs1572931 polymorphism of the RAB7L1 gene promoter is associated with reduced risk of Parkinson's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurologic disorders affecting about 2% of people over 65 years old and both genetic and environmental factors are involved in its aetiology. The genetic part includes several genes and polymorphisms that are the direct cause of disease or its susceptibility factor. The rs1572931 polymorphism of RAB7L1 gene, located in the promoter region, has been recently studied and shown to be strongly associated with reducing risk of PD. In this study, we aim to investigate its association with PD in Iranian population. METHODS: We examined the association of rs1572931 polymorphism with PD in 490 unrelated Patients and 490 normal controls by PCR-RFLP method in Iranian subjects. RESULTS: A significant difference in genotype and allele frequencies was observed between patients and controls (p value = 0.003, OR (95% CI) = 0.71(0.56-0.90)). The TT genotype and the T allele were both significantly less frequent in PD cases. CONCLUSION: Our results confirmed the protective effect of the rs1572931 SNP on PD and replicated the results of previous studies, in Iranian subjects. We suggest further studies in other populations.