Search results for "pediatric."
showing 10 items of 4528 documents
Genome-wide association scan identifies new variants associated with a cognitive predictor of dyslexia
2019
Developmental dyslexia (DD) is one of the most prevalent learning disorders, with high impact on school and psychosocial development and high comorbidity with conditions like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and anxiety. DD is characterized by deficits in different cognitive skills, including word reading, spelling, rapid naming, and phonology. To investigate the genetic basis of DD, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of these skills within one of the largest studies available, including nine cohorts of reading-impaired and typically developing children of European ancestry (N = 2562–3468). We observed a genome-wide significant effect (p < 1 × 10…
12q14.3 microdeletion involving HMGA2 gene cause a Silver-Russell syndrome-like phenotype: a case report and review of the literature
2020
Abstract Background Silver-Russell Syndrome (SRS) is a genetic disorder characterized by intrauterine and postnatal growth restriction and normal head circumference with consequent relative macrocephaly. Addictional findings are protruding forehead in early life, body asymmetry (of upper and lower limbs) and substantial feeding difficulties. Although several genetic mechanisms that cause the syndrome are known, more than 40% of patients with a SRS-like phenotype remain without an etiological diagnosis. In the last few years, different clinical reports have suggested that mutations or deletions of the HMGA2 gene can be responsible for a SRS-like phenotype in patients with negative results of…
Benign nocturnal alternating hemiplegia of childhood
2018
Objective: To describe the clinical spectrum of benign nocturnal alternating hemiplegia of childhood (BNAHC) including long-term follow-up data of previously published cases and to propose an underlying genetic cause of this disorder. Methods: We studied the medical data of two novel patients, reviewed the literature on BNAHC, and gathered information of the most recent follow-up of published cases regarding the course of episodes, further development, attempted drugs, ancillary investigations, and sequelae. Results: All patients, i.e. two novel cases and twelve patients identified in the literature (13 boys, 1 girl, age at onset four months to three years), experienced episodes of hemipleg…
Immature excitatory neurons develop during adolescence in the human amygdala.
2019
The human amygdala grows during childhood, and its abnormal development is linked to mood disorders. The primate amygdala contains a large population of immature neurons in the paralaminar nuclei (PL), suggesting protracted development and possibly neurogenesis. Here we studied human PL development from embryonic stages to adulthood. The PL develops next to the caudal ganglionic eminence, which generates inhibitory interneurons, yet most PL neurons express excitatory markers. In children, most PL cells are immature (DCX+PSA-NCAM+), and during adolescence many transition into mature (TBR1+VGLUT2+) neurons. Immature PL neurons persist into old age, yet local progenitor proliferation sharply d…
PRRT2 gene variant in a child with dysmorphic features, congenital microcephaly, and severe epileptic seizures: genotype-phenotype correlation?
2019
Abstract Background Mutations in Proline-rich Transmembrane Protein 2 (PRRT2) have been primarily associated with individuals presenting with infantile epilepsy, including benign familial infantile epilepsy, benign infantile epilepsy, and benign myoclonus of early infancy, and/or with dyskinetic paroxysms such as paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia, paroxysmal non-kinesigenic dyskinesia, and exercise-induced dyskinesia. However, the clinical manifestations of this disorder vary widely. PRRT2 encodes a protein expressed in the central nervous system that is mainly localized in the pre-synaptic neurons and is involved in the modulation of synaptic neurotransmitter release. The anomalous functio…
Holocene Selection for Variants Associated With General Cognitive Ability: Comparing Ancient and Modern Genomes
2017
Human populations living during the Holocene underwent considerable microevolutionary change. It has been theorized that the transition of Holocene populations into agrarianism and urbanization brought about culture-gene co-evolution that favored via directional selection genetic variants associated with higher general cognitive ability (GCA). To examine whether GCA might have risen during the Holocene, we compare a sample of 99 ancient Eurasian genomes (ranging from 4.56 to 1.21 kyr BP) with a sample of 503 modern European genomes (Fst= 0.013), using three different cognitive polygenic scores (130 SNP, 9 SNP and 11 SNP). Significant differences favoring the modern genomes were found for al…
Intersociety policy statement on the use of whole-exome sequencing in the critically ill newborn infant.
2017
Abstract The rapid advancement of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and the decrease in costs for whole-exome sequencing (WES) and whole-genome sequening (WGS), has prompted its clinical application in several fields of medicine. Currently, there are no specific guidelines for the use of NGS in the field of neonatal medicine and in the diagnosis of genetic diseases in critically ill newborn infants. As a consequence, NGS may be underused with reduced diagnostic success rate, or overused, with increased costs for the healthcare system. Most genetic diseases may be already expressed during the neonatal age, but their identification may be complicated by nonspecific presentation, esp…
Maternal Inheritance of a Recessive RBP4 Defect in Canine Congenital Eye Disease
2018
SUMMARY Maternally skewed transmission of traits has been associated with genomic imprinting and oocyte-derived mRNA. We report canine congenital eye malformations, caused by an amino acid deletion (K12del) near the N terminus of retinol-binding protein (RBP4). The disease is only expressed when both dam and offspring are deletion homozygotes. RBP carries vitamin A (retinol) from hepatic stores to peripheral tissues, including the placenta and developing eye, where it is required to synthesize retinoic acid. Gestational vitamin A deficiency is a known risk factor for ocular birth defects. The K12del mutation disrupts RBP folding in vivo, decreasing its secretion from hepatocytes to serum. T…
What is the influence of parents' myopia on their children's myopic progression? A 22-year follow-up study.
2016
Purpose To study the connection between parental myopia and their children's myopia from school age to adulthood. Methods Two hundred and forty myopic schoolchildren (119 boys, 121 girls, mean age 10.9 years) with no previous spectacles for myopia were recruited to a 3-year treatment trial with different use of spectacles. Follow-ups were performed at mean ages of 13.9, 23.7 and 33.2 years for 238, 176 and 170 subjects respectively. Subjective refraction was calibrated to the spherical equivalent at corneal level (SEcor). Corneal refractive power (CR) and axial length (AL) were measured. Parental myopia was assessed with a questionnaire and the children assigned accordingly to one of three …
Estimating Global Burden of Disease due to congenital anomaly: an analysis of European data
2017
ObjectiveTo validate the estimates of Global Burden of Disease (GBD) due to congenital anomaly for Europe by comparing infant mortality data collected by EUROCAT registries with the WHO Mortality Database, and by assessing the significance of stillbirths and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly (TOPFA) in the interpretation of infant mortality statistics.Design, setting and outcome measuresEUROCAT is a network of congenital anomaly registries collecting data on live births, fetal deaths from 20 weeks’ gestation and TOPFA. Data from 29 registries in 19 countries were analysed for 2005–2009, and infant mortality (deaths of live births at age <1 year) compared with the WHO Mortality …