Aim
This study describes the prevalence and severity of perceived fatigue in a young neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) population.
Methods
Ethical approval was obtained and NF1 affected Individuals aged ...2–18 years from the Manchester's NF1 clinic invited along with any unaffected siblings. The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale Parental and child report was used. This validated measure explores cognitive, physical and sleep/rest domains on a 0–100 scale. Higher scores indicate less fatigue. Fatigue scores in affected children were compared to unaffected siblings after adjusting for age, sex and Index of Multiple Deprivation and with published population standards using z‐scores.
Results
A total of 286 families were invited and 75 affected and 16 siblings participated. There were significant differences between NF1 and controls in the aggregated fatigue core (child report 55 ± 19 vs. 75 (14), P < 0.001; parent 54 ± 20 vs. 73 ± 18, P = 0.001) and the three sub‐domains: cognitive (child 48 ± 27 vs. 75 ± 23, P < 0.001), physical (child 59 ± 19 vs. 82 ± 14, P < 0.001) and sleep/rest (child 59 ± 19 vs. 71 ± 15, P = 0.018). Similar differences were seen when compared with published controls (aggregated child z‐score −1.9 ± 1.4, P < 0.001; parent −3.2 ± 1.8, P < 0.001). Prevalence of severe fatigue indicated by scores <2 standard deviation below published means for healthy controls were also higher for children with NF on both parent and child reports. Agreement between child and parent reports were limited as is frequently seen in the literature.
Conclusion
This study suggests that children with NF1 are affected by perceived fatigue when compared with healthy children who do not have NF1.
The increased adoption of genomic strategies in the clinic makes it imperative for diagnostic laboratories to improve the efficiency of variant interpretation. Clinical exome sequencing (CES) is ...becoming a valuable diagnostic tool, capable of meeting the diagnostic demand imposed by the vast array of different rare monogenic disorders. We have assessed a clinician-led and phenotype-based approach for virtual gene panel generation for analysis of targeted CES in patients with rare disease in a single institution.
Retrospective survey of 400 consecutive cases presumed by clinicians to have rare monogenic disorders, referred on singleton basis for targeted CES. We evaluated diagnostic yield and variant workload to characterise the usefulness of a clinician-led approach for generation of virtual gene panels that can incorporate up to three different phenotype-driven gene selection methods.
Abnormalities of the nervous system (54.5%), including intellectual disability, head and neck (19%), skeletal system (16%), ear (15%) and eye (15%) were the most common clinical features reported in referrals. Combined phenotype-driven strategies for virtual gene panel generation were used in 57% of cases. On average, 7.3 variants (median=5) per case were retained for clinical interpretation. The overall diagnostic rate of proband-only CES using personalised phenotype-driven virtual gene panels was 24%.
Our results show that personalised virtual gene panels are a cost-effective approach for variant analysis of CES, maintaining diagnostic yield and optimising the use of resources for clinical genomic sequencing in the clinic.
Brittle cornea syndrome (BCS; MIM 229200) is an autosomal recessive generalized connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in ZNF469 and PRDM5. It is characterized by extreme thinning and ...fragility of the cornea that may rupture in the absence of significant trauma leading to blindness. Keratoconus or keratoglobus, high myopia, blue sclerae, hyperelasticity of the skin without excessive fragility, and hypermobility of the small joints are additional features of BCS. Transcriptional regulation of extracellular matrix components, particularly of fibrillar collagens, by PRDM5 and ZNF469 suggests that they might be part of the same pathway, the disruption of which is likely to cause the features of BCS. In the present study, we have performed molecular analysis of a cohort of 23 BCS affected patients on both ZNF469 and PRDM5, including those who were clinically reported previously 1; the clinical description of three additional patients is reported in detail. We identified either homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in ZNF469 in 18 patients while, 4 were found to be homozygous for PRDM5 mutations. In one single patient a mutation in neither ZNF469 nor PRDM5 was identified. Furthermore, we report the 12 novel ZNF469 variants identified in our patient cohort, and show evidence that ZNF469 is a single exon rather than a two exon gene.
Extreme corneal fragility and thinning, which have a high risk of catastrophic spontaneous rupture, are the cardinal features of brittle cornea syndrome (BCS), an autosomal-recessive generalized ...connective tissue disorder. Enucleation is frequently the only management option for this condition, resulting in blindness and psychosocial distress. Even when the cornea remains grossly intact, visual function could also be impaired by a high degree of myopia and keratoconus. Deafness is another common feature and results in combined sensory deprivation. Using autozygosity mapping, we identified mutations in PRDM5 in families with BCS. We demonstrate that regulation of expression of extracellular matrix components, particularly fibrillar collagens, by PRDM5 is a key molecular mechanism that underlies corneal fragility in BCS and controls normal corneal development and maintenance. ZNF469, encoding a zinc finger protein of hitherto undefined function, has been identified as a quantitative trait locus for central corneal thickness, and mutations in this gene have been demonstrated in Tunisian Jewish and Palestinian kindreds with BCS. We show that ZNF469 and PRDM5, two genes that when mutated cause BCS, participate in the same regulatory pathway.
Brittle cornea syndrome (BCS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterised by extreme corneal thinning and fragility. Corneal rupture can therefore occur either spontaneously or following minimal ...trauma in affected patients. Two genes, ZNF469 and PRDM5, have now been identified, in which causative pathogenic mutations collectively account for the condition in nearly all patients with BCS ascertained to date. Therefore, effective molecular diagnosis is now available for affected patients, and those at risk of being heterozygous carriers for BCS. We have previously identified mutations in ZNF469 in 14 families (in addition to 6 reported by others in the literature), and in PRDM5 in 8 families (with 1 further family now published by others). Clinical features include extreme corneal thinning with rupture, high myopia, blue sclerae, deafness of mixed aetiology with hypercompliant tympanic membranes, and variable skeletal manifestations. Corneal rupture may be the presenting feature of BCS, and it is possible that this may be incorrectly attributed to non-accidental injury. Mainstays of management include the prevention of ocular rupture by provision of protective polycarbonate spectacles, careful monitoring of visual and auditory function, and assessment for skeletal complications such as developmental dysplasia of the hip. Effective management depends upon appropriate identification of affected individuals, which may be challenging given the phenotypic overlap of BCS with other connective tissue disorders.
Pierpont syndrome: A collaborative study Wright, Emma M.M. Burkitt; Suri, Mohnish; White, Susan M. ...
American journal of medical genetics. Part A,
September 2011, Letnik:
155, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Consensus clinical diagnostic criteria for neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) include café-au-lait macules and skinfold freckling. The former are frequently the earliest manifestation of NF1, and as such ...are of particular significance when assessing young children at risk of the condition. A phenotype of predominantly spinal neurofibromatosis has been identified in a small minority of families with NF1, often in association with a relative or absolute lack of cutaneous manifestations. An association with splicing and missense mutations has previously been reported for spinal neurofibromatosis, but on the basis of molecular results in only a few families.
Patients with spinal NF1 were identified through the Manchester nationally commissioned service for complex NF1.
Five families with spinal NF1 were identified, with a broad spectrum of NF1 mutations, providing further evidence that this phenotype may arise in association with any genre of mutation in this gene. Pigmentary manifestations were absent or very mild in affected individuals. Several further affected individuals, some with extensive spinal root tumours, were ascertained when additional family members were assessed.
Clinical NF1 consensus criteria cannot be used to exclude the diagnosis of spinal NF1, especially in childhood. This emphasises the importance of molecular confirmation in individuals and families with atypical presentations of NF1.
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