A Further Case Supporting PDCD6IP as the Gene Responsible for a Neurodevelopmental Disorder With Microcephaly.

of clinical and molecular findings in patients with biallelic variants in PDCD6IP.

Genome-Based Advances in Modeling Renal Ciliopathies and Enhancing Patient Care.

Background: Genetic diseases collectively affect more than 300 million individuals worldwide, posing a significant health burden, as diagnosis is often challenging and therapeutic options are limited. Recent genetic technological advancements are improving the management of many inherited disorders, including genetic kidney disorders (GKDs), the leading cause of early-onset chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the cause of 10-15% of kidney replacement therapy in adults.

Summary: GKDs fall into different clinical categories, including cystic and fibro-cystic diseases in the setting of ciliopathies, rare conditions caused by the dysfunction of the primary cilium, typically characterized by multiorgan dysfunction.

Myopathic Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (mEDS) Related to : Two Novel Families and Literature Review.

Myopathic Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (RmEDS) is an emerging hybrid phenotype that combines connective and muscle tissue abnormalities. It has been associated with variants of the gene, which are known as Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy-2 (UCMD2; 616470) and Bethlem myopathy-2 (BTHLM2; 616471). Here, we report two splicing mutations of identified in three patients from two unrelated families who present a combination of joint hypermobility and axial, distal, and proximal weakness.

Opinion of the Italian Association of Myology on Ataluren for the Treatment of Nonsense Mutation Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

The Italian Duchenne muscular dystrophy expert clinicians, gathered in the Italian Association of Myology (AIM), intend to express a position against the suspension of the Marketing Authorization of ataluren (Translarna) for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The marketing authorization has been recently withdrawn by the European Commission following a recommendation from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency. This negative recommendation was based on the fact that three randomized controlled trials of ataluren in nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (007, 020, and 041) have failed to show statistically significant differencs in favor of the treatment in the selected primary outcomes for each individual study, i.

Deletion Testing of the Gene Should Be Part of the Diagnostic Pipeline for Hypomyelinating Leukodystrophy (HLD18).

Hypomyelinating leukodystrophies are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormal myelin formation in the central nervous system. Thanks to the increased use of NGS, a growing number of pathogenic single nucleotide variants in have recently been reported to be responsible for hypomyelinating leukodystrophy 18 (HLD18), a rare and severe autosomal recessive form. is a small gene (4 exons and 17 kb) encoding 4-dihydroceramide desaturase, which catalyzes the final step in ceramide biosynthesis.

A Novel Missense Variant in in Three Children with Multiple Pituitary Hormone Deficiency Belonging to Two Unrelated Families and Contribution of Additional and Variant.

Background: Multiple genes can disrupt hypothalamic-pituitary axis development, causing multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies (MPHD). Despite advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) identifying over 30 key genes, 85% of cases remain unsolved, indicating complex genotype-phenotype correlations and variable inheritance patterns.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the MPHD genetics in three probands from two unrelated families.

Nanopore Sequencing Solves an Elusive Case of Sotos Syndrome.

Sotos syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by distinctive facial features, including a broad and prominent forehead, dolichocephaly, and learning disabilities ranging from mild to severe intellectual impairment. Affected individuals often show overgrowth in height and head circumference over two standard deviations. The syndrome is caused by haploinsufficiency of the NSD1 gene, with no evidence of genetic heterogeneity to date.

Gene prioritisation for enhancing molecular diagnosis in rare skeletal muscle disease cohort.

Background: Inherited rare skeletal muscle diseases cause muscle weakness and wasting of variable severity. Without a molecular diagnosis, patients often endure prolonged diagnostic journeys, leading to delays in appropriate management of the disease. This occurs in approximately 60% of patients with rare diseases.

CKD in Bardet-Biedl Syndrome: Evidence Supporting Multifactorial Etiology.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a critical prognostic factor in Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS). Early diagnosis and intervention are essential for improving patient outcomes. The present study analyzed kidney function in patients with BBS, with the aim to explore the impact of genetic variants and common risk factors for kidney disease.

Prion protein promotes copper toxicity in Wilson disease.

Copper (Cu) is a vitally important micronutrient, whose balance between essential and toxic levels requires a tightly regulated network of proteins. Dysfunction in key components of this network leads to the disruption of Cu homeostasis, resulting in fatal disorders such as Wilson disease, which is caused by mutations in the hepatic Cu efflux transporter ATP7B. Unfortunately, the molecular targets for normalizing Cu homeostasis in Wilson disease remain poorly understood.

Novel De Novo RALA Missense Variants Expand the Genotype Spectrum of Hiatt-Neu-Cooper Neurodevelopmental Syndrome.

Background: RALA is a small GTPase from the RAS superfamily implicated in signal transduction and cytoskeletal dynamics. Recently, de novo variants in RALA have been associated with a neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by intellectual disability (ID), developmental delay (DD), and seizures. So far, only < 12 patients have been reported.

Genomic reanalysis of a pan-European rare-disease resource yields new diagnoses.

Genetic diagnosis of rare diseases requires accurate identification and interpretation of genomic variants. Clinical and molecular scientists from 37 expert centers across Europe created the Solve-Rare Diseases Consortium (Solve-RD) resource, encompassing clinical, pedigree and genomic rare-disease data (94.5% exomes, 5.

DNA-binding affinity and specificity determine the phenotypic diversity in BCL11B-related disorders.

BCL11B is a Cys2-His2 zinc-finger (C2H2-ZnF) domain-containing, DNA-binding, transcription factor with established roles in the development of various organs and tissues, primarily the immune and nervous systems. BCL11B germline variants have been associated with a variety of developmental syndromes. However, genotype-phenotype correlations along with pathophysiologic mechanisms of selected variants mostly remain elusive.

Expansion of the Phenotype of You-Hoover-Fong Syndrome and Possible Increased Risk of Cancer.

You-Hoover-Fong syndrome (YHFS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by global developmental delay, microcephaly, dysmorphic facial features, and a spectrum of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. YHFS is caused by pathogenic variants in TELO2, a gene involved in regulation of the cell cycle. To date, 29 individuals with YHFS have been reported and none of them has been reported to develop tumors.

Pushing the boundaries of rare disease diagnostics with the help of the first Undiagnosed Hackathon.

The first-ever Undiagnosed Hackathon was a groundbreaking event held by the Wilhelm Foundation, the Karolinska Undiagnosed Disease Program, and PhenoTips in collaboration with UDNI to solve medical mysteries and advance diagnostics for undiagnosed rare diseases. Nearly 100 healthcare professionals and researchers from 28 countries participated, working intensively for 48 hours to diagnose 10 families with undiagnosed rare diseases. This innovative approach to precision diagnostics highlighted the power of international, multidisciplinary collaboration and patient partnership, yielding promising results for patients seeking answers and benefiting the entire rare diseases community.

Heterozygosity for loss-of-function variants in LZTR1 is associated with isolated multiple café-au-lait macules.

Purpose: Pathogenic LZTR1 variants cause schwannomatosis and dominant/recessive Noonan syndrome (NS). We aim to establish an association between heterozygous loss-of-function LZTR1 alleles and isolated multiple café-au-lait macules (CaLMs).

Methods: A total of 849 unrelated participants with multiple CaLMs, lacking pathogenic/likely pathogenic NF1 and SPRED1 variants, underwent RASopathy gene panel sequencing.

Joint contractures is a recurrent clinical feature of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorder due to FOXP1 likely gene disruptive variants.

Haploinsufficiency of FOXP1 gene is responsible for a neurodevelopmental disorder presenting with intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), hypotonia, mild dysmorphic features, and multiple congenital anomalies. Joint contractures are not listed as a major feature of FOXP1-related disorder. We report five unrelated individuals, each harboring likely gene disruptive de novo FOXP1 variants or whole gene microdeletion, who showed multiple joint contractures affecting at least two proximal and/or distal joints.

Structural variant calling and clinical interpretation in 6224 unsolved rare disease exomes.

Structural variants (SVs), including large deletions, duplications, inversions, translocations, and more complex events have the potential to disrupt gene function resulting in rare disease. Nevertheless, current pipelines and clinical decision support systems for exome sequencing (ES) tend to focus on small alterations such as single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and insertions-deletions shorter than 50 base pairs (indels). Additionally, detection and interpretation of large copy-number variants (CNVs) are frequently performed.