Publications by authors named "Adela Chirita Emandi"

: Persistent Müllerian duct syndrome (PMDS) is a rare disorder of sex development (DSD) caused by mutations in the genes coding anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) or the AMH receptor, characterized by the persistence of Müllerian derivatives, the uterus and/or fallopian tubes, in otherwise normally virilized boys. Testicular regression syndrome is common in PMDS, yet the association with supernumerary testis has been reported in only two patients where genetic testing was not performed. : Thus, we report an individual with this particular association caused by a previously unreported homozygous variant in the gene to enable future genotype-phenotype correlations in this rare disorder.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Lynch syndrome (LS) is one of the most common hereditary cancer syndrome in human populations, associated with germline variants in MLH1, MSH2/EPCAM, MSH6 and PMS2 genes. The advent of next generation sequencing has proven a significant impact in germline variant detection in the causative genes; however, a large proportion of patients with clinical criteria still receive uncertain or negative results. PMS2 is the least frequent reported gene, associated with up to 15% of LS cases with late-onset disease and low penetrance phenotype; however, the proportion of PMS2-LS cases is considered to be highly underestimated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative blood transfusions in correcting anemia for pediatric patients with congenital malformations (CMs) versus those with acute abdomen (AA) conditions. The study hypothesized that the response to transfusions might vary significantly between these groups due to the differences in the underlying pathology and clinical status.

Methods: The study included 107 pediatric patients admitted to Timisoara 'Louis Turcanu' Emergency Hospital for Children between January 2015 and May 2023, who required blood transfusions for preoperative anemia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: The goal of this study was to assess the impact of supplementation with a combination of nutrients on metabolic-dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)-related liver parameters, and other parameters related to metabolic syndrome in adults with obesity. These measurements included anthropometric and lipid profiling, and FibroScan technology (controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and transient elastography (TE) values). A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot clinical trial was conducted over a three-month treatment period.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Genetic alterations play a crucial role in cancer development, highlighting the need for effective genetic counselling to support patient decision-making in EU Member States.
  • A study of national legislation across 27 EU countries revealed that 22 have laws on genetic counselling, but practices and regulations differ significantly.
  • Common barriers include workforce capacity and genetic literacy, with calls for better integration of genetic counsellors and updated laws to improve the overall practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study compared the ABC and ACMG variant classification systems using 10 challenging cases, involving 43 European clinical laboratories, to determine how each system influences variant reporting and clinical utility.
  • Although the ACMG system is primarily for assessing pathogenicity rather than reporting, it still affects reporting in many labs, leading to some noted differences in how variants are classified and communicated.
  • The comparison revealed that ABC-based classifications tend to be clearer and more adaptable to clinical questions, allowing for more context-appropriate reporting of variants, unlike ACMG which can mislabel variants in certain clinical scenarios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: Cardiomyopathies (CMs) represent a heterogeneous group of primary myocardial diseases characterized by structural and functional abnormalities. They represent one of the leading causes of cardiac transplantations and cardiac death in young individuals. Clinically they vary from asymptomatic to symptomatic heart failure, with a high risk of sudden cardiac death due to malignant arrhythmias.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Lifestyle factors, including inadequate eating patterns, emerge as a critical determinant of chronic disease. Apart from caring for patients, nurses should also take an active role in monitoring and managing their own health. Understanding the intricate relationship between nurses' eating behavior and managing their own health is crucial for fostering a holistic approach to healthcare, therefore our study aimed to evaluate eating behavior and demographic factors influencing chronic disease prevalence in a sample of community nurses from Romania.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a serious heart condition linked to genetic factors, increasing the risk of heart failure and sudden cardiac death; genetic testing plays a crucial role in managing and understanding the disease.
  • A study of 122 Romanian patients with DCM revealed that over half (50.8%) had identifiable genetic variants that could cause the disease, along with 31 new variants that had not been reported before.
  • The findings indicate that more than half of the patients had a family history of DCM or sudden cardiac death, underscoring the importance of genetic testing for better risk assessment and treatment strategies in this population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a heterogeneous genetic disorder, most often caused by sarcomeric gene mutations, with a small proportion due to variants in non-sarcomeric loci. Phospholamban (PLN) is a phosphoprotein associated with the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum, a major determinant of cardiac contractility and relaxation. We conducted a retrospective study to determine the prevalence, phenotypical spectrum and clinical course of patients carrying the p.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Neonatal diffuse cutaneous mastocytosis (NDCM) is defined as the infiltration of the epidermis by a clonal proliferation of mast cells, observed at birth, without initial signs of systemic involvement. The typical driver mutation is in the gene. We report a rare case of a boy, born at term, already presenting at birth with generalized subcutaneous nodules on the face, scalp, trunk, back, hands, and feet.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: High empathy levels in health professionals represent an important factor in patient satisfaction and compliance, reducing patient anxiety and pain, enhancing diagnostic and clinical results and strengthening patient empowerment. Our purpose was to determine empathy level and to identify which of the socioeconomic status (SES) and psychological factors were able to predict highest empathy levels in a Romanian sample of community nurses.

Methods: Community nurses were invited in January-February 2023 to provide an answer to an online survey, using an advertisement in a professional network.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the mental health and well-being of children with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) and of their families worldwide. However, there is insufficient evidence to understand how different factors (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), is an emblematic ciliopathy hallmarked by pleiotropy, phenotype variability, and extensive genetic heterogeneity. BBS is a rare (~1/140,000 to ~1/160,000 in Europe) autosomal recessive pediatric disorder characterized by retinal degeneration, truncal obesity, polydactyly, cognitive impairment, renal dysfunction, and hypogonadism. Twenty-eight genes involved in ciliary structure or function have been implicated in BBS, and explain the molecular basis for ~75%-80% of individuals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Developmental delay and intellectual disability represent a common pathology in general population, involving about 3% of the pediatric age population, the genetic etiology being often involved. The aim of this study was to determine the clinically relevant copy number variants in patients diagnosed with global developmental delay/intellectual disability in our population, using the chromosomal microarray analysis.

Methods: We analyzed 189 patients diagnosed with global developmental delay/intellectual disability, presented in Clinical Emergency Hospital for Children, Cluj-Napoca.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study aimed to explore how genetic diagnoses in epilepsy patients impact their clinical management and health outcomes, focusing on data from patients tested for genetic variants between 2016 and 2020.
  • The research included 418 patients, with a median age of 4 years, and found that nearly half (49.8%) experienced changes in clinical management due to genetic results, often within three months.
  • Common changes included starting new medications, referrals to specialists, and monitoring for other health issues related to the genetic findings.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bone marrow failure represents an umbrella diagnosis for several life-threatening disorders. In many people, the etiology remains unknown for a long time, leading to an odyssey to diagnosis, with numerous tests performed and sometimes inappropriate treatment. Biallelic pathogenic variants in the gene were recently discovered to cause bone marrow failure syndrome type 3, having phenotypic overlap with Fanconi anemia, dyskeratosis congenita, Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, and Diamond-Blackfan anemia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cardiofaciocutaneous (CFC) syndrome [Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) #115150] is characterized by craniofacial dysmorphism, heart malformation, ectodermal abnormalities, neuromotor delay and intellectual disability. It is not a frequent disease, about 300 cases have been reported in the medical literature. We describe the case of a 34-year-old patient presenting with CFC syndrome phenotype, monitored since the age of 1 1∕2 years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are common in children worldwide. Congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) increase the risk of UTI and consequently antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance represents an important public health issue worldwide.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Romania, one in four children has excess weight. Because childhood obesity is a sensitive topic, many healthcare professionals find it difficult to discuss children's excess weight with parents. This study aims to identify barriers and facilitators in childhood obesity-related communication, as perceived by healthcare professionals in Romania.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) is a cardiac malformation that accounts for up to 5% of total congenital heart disease, occurring with high frequency in people with Down Syndrome (DS). We aimed to establish the surgical challenges and outcome of medical care in different types of AVSD in children with DS compared to those without DS (WDS). The study included 62 children (31 with DS) with AVSD, evaluated over a 5 year period.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Genetic diagnosis and mutation identification are now compulsory for Duchenne (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophies (BMD), which are due to dystrophin () gene mutations, either for disease prevention or personalized therapies. To evaluate the ethnic-related genetic assortments of mutations, which may impact on DMD genetic diagnosis pipelines, we studied 328 patients with DMD and BMD from non-European countries.

Methods: We performed a full DMD mutation detection in 328 patients from 10 Eastern European countries (Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Russia) and 2 non-European countries (Cyprus and Algeria).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Insulin resistance plays a major role in metabolic syndrome and is recognized as the most common risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Identifying predictors for insulin resistance could optimize screening and prevention.

Purpose: To evaluate the contribution of multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms across genes related to NAFLD and choline metabolism, in predicting insulin resistance in children with obesity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pathogenic variants in gene in heterozygous state are known to be associated with breast-ovarian cancer susceptibility; however, biallelic variants cause a phenotype recognised as Fanconi anaemia complementation group S. Due to its rarity, medical management and preventive screening measures are insufficiently understood. Here, we present nine individuals (one new and eight previously presented) with biallelic variants in gene, to delineate clinical features in comparison with other chromosome instability syndromes and understand the patients' health risk.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The European Reference Networks (ERNs) are collaborative virtual platforms for healthcare providers in Europe to address complex and rare diseases using the Clinical Patient Management System (CPMS) for secure consultations.
  • After one year of using CPMS, the ERN ITHACA network became a top performer in telemedicine activity, sharing insights on 28 rare cases from various countries, while emphasizing the importance of data protection for patient care.
  • The collaboration between the ERN ITHACA team, EU officials, and clinical genetics centers led to the development of a tailored CPMS, enhancing its effectiveness for specific telemedicine needs and improving care outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF