Changing facial phenotype in Cohen syndrome: towards clues for an earlier diagnosis.

Cohen syndrome (CS) is a rare autosomal recessive condition caused by mutations and/or large rearrangements in the VPS13B gene. CS clinical features, including developmental delay, the typical facial gestalt, chorioretinal dystrophy (CRD) and neutropenia, are well described. CS diagnosis is generally raised after school age, when visual disturbances lead to CRD diagnosis and to VPS13B gene testing.

Complete exon sequencing of all known Usher syndrome genes greatly improves molecular diagnosis.

Background: Usher syndrome (USH) combines sensorineural deafness with blindness. It is inherited in an autosomal recessive mode. Early diagnosis is critical for adapted educational and patient management choices, and for genetic counseling.

Complete deletion of the AZFb interval from the Y chromosome in an oligozoospermic man.

Background: Deletion of the entire AZFb interval from the Y chromosome is strictly associated with azoospermia arising from maturation arrest during meiosis. Here, we describe the exceptional case of an oligozoospermic man, 13-1217, with an AZFb + c (P5/distal-P1) deletion. Through the characterization of this patient, and two AZFb (P5/proximal-P1) patients with maturation arrest, we have explored three possible explanations for his exceptionally progressive spermatogenesis.

Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) gene mutation as a frequent cause of primary amenorrhea in 46,XY female adolescents with low testosterone concentration.

Background: Primary amenorrhea due to 46,XY disorders of sex differentiation (DSD) is a frequent reason for consultation in endocrine and gynecology clinics. Among the genetic causes of low-testosterone primary amenorrhea due to 46,XY DSD, SRY gene is reported to be frequently involved, but other genes, such as SF1 and WT1, have never been studied for their prevalence.

Methods: We directly sequenced SRY, SF1 and WT1 genes in 15 adolescent girls with primary amenorrhea, low testosterone concentration, and XY karyotype, to determine the prevalence of mutations.

Renal tubular dysgenesis, a not uncommon autosomal recessive disorder leading to oligohydramnios: Role of the Renin-Angiotensin system.

Renal tubular dysgenesis is a clinical disorder that is observed in fetuses and characterized by the absence or poor development of proximal tubules, early onset and persistent oligohydramnios that leads to the Potter sequence, and skull ossification defects. It may be acquired during fetal development or inherited as an autosomal recessive disease. It was shown recently that autosomal recessive renal tubular dysgenesis is genetically heterogeneous and linked to mutations in the genes that encode components of the renin-angiotensin system.

X-linked spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda: molecular cause of a heritable platyspondyly.

Study Design: Report of a family affected with X-linked spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda with special respect to radiologic alterations of the spine from puberty to the forth decade and to molecular analysis of the underlying genetic defect.

Objectives: To report the typical radiologic presentation of patients with X-linked spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda and the diagnostic tool of mutation screening for that disease in order to avoid confusion with similar occurrences.

Summary Of Background Data: Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda is a genetically heterogeneous disorder that frequently manifests itself with back pain starting around puberty.