Noonan syndrome (NS) is a genetic disorder characterized by multiple congenital defects caused by mutations in the RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Male fertility has been reported to be impaired in NS, but only a few studies have focused on fertility status in NS patients and underlying mechanisms are still incompletely understood. We describe the case of a 35-year-old man who underwent an andrological evaluation due to erectile dysfunction and severe oligospermia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The screening test to suspect infantile hypercalcemia-1 (HCINF1) is the measure of 25(OH)D/24,25(OH)D ratio at mass spectroscopy (MS). When the ratio is > 80, the gold standard for the diagnosis is genetic analysis. Given its limited availability, MS may not represent a screening test and most cases of HCINF1 remain undiagnosed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisorders of sexual development (DSDs) encompass a group of congenital conditions associated with atypical development of internal and external genital structures. Among those with DSDs are 46,XX males, whose condition mainly arises due to the translocation of onto an X chromosome or an autosome. In the few -negative 46,XX males, overexpression of other pro-testis genes or failure of pro-ovarian/anti-testis genes may be involved, even if a non-negligible number of cases remain unexplained.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Deficiency of the 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 3 (17 β-HSD3) is a rare autosomal recessive 46,XY Difference of sex development (DSD), resulting from pathogenetic variants in the HSD17B3 gene, which lead to absent or reduced ability to convert Δ4-androstenedione to testosterone in the fetal testes.
Aim: This study aimed to present the clinical and genetic characteristics of an Italian patient receiving a diagnosis of 17 β-HSD3 deficiency in adulthood. The patient was raised as female and underwent early surgical interventions to correct virilized genitalia, leading to a significant sexual distress.
Background: Pharmacological therapy may be useful in the treatment of moderate to severe hypercalcemia in patients with infantile hypercalcemia-1 (HCINF1) due to pathogenic variants in the cytochrome P450 24 subfamily A member 1 (CYP24A1). Rifampin is an antituberculosis drug that is a potent inducer of cytochrome P450 3 subfamily A member 4, which is involved in an alternative catabolic pathway of vitamin D. The efficacy of rifampin in improving hypercalcemia was previously reported, but many questions remain on the long-term efficacy and safety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Proximal muscle weakness may be the presenting clinical feature of different types of myopathies, including limb girdle muscular dystrophy and primary mitochondrial myopathy. LGMD1B is caused by LMNA mutation. It is characterized by progressive weakness and wasting leading to proximal weakness, cardiomyopathy, and hearth conduction block.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough larger trinucleotide expansions give rise to a neurodevelopmental disorder called fragile X syndrome, fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disorder caused by a "premutation" (55-200 CGG repeats) in the gene. FXTAS is one of the more common single-gene forms of late-onset ataxia and tremor that may have a more complex development in women, with atypical presentations. After a brief presentation of the atypical case of an Italian woman with FXTAS, who had several paroxysmal episodes suggestive of acute cerebellar and/or brainstem dysfunction, this article will revise the phenotype of FXTAS in women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDifferences/disorders of sex development (DSD) are a heterogeneous group of congenital conditions, resulting in discordance between an individual's sex chromosomes, gonads, and/or anatomic sex. The management of a newborn with suspected 46,XY DSD remains challenging. Newborns with 46,XY DSD may present with several phenotypes ranging from babies with atypical genitalia or girls with inguinal herniae to boys with micropenis and cryptorchidism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 14-year-old boy with a 46,XY karyotype and persistent breast-3-stage gynecomastia is reported. The reproductive axis was investigated by standard laboratory methods and the androgen receptor (AR) gene was sequenced. Also, a literature review of phenotypes associated with the AR genetic variant p.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMinifascicular neuropathy (MN) is a rare, autosomal recessive disease with prominent structural changes of peripheral nerves. So far, it has been observed in females with a 46,XY karyotype and mutations of the Desert Hedgehog (DHH) gene, thus linking MN to gonadal dysgenesis (GD) and disorders of sex development (DSD). However, a 46,XX proband with normal female sex and gender development underwent clinical evaluations, nerve conduction studies and genetic screening for a severe motor-sensory neuropathy with a pathological phenotype that hinted at MN.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: 46, XY disorders (or differences) of sex development (DSD) are a group of clinical conditions with variable genetic background; correct diagnosis is often difficult, but it permits to optimize the management. The aim of this study is to identify clinical and genetics features of a group of women with 46, XY DSD to define some issues characterizing people with 46, XY DSD in Italy.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of girls and women with 46, XY DSD and female phenotype evaluated between year 2000 and 2016, performed by anonymised database, focusing on the clinical features and management, including presentation, first diagnostic suspect, gonadal surgery and molecular diagnostic delay.
NR5A1 (nuclear receptor subfamily 5 group A member 1) is a transcriptional regulator of adrenal and gonadal development and function. Heterozygous and homozygous NR5A1 mutations have been described in people with 46,XY disorders of sex development (DSD). The clinical, endocrine, and genetic features of four 46,XY subjects with NR5A1 genetic variants (2 sisters, 2 boys) from 3 unrelated families are reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Endocrinol Invest
December 2020
Background: Deficiency of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 3 (17β-HSD3) is a rare autosomal recessive 46,XY disorder of sex development (DSD). It is due to pathogenetic variants in the HSD17B3 gene. Mutated genes encode an abnormal enzyme with absent or reduced ability to convert Δ4-androstenedione (Δ4-A) to testosterone (T) in the fetal testis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlepharophimosis, ptosis, and epicanthus inversus syndrome (BPES) is due to heterozygous intragenic mutations in about 70% of the patients, whereas total or partial gene deletions account for a minority of cases. Alteration of regulatory elements has been rarely described in patients with BPES. In this study, a prepubertal girl with BPES due to a 197-kb de novo deletion of the regulatory elements upstream of is reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFertility remains a challenge for men with 5α-reductase-2 deficiency. Such a diagnosis was made in 2 adult brothers who are compound heterozygous for the 5α-reductase type 2 gene (SRD5A2; c.308G>C; c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In humans, Desert Hedgehog (DHH) gene mutations are a very rare cause of 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis (GD), eventually associated with peripheral neuropathy.
Patients And Methods: Clinical records of 12 patients with 46,XY GD and unknown genetic background were reviewed and a 46,XY woman with peripheral neuropathy was individuated. Her 46,XX sister affected by similar neuropathy was also investigated.
Clinical records (n = 24) with an established diagnosis of 5α-reductase-2 deficiency were reviewed. A previous misdiagnosis was present in about 70% (period from first observation to definitive diagnosis: 9.1 ± 10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Hereditary spastic paraparesis or paraplegias (HSPs) are a group of neurogenetic conditions with prominent involvement of the pyramidal tracts. Aim of this study is the clinical and molecular characterization of a cohort of patients with HSP. Moreover, we aim to study the minimum prevalence of HSP in our area and to propose a schematic diagnostic approach to HSP patients based on the available data from the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Steroidogenic factor 1, encoded by the NR5A1 gene, is a key regulator of endocrine function within the hypothalamic-pituitary-steroidogenic axis. Both homozygous, compound heterozygous and heterozygous mutations in the NR5A1 gene may determine 46,XY disorders of sex development (DSD).
Patients And Methods: NR5A1 gene sequencing was performed in a cohort of 6 patients with 46,XY DSD without specific diagnosis.
Objectives. To demonstrate the feasibility of the prenatal diagnosis of partial androgen insensitivity syndrome by 3D-4D ultrasound. Methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report on seven Iraqi patients with 46,XY karyotype and ambiguous genitalia characterized by perineo-scrotal hypospadias, bifid scrotum, clitoris like phallus, palpable testes in inguinal canal and pseudovagina. Patients were raised five as females and two as males. They are all unrelated with the exception of two couples of brothers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as a primary ovarian defect characterized by absent menarche (primary amenorrhea) or premature depletion of ovarian follicles before the age of 40 (secondary amenorrhea) with hypergonadotropism and hypoestrogenism.
Methods: We studied the clinical, biological, and genetic data related to 50 POI patients with a mean age of menopause of 29 years (94% with secondary amenorrhea, 6% with primary amenorrhea and 15% with a family history of POI). Seventeen patients were affected by endocrine autoimmune diseases, antral follicles were observed in 31 patients by ultrasonography.