Publications by authors named "Burren C"

Article Synopsis
  • Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) is a rare genetic disorder that often presents with congenital great toe abnormalities (CBHV), intermittent swelling, and abnormal bone growth.
  • A case report describes a three-month-old girl with CBHV whose condition raised concerns for FOP, but comprehensive genetic testing revealed no typical markers for the disorder.
  • The findings emphasize the importance of CBHV as an early diagnostic sign for FOP, while also suggesting that affected infants should be carefully evaluated and monitored before confirming a diagnosis.
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X-linked acrogigantism (X-LAG) is characterized by extreme tall stature from early childhood resulting from duplication of the gene, in turn resulting in GH excess. Most cases present with pituitary tumors secreting GH and prolactin. Diffuse pituitary hyperplasia is uncommon and normal prolactin is rare.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hypochondroplasia (HCH) is a rare skeletal condition leading to mild short stature, with limited growth reference charts available for affected children.
  • Researchers collected anthropometric data from 188 children diagnosed with HCH across 14 European centers, generating height, weight, and head circumference growth charts using advanced statistical models.
  • The resulting growth charts, which include centiles from 2nd to 98th, are crucial for clinical care, helping to identify other health issues impacting growth and serving as benchmarks for future research trials.
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Objectives: Rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction, autonomic dysregulation (ROHHAD) is a rare syndrome associated with high morbidity and mortality. Diagnosis is often challenging. We describe three cases of ROHHAD with heterogeneous presentations but some consistent clinical features, including hyperprolactinaemia at diagnosis.

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Background: Research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with rare diseases is limited. Few studies compare healthcare throughout the progression of the ongoing pandemic.

Aims: To assess the impact of the pandemic on individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta across two consecutive years, understand what challenges were encountered, and analyse the experience of remote consultation.

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Background: Genomic variants which disrupt splicing are a major cause of rare genetic diseases. However, variants which lie outside of the canonical splice sites are difficult to interpret clinically. Improving the clinical interpretation of non-canonical splicing variants offers a major opportunity to uplift diagnostic yields from whole genome sequencing data.

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Background: Achondroplasia is the most common short-limbed skeletal dysplasia resulting from gain-of-function pathogenic variants in fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 () gene, a negative regulator of endochondral bone formation. Most treatment options are symptomatic, targeting medical complications. Infigratinib is an orally bioavailable, FGFR1-3 selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor being investigated as a direct therapeutic strategy to counteract FGFR3 overactivity in achondroplasia.

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Recently, we reported a case of an infant with neonatal severe under-mineralizing skeletal dysplasia caused by mutations within both alleles of the gene. One mutation results in an in frame stop codon (Rstop) that leads to a truncated, nonfunctional TRPV6 channel, and the second in a point mutation (GR) that, surprisingly, does not affect the Ca permeability of TRPV6. We mimicked the subunit composition of the unaffected heterozygous parent and child by coexpressing the TRPV6 GR and Rstop mutants and combinations with wild type TRPV6.

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Background/objectives: In England, children (0-18 years) with severe, complex and atypical osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) are managed by four centres (Birmingham, Bristol, London, Sheffield) in a 'Highly Specialised Service' (HSS OI); affected children with a genetic origin for their disease that is not in or form the majority of the 'atypical' group, which has set criteria for entry into the service. We have used the data from the service to assess the range and frequency of non-collagen pathogenic variants resulting in OI in a single country.

Methods: Children with atypical OI were identified through the HSS OI service database.

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Objectives: In the context of a lack of national consensus on the benefits of skull base imaging in children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), this study aims to analyse and correlate the clinical symptoms and radiological images of children with severe OI.

Methods: A retrospective case notes and image analysis was carried out on children with complex OI between 2012 and 2018 at a specialist tertiary centre. Data were collected on patient demographic factors, clinical data, imaging findings (presence of Wormian bones, platybasia, basilar impression (McGregor's technique) and basilar invagination (McRae's technique)), and clinical features at the time of imaging.

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Spondylometaphyseal dysplasia with cerebral hypomyelination (SMD-H) is a very rare but distinctive phenotype, unusually combining spondylometaphyseal dysplasia with hypomyelinating leukodystrophy. Recently, SMD-H has been associated with variants confined to a specific intra-genic locus involving Exon 7, suggesting that AIFM1 plays an important role in bone development and metabolism as well as cerebral myelination. Here we describe two further affected boys, one with a novel intronic variant associated with skipping of Exon 7 of AIFM1 and the other a synonymous variant within Exon 7 of AIFM1.

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Unlabelled: Autosomal recessive osteopetrosis (ARO) is rare, involving increased bone density due to defective osteoclast differentiation or function, with several genetic subtypes.

Case: This child with compound heterozygous novel loss-of-function pathogenic variants causing osteoclast-poor ARO underwent haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) aged 3.1 years and experienced episodic severe hypercalcaemia over 2.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Gene mutations in CLCN7 can lead to severe conditions like osteopetrosis, neurodegeneration, and lysosomal storage diseases, which have been studied in recent patients.
  • * Researchers evaluated 13 CLCN7 mutations using various techniques, establishing links between lysosomal dysfunction of ClC-7 and severe neurodegeneration in patients.
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Dysosteosclerosis (DOS) is a distinct form of sclerosing bone disease characterized by platyspondyly and progressive osteosclerosis. DOS is genetically heterogeneous. Three causal genes, SLC29A3, CSF1R, and TNFRSF11A are reported.

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Short-rib polydactyly syndromes are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by narrow thorax with short ribs, polydactyly and often other visceral and skeletal malformations. To date there have only been six reported patients with homozygous and compound heterozygous variants in IFT81, causing a short-rib thoracic dysplasia, with, or without, polydactyly (SRTD19: OMIM 617895). IFT81 is a protein integral to the core of the intraflagellar transport complex B (IFT-B), which is involved in anterograde transport in the cilium.

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Objectives Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is characterised by hyperphagia often leading to obesity; a known risk factor for insulin resistance and type 2 (T2) diabetes. We present a prepubertal girl with PWS who developed diabetes. Case presentation Our case was diagnosed with PWS in infancy following investigation for profound central hypotonia and feeding difficulties.

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Article Synopsis
  • The TRPV6 channel is essential for transporting calcium from mother to fetus, and mutations in this channel can lead to severe skeletal dysplasia in infants.
  • A case report describes a female infant with significant skeletal abnormalities detected as early as 20 weeks gestation, who faced a challenging postnatal course, including reliance on ventilation and subsequent cardiac arrest.
  • Genetic testing revealed two TRPV6 variants, and post-mortem examinations showed specific skeletal issues along with some recovery indicators, including improved bone density and changes in rib and long bone structure.
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Brachyolmia is a skeletal dysplasia characterized by short spine-short stature, platyspondyly, and minor long bone abnormalities. We describe 18 patients, from different ethnic backgrounds and ages ranging from infancy to 19 years, with the autosomal recessive form, associated with PAPSS2. The main clinical features include disproportionate short stature with short spine associated with variable symptoms of pain, stiffness, and spinal deformity.

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Background: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is the most common inherited disorder of bone fragility in children, increasing fracture risk 100-fold and can feature dental and facial bone involvement causing additional morbidities.

Aim: To assess the utilisation of tertiary dental services by children and young people with OI attending a supra-regional multi-disciplinary OI service and review of the pathology identified and interventions undertaken.

Design: Case notes review of the current caseload of children and young people (0-18 years) with OI at a large regional OI specialist centre (n = 92).

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Transient receptor potential vanilloid 6 (TRPV6) functions in tetramer form for calcium transport. Until now, TRPV6 has not been linked with skeletal development disorders. An infant with antenatal onset thoracic insufficiency required significant ventilatory support.

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Osteogenesis imperfecta is a hereditary bone dysplasia characterized by bone fragility, deformity, and short stature. Treatment focuses on preventing bone fractures and symptom relief. Pamidronate, a second-generation bisphosphonate drug that minimizes bone loss, is the chosen treatment in osteogenesis imperfecta.

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Summary: This case, presenting with bilateral impalpable testes, illustrates the relevance of a broad differential disorders of sex development case management. It provides new insights on hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and testicular function abnormalities in the multisystem disorder of Lowe syndrome. Lowe syndrome, also known as oculocerebrorenal syndrome, is a rare disorder characterised by eye abnormalities, central nervous system involvement and proximal renal tubular acidosis.

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Unlabelled: To develop consensus on improving the management of patients, we convened an international workshop involving patients, clinicians, and researchers. Key findings included the diagnostic delay and variability in subsequent management with agreement to develop an international natural history study. We now invite other stakeholders to join the partnership.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Two Caucasian girls were diagnosed with type A insulin resistance (IR) in childhood, presenting symptoms like hirsutism, acne, and diabetes, alongside genetic mutations affecting the insulin receptor.
  • - One girl experienced diabetes reemergence and obesity in young adulthood despite initial treatment success, while the other successfully managed her condition with ongoing treatment and maintained a healthy weight.
  • - The cases highlight the importance of screening for insulin receptor mutations in children with abnormal glucose tolerance but normal weight, as they may share features with conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome and premature adrenarche.
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