Background: Primary congenital hypothyroidism (CH) affects about 1:3000 newborns worldwide and is mainly caused by defects in thyroid gland development (thyroid dysgenesis [TD]) or hormone synthesis. A genetic cause is identified in <10% of TD patients. The aim was to identify novel candidate genes in patients with TD using next-generation sequencing tools.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Somatotropinoma, a pituitary adenoma characterised by excessive production of growth hormone (GH), is extremely rare in childhood. A genetic defect is evident in some cases; known genetic changes include: multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1); Carney complex; McCune-Albright syndrome; and, more recently identified, aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP). We describe seven children with somatotropinoma with a special focus on the differences between genetic and sporadic forms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThyroid transcription factor 1 (NKX2-1/TITF1) mutations cause brain-lung-thyroid syndrome, characterized by congenital hypothyroidism (CH), infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS) and benign hereditary chorea (BHC). The objectives of the present study were (i) detection of NKX2-1 mutations in patients with CH associated with pneumopathy and/or BHC, (ii) functional analysis of new mutations in vitro and (iii) description of the phenotypic spectrum of brain-lung-thyroid syndrome. We identified three new heterozygous missense mutations (L176V, P202L, Q210P), a splice site mutation (376-2A-->G), and one deletion of NKX2-1 at 14q13.
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