In a Hawaii Hereditary Anemia Screening Project, 4,984 participants were tested for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency by a filter paper blood spot fluorescence test. Abnormal samples and suspected heterozygotes were checked by quantitative G6PD assay (normal 4.5 to 14 units/g Hb).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHomozygous alpha-thalassemia [alpha-thal-1], with loss of all four alpha-globin genes, causes lethal hydrops fetalis. The most common mutation producing this syndrome is the Southeast Asian (--SEA) double alpha-globin gene deletion. Erythrocytes from adults heterozygous for the (--SEA) deletion have minute amounts of embryonic zeta-globin chains detectable by anti-zeta-globin monoclonal antibodies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSequence analysis has been performed on the DNA of 13 glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient males from Hawaii, 6 of Filipino, 6 of Laotian, and 1 of Chinese extraction. Four different mutations were found: A-->T at cDNA nt 835, G-->A at nt 871, C-->T at nt 1360, and G-->A at nt 1388. The mutations at nt 835 and nt 1360 have not been described previously, and the latter, in particular, appears to be relatively common.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA transcatheter double-blade valvotome for cutting a stenotic pulmonary valve has been devised. The valvotome consists of a retractable rhomboid structure at its tip, with a blade on each side of its proximal half. By tugging the extended blades from the pulmonary artery to the right ventricle it is possible to tear the stenotic valve.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe differential diagnosis of microcytic anemias in Hawaii presents special problems because of the hereditary anemias prevalent in its large Asian subpopulations. Both the alpha- and beta-thalassemias are important because of morbidity and mortality. Heterozygous carriers for either type mimic iron deficiency, which may lead to inappropriate work-up or treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrachmann-de Lange syndrome is a congenital disorder of uncertain cause characterized by severe mental retardation, small stature, microbrachycephaly, hirsutism, limb deformities, and characteristic facies. Although more than 300 neonatal cases have been reported, a lack of specific fetal markers has precluded successful antepartum diagnosis. We describe a case of Brachmann-de Lange syndrome identified at 15 weeks' gestation by a low maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) value.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHaemoglobin H/Constant Spring is an important cause of severe haemoglobin H disease, but the Constant Spring protein is difficult to detect by electrophoresis. A technique for allele specific polymerase chain amplification of the 3'-end of the alpha 2 globin gene improved detection of the alpha cs alpha haemoglobin variant in DNA samples by slot-blot hybridisation. The alpha cs alpha mutation was confirmed in subjects that had been previously diagnosed by haemoglobin electrophoresis, and it was also detected in patients who were negative by protein electrophoresis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMedicine (Baltimore)
January 1989
We present a 6-generation kindred of over 221 members, 43 of whom were affected with von Hippel-Lindau (vHL) disease. Through a simple screening protocol, we diagnosed vHL retrospectively in 15 cases, and for the first time in 28, 11 of whom were presymptomatic. We found many complications of vHL in previously diagnosed relatives and in new cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDetails are presented of analyses of hemoglobins in blood samples from four newborn babies with hydrops fetalis using reversed phase and anion exchange high performance liquid chromatographic methodology. Three were homozygous for the alpha-thalassemia-1 (SEA) deletion, and one was a compound heterozygote for the same deletion and the larger alpha-thalassemia-1 (Fil) deletion. All four babies had beta, G gamma, A gamma, and zeta chains; these chains were present in Hb Bart's or gamma 4, Hb Portland-I (zeta 2 gamma 2), and Hb Portland-II (zeta 2 beta 2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe attitudes toward screening and prenatal diagnosis for the hemoglobinopathies Hb E and alpha-thalassemia, prevalent in Southeast Asia, it were studied in Southeast Asians living in Hawaii. Since May 1985, one Laotian and two Filipino Outreach Workers were trained to make home visits to educate and recruit prospective subjects for a federally-funded thalassemia screening project. Volunteers over age 18 were interviewed to assess their comprehension about thalassemia and their attitudes toward screening, family planning, and prenatal diagnosis using structured questionnaires to measure subjective responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn screening families for alpha-thalassemia (thal) by the Southern blot technique, several Laotian families were found which had anomalous zeta-globin haplotypes. The zeta-globin genes encode alpha-like embryonic hemoglobin subunits in the alpha-globin multigene complex on chromosome 16. There are normally two zeta-globin genes in this cluster: 5' zeta 2 and 3' psi zeta 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrom May 1985 to October 1987, 1,564 Southeast Asians living in Hawaii were screened for hereditary anemias. Microcytosis was determined by electronic red cell indices and morphology; iron deficiency was ruled out by normal red cell distribution width and normal protoporphyrin levels; Hb E was determined by electrophoresis; beta-thalassemia (thal) heterozygotes were identified by raised Hb A2 on column chromatography. alpha-Thalassemia heterozygotes were diagnosed by exclusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVon Hippel Lindau disease (vHL), an autosomal dominant precancerous condition, had segregated in a large kindred. Fourteen relatives were known to have been affected; record reviews disclosed features of vHL in 15 previously undiagnosed relatives; presymptomatic evaluations detected vHL in 13 additional members of this kindred. Altogether, among 220 descendants of an ancestral couple, 41 had vHL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Psychiatry
November 1981
During the past 15 years a number of new symptoms, rarely seen in the past, have been observed with increasing frequency among Chinese schizophrenic patients. The authors identify the following symptoms: discordant (dissociative) syndrome, denial of lineage, delusion of leadership lineage, delusion of being married, child-bearing delusion, delusion of being despised, delusion of imminent catastrophe, delusion of influence, inferential delusion, delusion of being experimented on, delusion of conducting an experiment, delusion of being cultivated by superiors, delusion of being tested, delusion of being examined, delusion of impending arrest, delusion of being slandered, mirror symptom, and syndrome of changing dialects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThree biotin-dependent enzymes, pyruvate carboxylase (PC), propionyl CoA carboxylase (PCC), and beta-methylcrotonyl CoA carboxylase (beta MCC), were biochemically characterized in fibroblasts from two patients with neonatal multiple carboxylase deficiency. Genetic complementation analyses indicated that both cell lines, designated lines 1 and 2, were deficient in the various carboxylase activities and belonged to the bio complementation group. The activities of the three carboxylases became normal when line 2 cells were incubated in medium supplemented with biotin (1 mg/l) for 24 hrs, whereas 4-6 days were required to achieve maximum activities of PC, PCC, and beta MCC (57%, 46%, and 29% of mean normal enzyme activity, respectively) in line 1 cells incubated in medium containing up to 10 mg/1 biotin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultiple carboxylase deficiency is characterized by deficient activities of three biotin-dependent enzymes, propionyl coenzyme A carboxylase, pyruvate carboxylase, and beta-methylcrotonyl coenzyme A carboxylase. A newborn infant was seen with metabolic ketoacidosis, hyperammonemia, organic aciduria, seizures, and coma. Multiple carboxylase deficiency was subsequently confirmed by enzyme activity determinations in his peripheral blood leukocytes and cultured skin fibroblasts.
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