Publications by authors named "Kevin Bowling"

Importance: Cutaneous pyogenic granulomas (PGs) are commonly encountered, benign, vascular tumors, in which epidemiologic factors have been variably reported, in part, due to sample size limitations and a focus on either adult or pediatric patients.

Objective: To assemble a large dataset of pathologically diagnosed PGs across the continuum of age and investigate patterns of PGs by demographic factors, including age, sex, and anatomical location.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective case series included case reports of patients with pathologically confirmed PGs of cutaneous origin reported between April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2020.

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Pathogenic variants in the receptor tyrosine kinase TIE2, encoded by TEK, are known to cause vascular malformations (VMs). In this study, we retrospectively reviewed the deidentified data generated through clinical NGS testing in our laboratory and found 88 VM cases with a total of 107 clinically significant TEK variants. Among those, 23 unique variants at the amino acid level were identified, including five novel (p.

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Article Synopsis
  • Disorders of somatic mosaicism (DoSMs) are rare genetic conditions that occur due to changes in cells after fertilization, and current guidelines for genetic variant interpretation are not well-suited for these disorders.* -
  • The Brain Malformations Variant Curation Expert Panel (BMVCEP) has adapted existing guidelines for brain-related DoSMs, but their applicability to other DoSM types is limited.* -
  • Researchers at Washington University have made modifications to the BMVCEP framework to enhance variant classification for broader DoSMs, which could lead to more accurate diagnoses and better clinical care.*
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  • - Parents of newborns in the NICU found genome sequencing (GS) valuable for decision-making about future care and resolving diagnostic uncertainties.
  • - Most parents accepted the timing of receiving GS results, though they noted the NICU environment could be overwhelming during the process.
  • - Parents indicated that GS did not negatively affect their bonding with their infants and had mixed feelings about guilt related to the results.
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  • Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are often linked to rare genetic variations, yet standard genomic testing misses many clinically relevant variants, prompting the need for alternative analyses like examining "poison exons" (PEs).
  • The study involved curating RNA sequencing data to identify 1937 conserved PE regions relevant to NDDs and analyzing genetic variants across 2999 patients.
  • The researchers discovered six novel relevant variants, mostly in genes associated with epilepsy, demonstrating that including PE analysis can enhance diagnostic yields for NDDs with minimal additional effort.
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  • Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) can be linked to rare genetic variations, but standard genomic testing often misses key variants, particularly those in "poison exons" (PEs), which lead to premature termination of protein production.
  • Researchers analyzed RNA sequencing data and identified 1,937 conserved PE regions to assess the impact of specific genetic variants in NDD cohorts.
  • From nearly 3,000 individuals studied, six previously overlooked variants were found in PE regions that could explain certain NDDs, suggesting that including PE analysis could enhance diagnostic accuracy without significantly increasing the testing burden.
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  • The rise of exome and genome sequencing has led to unexpected genetic findings, particularly in pediatric patients, creating challenges for labs and healthcare providers regarding whether to disclose these incidental findings.
  • A study involving 21 pediatric patients identified 23 non-ACMG-recommended incidental findings, revealing variability in how different research sites handle the return of these results.
  • Although sharing incidental findings can provide insights and benefits to patients, it also poses risks and burdens for healthcare providers, highlighting the need for established guidelines across labs.
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  • * The study analyzed 367 infants and found that 30% had definitive or likely genetic diagnoses, with 14% receiving uncertain results; only 43% of these findings were detected through standard clinical testing.
  • * The findings suggest that genome sequencing is more effective for early genetic diagnosis in infants, especially those with specific physical traits, and the study shows no diagnostic differences among racial/ethnic groups.
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Exome and genome sequencing have proven to be effective tools for the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), but large fractions of NDDs cannot be attributed to currently detectable genetic variation. This is likely, at least in part, a result of the fact that many genetic variants are difficult or impossible to detect through typical short-read sequencing approaches. Here, we describe a genomic analysis using Pacific Biosciences circular consensus sequencing (CCS) reads, which are both long (>10 kb) and accurate (>99% bp accuracy).

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The desire of parents to obtain a genetic diagnosis for their child with intellectual disability and associated symptoms has long been framed as a diagnostic odyssey, an arduous and sometimes perilous journey focused on the goal of identifying a cause for the child's condition. Semi-structured interviews (N = 60) were conducted with parents of children (N = 59, aged 2-24 years) with intellectual disability and/or developmental delay (IDD) who underwent genome sequencing at a single pediatric multispecialty clinic. Interviews were conducted after parents received their child's sequencing result (positive findings, negative findings, or variants of unknown significance).

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Neurodevelopmental disorder with dysmorphic facies and distal limb anomalies (NEDDFL), defined primarily by developmental delay/intellectual disability, speech delay, postnatal microcephaly, and dysmorphic features, is a syndrome resulting from heterozygous variants in the dosage-sensitive bromodomain PHD finger chromatin remodeler transcription factor BPTF gene. To date, only 11 individuals with NEDDFL due to de novo BPTF variants have been described. To expand the NEDDFL phenotypic spectrum, we describe the clinical features in 25 novel individuals with 20 distinct, clinically relevant variants in BPTF, including four individuals with inherited changes in BPTF.

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Purpose: The Alabama Genomic Health Initiative (AGHI) is a state-funded effort to provide genomic testing. AGHI engages two distinct cohorts across the state of Alabama. One cohort includes children and adults with undiagnosed rare disease; a second includes an unselected adult population.

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Harmonization of variant pathogenicity classification across laboratories is important for advancing clinical genomics. The two CLIA-accredited Electronic Medical Record and Genomics Network sequencing centers and the six CLIA-accredited laboratories and one research laboratory performing genome or exome sequencing in the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research Consortium collaborated to explore current sources of discordance in classification. Eight laboratories each submitted 20 classified variants in the ACMG secondary finding v.

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Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and specificity of population-based genomic screening in Alabama.

Methods: The Alabama Genomic Health Initiative (AGHI) has enrolled and evaluated 5369 participants for the presence of pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants using the Illumina Global Screening Array (GSA), with validation of all P/LP variants via Sanger sequencing in a CLIA-certified laboratory before return of results.

Results: Among 131 variants identified by the GSA that were evaluated by Sanger sequencing, 67 (51%) were false positives (FP).

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Purpose Of Review: Identifying pathogenic variation underlying pediatric developmental disease is critical for medical management, therapeutic development, and family planning. This review summarizes current genetic testing options along with their potential benefits and limitations. We also describe results from large-scale genomic sequencing projects in pediatric and neonatal populations with a focus on clinical utility.

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Purpose: To define the clinical characteristics of patients with variants in TCF20, we describe 27 patients, 26 of whom were identified via exome sequencing. We compare detailed clinical data with 17 previously reported patients.

Methods: Patients were ascertained through molecular testing laboratories performing exome sequencing (and other testing) with orthogonal confirmation; collaborating referring clinicians provided detailed clinical information.

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The originally published version of this Article contained errors in Fig. 2. The numbers below the black arrowheads were incorrect; please see incorrect Figure in associated Correction.

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Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA) is a rare polygenic disorder defined by congenital hypoplastic anemia with marked decrease or absence of bone marrow erythroid precursors. Identifying the specific genetic etiology is important for counseling and clinical management. A 6-yr-old boy with a clinical diagnosis of DBA has been followed by our pediatric hematology team since birth.

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Purpose: Clinical sequencing emerging in health care may result in secondary findings (SFs).

Methods: Seventy-four of 6240 (1.2%) participants who underwent genome or exome sequencing through the Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) Consortium received one or more SFs from the original American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) recommended 56 gene-condition pair list; we assessed clinical and psychosocial actions.

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Background: Clinical genome and exome sequencing (CGES) is primarily used to address specific clinical concerns by detecting risk of future disease, clarifying diagnosis, or directing treatment. Additionally, CGES makes possible the disclosure of autosomal recessive and X-linked carrier results as additional secondary findings, and research about the impact of carrier results disclosure in this context is needed.

Methods: Representatives from 11 projects in the clinical sequencing exploratory research (CSER) consortium collected data from their projects using a structured survey.

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Purpose: Clinically relevant secondary variants were identified in parents enrolled with a child with developmental delay and intellectual disability.

Methods: Exome/genome sequencing and analysis of 789 "unaffected" parents was performed.

Results: Pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants were identified in 21 genes within 25 individuals (3.

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Article Synopsis
  • Many genetic causes of developmental delays and intellectual disabilities (DD/ID) are rare and require large-scale DNA sequencing and data sharing for discovery.
  • A collaboration called GeneMatcher identified 13 individuals with protein-altering variants in the MED13 gene, with most mutations being de novo and linked to various developmental issues like autism and speech delays.
  • The study highlights potential pathogenic mutations affecting the MED13 protein's structure, contributing to our understanding of genetic factors involved in DD/ID and associating MED13 with similar disease genes in the CDK8-kinase module.
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Purpose: As massively parallel sequencing is increasingly being used for clinical decision making, it has become critical to understand parameters that affect sequencing quality and to establish methods for measuring and reporting clinical sequencing standards. In this report, we propose a definition for reduced coverage regions and describe a set of standards for variant calling in clinical sequencing applications.

Methods: To enable sequencing centers to assess the regions of poor sequencing quality in their own data, we optimized and used a tool (ExCID) to identify reduced coverage loci within genes or regions of particular interest.

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Background: Psychiatric disorders are multigenic diseases with complex etiology that contribute significantly to human morbidity and mortality. Although clinically distinct, several disorders share many symptoms, suggesting common underlying molecular changes exist that may implicate important regulators of pathogenesis and provide new therapeutic targets.

Methods: We performed RNA sequencing on tissue from the anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens from three groups of 24 patients each diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder, and from 24 control subjects.

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