Publications by authors named "Kirstine Ravn"

Rett spectrum disorder is a progressive neurological disease and the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability in females. is the major causative gene. In addition, and mutations have been reported in Rett patients, especially with the atypical presentation.

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Background: Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. In more than 95% of females with classic RTT a pathogenic mutation in MECP2 has been identified. This leaves a small fraction of classic cases with other genetic causes.

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Fabry disease is an X- linked inherited lysosomal storage disease caused by mutations in the GLA gene encoding the lysosomal enzyme alpha-galactosidase A (α-Gal A). The possible pathological significance of the D313Y variant in the GLA gene has not been verified and it may be a Fabry variant. Our aim was to elucidate whether the presence of the D313Y variant influenced the α-Gal A activity or resulted in Fabry symptoms or Fabry organ involvement.

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Isolated complex II deficiency is a rare cause of mitochondrial disease and bi-allelic mutations in SDHB have been identified in only a few patients with complex II deficiency and a progressive neurological phenotype with onset in infancy. On the other hand, heterozygous SDHB mutations are a well-known cause of familial paraganglioma/pheochromocytoma and renal cell cancer. Here, we describe two additional patients with respiratory chain deficiency due to bi-allelic SDHB mutations.

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Background: Mutations in the (Required for Meiotic Nuclear Division protein 1) gene have recently been linked to infantile onset mitochondrial disease characterised by multiple mitochondrial respiratory chain defects.

Methods: We summarised the clinical, biochemical and molecular genetic investigation of an international cohort of affected individuals with mutations. In addition, we reviewed all the previously published cases to determine the genotype-phenotype correlates and performed survival analysis to identify prognostic factors.

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Disorders caused by defects in the mitochondrial translation system are clinically and genetically heterogeneous. The elongation phase of mitochondrial protein synthesis requires, among many other components, three nuclear-encoded elongation factors: EFTu (TUFM; 602389), EFTs (TSFM; 604723), and EFG1 (GFM1; 606639). Mutations have been identified in the genes encoding all three elongation factors, and they result in combined respiratory chain deficiencies and severe phenotypes with an early fatal outcome.

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Rett syndrome (RTT) and MECP2 duplication syndrome (MDS) are neurodevelopmental disorders caused by alterations in the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene expression. A relationship between MECP2 loss-of-function mutations and oxidative stress has been previously documented in RTT patients and murine models. To date, no data on oxidative stress have been reported for the MECP2 gain-of-function mutations in patients with MDS.

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Background: The encephalomyopathic mtDNA depletion syndrome with methylmalonic aciduria is associated with deficiency of succinate-CoA ligase, caused by mutations in SUCLA2 or SUCLG1. We report here 25 new patients with succinate-CoA ligase deficiency, and review the clinical and molecular findings in these and 46 previously reported patients.

Patients And Results: Of the 71 patients, 50 had SUCLA2 mutations and 21 had SUCLG1 mutations.

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Recently, two research groups reported that mutations in RMND1 were associated with encephalopathy, elevated lactate, hypotonia, and in some patients seizures or myoclonia in individuals from two consanguineous families. A combined respiratory chain deficiency and a defect in mitochondrial protein translation was found. In this study, we report two siblings who are compound heterozygous for the mutations, c.

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The neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome was first described in 1966 by Andreas Rett, who described girls with loss of speech and hand use displaying characteristic hand stereotypies. Since then, the disease has been linked to mutations in the gene MECP2. However, the basis of the diagnosis is still clinical as defined by the latest clinical criteria as proposed by Neul and colleagues in 2010.

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Background/purpose: Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects mainly females; it results in multiple disabilities and carries a risk of medical comorbidities. Early diagnosis is important to help establish the best treatment opportunities and preventive care in order to slow down the progression of symptoms. We wanted to test our hypothesis that it is possible to diagnose RTT before the classical symptoms become obvious.

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The most common clinical phenotype caused by a mtDNA mutation in complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain is Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. We report a family with a novel maternally inherited homoplasmic mtDNA m.4087A>G mutation in the ND1 gene (MT-ND1) associated with isolated myopathy, recurrent episodes of myoglobinuria, and rhabdomyolysis.

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Background: We investigated a subject with an isolated cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency presenting with an unusual phenotype characterised by neuropathy, exercise intolerance, obesity, and short stature.

Methods And Results: Blue-native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN-PAGE) analysis showed an almost complete lack of COX assembly in subject fibroblasts, consistent with the very low enzymatic activity, and pulse-labelling mitochondrial translation experiments showed a specific decrease in synthesis of the COX1 subunit, the core catalytic subunit that nucleates assembly of the holoenzyme. Whole exome sequencing identified compound heterozygous mutations (c.

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3-methylglutaconic aciduria (3-MGA-uria) is a nonspecific finding associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, including defects of oxidative phosphorylation. 3-MGA-uria is classified into five groups, of which one, type IV, is genetically heterogeneous. Here we report five children with a form of type IV 3-MGA-uria characterized by cataracts, severe psychomotor regression during febrile episodes, epilepsy, neutropenia with frequent infections, and death in early childhood.

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Background: Patients with Rett syndrome (RTT) are at risk of having low bone mass and low-energy fractures.

Methods: We characterized bone metabolism by both bone formation and resorption markers in blood in a RTT population of 61 girls and women and 122 well-matched healthy controls. Levels of N-terminal propeptides of collagen type 1 (P1NP), C-terminal telopeptide cross links (CTX), osteocalcin (OC), and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (B-ALP) were compared between RTT patients and controls in regression models adjusted for BMI, vitamin D status, volumetric bone mineral apparent density of the lumbar spine (vBMAD spine), and femoral neck (vBMAD neck).

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Microscopically visible rearrangements of chromosome 4p includes the two well known abnormalities: partial trisomy 4p, and deletions of the Wolf-Hirschhorn critical regions 1 and 2 (WHSCR 1 and WHSCR2, respectively), which cause well-defined phenotypes including minor anomalies, and developmental delay/intellectual disability. In contrast small duplications of 4p are rare but with the advent of microarray techniques a few cases have been reported in recent years. Here we describe a 3 Mb duplication at 4p16.

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Interstitial 6q deletions can cause a variable phenotype depending on the size and location of the deletion. 6q14 deletions have been associated with intellectual disability and a distinct pattern of minor anomalies, including upslanted palpebral fissures with epicanthal folds, a short nose with broad nasal tip, anteverted nares, long philtrum, and thin upper lip. In this study we describe two patients with overlapping 6q14 deletions presenting with developmental delay and characteristic dysmorphism.

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Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with one principal phenotype and several distinct, atypical variants (Zappella, early seizure onset and congenital variants). Mutations in MECP2 are found in most cases of classic RTT but at least two additional genes, CDKL5 and FOXG1, can underlie some (usually variant) cases. There is only limited correlation between genotype and phenotype.

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We report on an intellectually disabled girl with a de novo satellited chromosome 10 (10qs) and performed a review of the literature of the non-acrocentric satellited chromosomes (NASC). Satellites and stalks normally occur on the short arms of acrocentric chromosomes; however, the literature cites several reports of satellited non-acrocentric chromosomes, which presumably result from a translocation with an acrocentric chromosome. This is, to our knowledge, the third report of a 10qs chromosome.

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Background: Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked dominant neurodevelopmental disorder, which is usually caused by de novo mutations in the MECP2 gene. More than 70% of the disease causing MECP2 mutations are eight recurrent C to T transitions, which almost exclusively arise on the paternally derived X chromosome. About 10% of the RTT cases have a C-terminal frameshift deletion in MECP2.

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The analysis of X chromosome inactivation (XCI) patterns is a widely used diagnostic tool in clinical practice when investigating X-linked diseases. The most commonly used assay to determine XCI patterns takes advantage of a locus within the androgen receptor (AR) gene. This PCR-based assay relies on two differentially methylated restriction enzyme sites (HpaII) and a polymorphic repeat located within this locus.

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Low bone mass is reported in growth-retarded patients harboring mutations in the X-linked methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene causing Rett syndrome (RTT). We present the first study addressing both bone mineral density (BMD) and bone size in RTT. Our object was to determine whether patients with RTT do have low BMD when correcting for smaller bones by examination with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

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Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) is characterised by prenatal and postnatal growth retardation, dysmorphic facial features, and body asymmetry. In 35-60% of SRS cases the paternally methylated imprinting control region (ICR) upstream of the H19 gene (H19-ICR) is hypomethylated, leading to downregulation of IGF2 and bi-allelic expression of H19. H19 and IGF2 are reciprocally imprinted genes on chromosome 11p15.

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