Publications by authors named "L J Blok"

Article Synopsis
  • This study identifies a new type of autosomal recessive intellectual disability linked to genetic variants in the GTF3C3 gene, which is essential for proper RNA polymerase III activity.
  • Researchers employed various methods, including exome sequencing and Drosophila models, to analyze the effects of GTF3C3 variants found in twelve affected individuals from seven families.
  • The results showed that the variants lead to significant functional losses in the gene, correlating with symptoms like intellectual disability, motor issues, seizures, and brain structure abnormalities.
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Genes encoding the KDM5 family of transcriptional regulators are disrupted in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). To understand the link between KDM5 and ID, we characterized five Drosophila strains harboring missense alleles analogous to those observed in patients. These alleles disrupted neuroanatomical development, cognition and other behaviors, and displayed a transcriptional signature characterized by the downregulation of many ribosomal protein genes.

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Objectives: Pregnancy loss, occurring after miscarriage or after gestational trophoblastic disease, has a psychological impact. Besides pregnancy loss, women diagnosed with gestational trophoblastic disease have to deal with a prolonged period of follow-up and potential advice to postpone a future pregnancy. We studied the severity and course of the psychological impact after gestational trophoblastic disease and miscarriage, to identify whether women with gestational trophoblastic disease need different psychological care.

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POU3F3 variants cause developmental delay, behavioral problems, hypotonia and dysmorphic features. We investigated the phenotypic and genetic landscape, and genotype-phenotype correlations in individuals with POU3F3-related disorders. We recruited unpublished individuals with POU3F3 variants through international collaborations and obtained updated clinical data on previously published individuals.

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Objective: Gestational trophoblastic diseases (GTD) comprise a group of rare diseases originating from the trophoblast affecting women of childbearing age. Providing optimal information to patients with a rare disease is challenging because of the small number of patients and limited clinical expertise of many healthcare professionals. Both knowledge and lack of knowledge in patients may influence illness perception.

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