Publications by authors named "Leila Kushan-Wells"

Background: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22qDel) is a copy number variant that is associated with psychosis and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Adolescents who are at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) are identified based on the presence of subthreshold psychosis symptoms.

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Article Synopsis
  • Genetic copies at the 22q11.2 locus can lead to a higher risk of neuropsychiatric disorders and immune issues, with inflammation profiles potentially linking immune dysfunction to psychiatric symptoms.
  • The study involved analyzing blood samples from 22q11.2 deletion and duplication carriers along with control participants to examine their inflammatory markers and assess relationships with psychosis risk and sleep disturbances.
  • Results showed that 22qDup carriers had significantly higher IL-8 levels compared to typically developing controls, with some differences noted between 22qDup and 22qDel carriers, but no other significant inflammatory marker differences were found.
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The 22q11.2 locus contains genes critical for brain development. Reciprocal Copy Number Variations (CNVs) at this locus impact risk for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.

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Rare genetic variants that confer large effects on neurodevelopment and behavioral phenotypes can reveal novel gene-brain-behavior relationships relevant to autism. Copy number variation at the 22q11.2 locus offer one compelling example, as both the 22q11.

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The 22q11.2 locus contains genes critical for brain development. Reciprocal Copy Number Variations (CNVs) at this locus impact risk for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.

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Background: The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22qDel) is a genetic copy number variant that strongly increases risk for schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Disrupted functional connectivity between the thalamus and the somatomotor/frontoparietal cortex has been implicated in cross-sectional studies of 22qDel, idiopathic schizophrenia, and youths at clinical high risk for psychosis.

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Rare genetic variants that confer large effects on neurodevelopment and behavioral phenotypes can reveal novel gene-brain-behavior relationships relevant to autism. Copy number variation at the 22q11.2 locus offer one compelling example, as both the 22q11.

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Background: Sleep disturbance is common, impairing, and may affect symptomatology in developmental neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we take a genetics-first approach to study the complex role of sleep in psychopathology. Specifically, we examine severity of sleep disturbance in individuals with a reciprocal copy number variant (CNV) at the 22q11.

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Background: Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder caused by the absence of expression of the paternal copies of maternally imprinted gene(s) located at 15q11-q13. While the physical and medical characteristics of PWS, including short stature, hyperphagia and endocrine dysfunction are well-characterized, systematic investigation of the long-recognized psychiatric manifestations has been recent.

Methods: Here, we report on the first remote (web-based) assessment of neurobehavioral traits, including psychosis-risk symptoms (Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief Version; PQ-B) and sleep behaviors (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), in a cohort of 128 participants with PWS, of whom 48% had a paternal deletion, 36% uniparental disomy, 2.

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22q11.2 reciprocal copy number variants (CNVs) offer a powerful quasi-experimental "reverse-genetics" paradigm to elucidate how gene dosage (i.e.

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22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) results from a hemizygous deletion that typically spans 46 protein-coding genes and is associated with widespread alterations in brain morphology. The specific genetic mechanisms underlying these alterations remain unclear.

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Background: 22q11.2 deletions and duplications are copy number variations (CNVs) that predispose to developmental neuropsychiatric disorders. Both CNVs are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), while the deletion confers disproportionate risk for schizophrenia.

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Recurrent, de novo, meiotic non-allelic homologous recombination events between low copy repeats, termed LCR22s, leads to the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS; velo-cardio-facial syndrome/DiGeorge syndrome).

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Background: The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS; DiGeorge syndrome/velocardiofacial syndrome) occurs in 1 of 4000 live births, and 60% to 70% of affected individuals have congenital heart disease, ranging from mild to severe.

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Reciprocal chromosomal rearrangements at the 22q11.2 locus are associated with elevated risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. The 22q11.

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