Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Assay of Leukocyte Acid α-Glucosidase for Post-Newborn Screening Evaluation of Pompe Disease.

Background: Pompe disease (PD) is the first lysosomal storage disorder to be added to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel for newborn screening. This condition has a broad phenotypic spectrum, ranging from an infantile form (IOPD), with severe morbidity and mortality in infancy, to a late-onset form (LOPD) with variable onset and progressive weakness and respiratory failure. Because the prognosis and treatment options are different for IOPD and LOPD, it is important to accurately determine an individual's phenotype.

Newborn screening for SCID in New York State: experience from the first two years.

Purpose: To describe the process and assess outcomes for the first 2 years of newborn screening for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID NBS) in New York State (NYS).

Methods: The NYS algorithm utilizes a first-tier molecular screen for TRECs (T-cell receptor excision circles), the absence of which is indicative of increased risk of immunodeficiency.

Results: During the first 2 years, 485,912 infants were screened for SCID.

Cost-effective and scalable DNA extraction method from dried blood spots.

Background: Dried blood spot (DBS) samples have been widely used in newborn screening (NBS) for the early identification of disease to facilitate the presymptomatic treatment of congenital diseases in newborns. As molecular genetics knowledge and technology progresses, there is an increased demand on NBS programs for molecular testing and a need to establish reliable, low-cost methods to perform those analyses. Here we report a flexible, cost-efficient, high-throughput DNA extraction method from DBS adaptable to small- and large-scale screening settings.

Prevalence of a loss-of-function mutation in the proton-coupled folate transporter gene (PCFT-SLC46A1) causing hereditary folate malabsorption in Puerto Rico.

Objective: To determine whether subjects of Puerto Rican heritage are at increased risk for a specific mutation of the proton-coupled folate transporter (PCFT) causing hereditary folate malabsorption (HFM).

Study Design: Three percent of the births in Puerto Rico in 2005, with additional regional oversampling, were screened for the prevalence of the c.1082G>A; p.

Development of genomic reference materials for cystic fibrosis genetic testing.

The number of different laboratories that perform genetic testing for cystic fibrosis is increasing. However, there are a limited number of quality control and other reference materials available, none of which cover all of the alleles included in commercially available reagents or platforms. The alleles in many publicly available cell lines that could serve as reference materials have neither been confirmed nor characterized.

The effects of chemical and heat maceration techniques on the recovery of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from bone.

Forensic anthropologists use a number of maceration techniques to facilitate skeletal analysis of personal identity and trauma, but they may unwittingly eliminate valuable DNA evidence in the process. This study evaluated the effect of 10 maceration methods on gross bone structure and the preservation of DNA in ribs of 12 pigs (Sus scrofa). A scoring system was applied to evaluate the ease of maceration and resulting bone quality while DNA purity was quantified by optical densitometry analysis, followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of three mitochondrial and three nuclear loci.