Publications by authors named "Lucia Corrado"

Background/objectives: Axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 (CMT2) accounts for 24% of Hereditary Motor/Sensory Peripheral Neuropathies. CMT2 type GG, due to four distinct heterozygous mutations in the Golgi brefeldin A resistant guanine nucleotide exchange factor 1 () gene (OMIM 606483), was described in seven cases from four unrelated families with autosomal dominant inheritance. It is characterized by slowly progressive distal muscle weakness and atrophy, primarily affecting the lower limbs.

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  • Repeat expansions in the C9orf72 gene are a leading genetic cause of ALS and frontotemporal dementia, but understanding how this mutation causes neuron death is still unclear, complicating the search for effective therapies.
  • Researchers analyzed data from over 41,000 ALS and healthy samples to identify potential treatments, discovering that acamprosate, a drug used for other conditions, might be repurposed for C9orf72-related diseases.
  • Their findings demonstrated that acamprosate has neuroprotective properties in cell models and works similarly well as the current treatment, riluzole, showing the potential of using genomic data to find new drug applications.
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Mutations in the 43 kDa transactive-response (TAR)-DNA-binding protein () are associated with 2-5% of familial Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) cases. TAR DNA-Binding Protein 43 (TDP-43) is an RNA/DNA-binding protein involved in several cellular mechanisms (e.g.

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Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA)19/22 is a channelopathy caused by mutations in the KCND3 gene encoding for the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv4.3. In the present work, we report an Italian family harboring a novel KCND3 missense mutation characterized by ataxia and mild parkinsonism.

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal dementia (FDT) are progressive neurodegenerative disorders that, in several cases, overlap in clinical presentation, and genetic and pathological disease mechanisms. About 10-15% of ALS cases and up to 40% of FTD are familial, usually with dominant traits. ALS and FTD, in several cases, share common gene mutations, such as in , , , , , , and .

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  • This study investigates how different genetic variants associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) interact and affect the progression of the disease in patients.
  • 1,245 ALS patients and 766 matched controls were analyzed to determine the impact of specific genetic variants on survival rates.
  • The findings suggest that the presence of certain detrimental genetic variants leads to significantly shorter survival times in patients, with specific combinations of alleles resulting in notably decreased longevity.
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  • - The study investigates the clinical and cognitive impact of the rs12608932 variant in the gene on patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), comparing them to a matched control group.
  • - Results showed that those with the C/C genotype had a higher risk of ALS, poorer cognitive performance (notably in tasks related to fluency and social cognition), and a shorter survival time compared to those with A/A + A/C genotypes.
  • - Brain imaging (F-FDG-PET) revealed distinct hypometabolism patterns in the C/C genotype patients, particularly in specific areas of the right hemisphere, suggesting its relevance for better prognostic assessments in ALS.
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Background And Objectives: The ALS diagnosis requires an integrative approach, combining the clinical examination and supporting tests. Nevertheless, in several cases, the diagnosis proves to be suboptimal, and for this reason, new diagnostic methods and novel biomarkers are catching on. The F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG)-PET could be a helpful method, but it still requires additional research for sensitivity and specificity.

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  • - The study focused on 1,330 Italian ALS patients to examine the clinical characteristics of those with an intermediate number of polyQ repeats, identifying 42 patients and 4 controls with ≥31 repeats, which was associated with a significant likelihood ratio of 10.4 compared to non-expansion cases.
  • - Patients with ≥31 polyQ repeats exhibited distinct traits, including a greater tendency for spinal onset, shorter diagnostic delays, and faster progression of symptoms, along with higher instances of cognitive impairment and comorbid frontotemporal dementia.
  • - The findings suggest that ALS patients with these genetic traits experience a more aggressive disease course and shorter survival, highlighting the potential for improved prognostic predictions and refined clinical trial designs in ALS research
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  • A study evaluated the effectiveness of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) as a genetic testing method for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), highlighting its potential to enhance diagnosis and treatment options.
  • Out of 1043 ALS patients, 26.9% received a genetic diagnosis, with a significantly higher rate in those with a family history, and early-onset patients showing even higher mutation rates.
  • The findings support WGS as a standard diagnostic tool for ALS due to its high yield, cost-effectiveness, and ability to review new genetic information as it becomes available.
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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of the upper and lower motor neurons (MNs). About 10% of patients have a family history (familial, fALS); however, most patients seem to develop the sporadic form of the disease (sALS). (Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase-1) is the first studied gene among the ones related to ALS.

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Known multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility variants can only explain half of the disease's estimated heritability, whereas low-frequency and rare variants may partly account for the missing heritability. Thus, here we sought to determine the occurrence of rare functional variants in a large Italian MS multiplex family with five affected members. For this purpose, we combined linkage analysis and next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based whole exome and whole genome sequencing (WES and WGS, respectively).

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive degeneration of the corticospinal motor neurons, which ultimately leads to death. The repeat expansion in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 () represents the most common genetic cause of ALS and it is also involved in the pathogenesis of other neurodegenerative disorders. To offer insights into -mediated pathogenesis, we quantitatively analyzed the proteome of patient-derived primary skin fibroblasts from ALS patients carrying the mutation compared with ALS patients who tested negative for it.

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Importance: Juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare form of ALS characterized by age of symptom onset less than 25 years and a variable presentation.

Objective: To identify the genetic variants associated with juvenile ALS.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this multicenter family-based genetic study, trio whole-exome sequencing was performed to identify the disease-associated gene in a case series of unrelated patients diagnosed with juvenile ALS and severe growth retardation.

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Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a neurological condition characterized by the presence of intracranial calcifications, mainly involving basal ganglia, thalamus, and dentate nuclei. So far, six genes have been linked to this condition: SLC20A2, PDGFRB, PDGFB, and XPR1 inherited as autosomal-dominant trait, while MYORG and JAM2 present a recessive pattern of inheritance. Patients mainly present with movement disorders, psychiatric disturbances, and cognitive decline or are completely asymptomatic and calcifications may represent an occasional finding.

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  • The study aimed to explore the impact of rare genetic variants and assess known ALS genes in an Italian population by sequencing the genomes of 959 ALS patients and 677 healthy controls.
  • Researchers analyzed a specific panel of 40 ALS genes, finding a strong association with certain rare variants, which were the second most common cause of ALS.
  • The findings revealed potential disease-causing variants in 11.9% of patients, enhancing understanding of ALS pathology and highlighting the value of genome sequencing for diagnostics.
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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the motor system. The etiology is still unknown and the pathogenesis remains unclear. ALS is familial in the 10% of cases with a Mendelian pattern of inheritance.

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SHOX haploinsufficiency causes 70-90% of Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) and 2-10% of idiopathic short stature (ISS). Deletions removing the entire gene or enhancers and point mutations in the coding region represent a well-established cause of haploinsufficiency. During diagnostic genetic testing on ISS/LWD patients, in addition to classic SHOX defects, five 5'UTR variants (c.

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  • An amendment to the original paper has been released.
  • The amendment contains updates or changes to the information originally presented.
  • A link to access this amendment is available at the top of the paper.
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