Publications by authors named "Magoulas P"

Purpose: is one of the most frequently mutated genes in intellectual disability cohorts. Thus, far few adult-aged patients with -related disorder have been described, which limits our understanding of the disease's natural history and our ability to counsel patients and their families.

Methods: Data on patients aged 18+ years with -related disorder were collected through an online questionnaire completed by clinicians and parents.

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  • Clinical genome sequencing (cGS) shows promise in diagnosing rare genetic diseases, especially in underserved populations, with a study examining its effectiveness across high-income and low- and middle-income countries.
  • The iHope program assessed 1,004 individuals and found a 41.4% diagnostic yield, with those from low- and middle-income countries being 1.7 times more likely to receive positive results compared to high-income counterparts.
  • Over 76% of individuals experienced changes in diagnostic evaluation, and around 41% had changes in management strategies, indicating increased access to genomic testing may help reduce healthcare disparities globally.
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  • * The 8th International RASopathies Symposium highlighted global cooperation in clinical care and research, focusing on building diverse patient groups and sharing discoveries to prepare for future interventional trials.
  • * The event included presentations from various stakeholders, including scientists and self-advocates, aimed at bridging knowledge gaps and fostering long-term research and advocacy partnerships to improve health outcomes for those with RASopathies.
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Receiving a genetic diagnosis can be challenging for parents as they learn to cope and adapt to this news. They often experience a myriad of emotions ranging from shock to relief. Yet overwhelmingly, parents report a negative experience with this process.

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Heritable pulmonary artery hypertension (HPAH) is an increasingly recognized type of pulmonary arterial hypertension, in both pediatric and adult population. Intrinsic to hereditary disease, screening for genetic mutations within families is an important component of diagnosis and understanding burden of disease. Recently, consensus guidelines are published for genetic screening in PAH.

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The pediatric to adult healthcare transition (HCT) is a process for individuals with chronic health conditions to gradually shift from a pediatric to an adult-oriented care system. Autonomy and self-management skills required for an individual's HCT readiness can be evaluated through the transition readiness assessment questionnaire (TRAQ). Despite general HCT preparation guidelines, little is known about the HCT experience of individuals with a urea cycle disorder (UCD).

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Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) deficiency disorder (CDD) is caused by heterozygous or hemizygous variants in CDKL5 and is characterized by refractory epilepsy, cognitive and motor impairments, and cerebral visual impairment. CDKL5 has multiple transcripts, of which the longest transcripts, NM_003159 and NM_001037343, have been used historically in clinical laboratory testing. However, the transcript NM_001323289 is the most highly expressed in brain and contains 170 nucleotides at the 3' end of its last exon that are noncoding in other transcripts.

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  • * The seventh International RASopathies Symposium focused on sharing research findings to foster new discoveries and potential therapies for RASopathies.
  • * This year's meeting marked a significant advance as some research is now being used clinically, specifically through the use of Ras/MAPK inhibitors for treating patients.
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Purpose: BRG1/BRM-associated factor (BAF) complex is a chromatin remodeling complex that plays a critical role in gene regulation. Defects in the genes encoding BAF subunits lead to BAFopathies, a group of neurodevelopmental disorders with extensive locus and phenotypic heterogeneity.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 16,243 patients referred for clinical exome sequencing (ES) with a focus on the BAF complex.

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Rapid genomic testing is increasingly used in inpatient settings for diagnostic and treatment purposes. With the expansion of genetic testing in this setting, requests for inpatient genetics consultations have increased. There have been reports of genetic counselors working in inpatient care, though their specific roles are not well described.

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The study aimed to assess baseline stress and coping mechanisms among caregivers of children with RASopathies (i.e., cardiofaciocutaneous and Costello's syndrome) and the impact of attending biennial caregiver conferences.

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Background: Disease severity is important when considering genes for inclusion on reproductive expanded carrier screening (ECS) panels. We applied a validated and previously published algorithm that classifies diseases into four severity categories (mild, moderate, severe, and profound) to 176 genes screened by ECS. Disease traits defining severity categories in the algorithm were then mapped to four severity-related ECS panel design criteria cited by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

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The RASopathies are a group of genetic disorders that result from germline pathogenic variants affecting RAS-mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway genes. RASopathies share RAS/MAPK pathway dysregulation and share phenotypic manifestations affecting numerous organ systems, causing lifelong and at times life-limiting medical complications. RASopathies may benefit from precision medicine approaches.

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Visceral myopathy with abnormal intestinal and bladder peristalsis includes a clinical spectrum with megacystis-microcolon intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome and chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction. The vast majority of cases are caused by dominant variants in ACTG2; however, the overall genetic architecture of visceral myopathy has not been well-characterized. We ascertained 53 families, with visceral myopathy based on megacystis, functional bladder/gastrointestinal obstruction, or microcolon.

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Objective: To expand the clinical spectrum of lysyl-tRNA synthetase () gene-related diseases, which so far includes Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, congenital visual impairment and microcephaly, and nonsyndromic hearing impairment.

Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was performed on index patients from 4 unrelated families with leukoencephalopathy. Candidate pathogenic variants and their cosegregation were confirmed by Sanger sequencing.

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The myelin regulatory factor gene (MYRF) encodes a transcription factor that is widely expressed. There is increasing evidence that heterozygous loss-of-function variants in MYRF can lead to abnormal development of the heart, genitourinary tract, diaphragm, and lungs. Here, we searched a clinical database containing the results of 12,000 exome sequencing studies.

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TRAF7 is a multi-functional protein involved in diverse signaling pathways and cellular processes. The phenotypic consequence of germline TRAF7 variants remains unclear. Here we report missense variants in TRAF7 in seven unrelated individuals referred for clinical exome sequencing.

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By enabling precise genetic diagnosis and treatment there is great potential for inexpensive, accurate, and widely accessible genomic information to transform health care and improve the general well-being of virtually every person. To maximize this potential, approaches to genetic counseling and the role of genetic counselors will need to adapt to fit changing clinical and commercial needs worldwide. This will require overcoming multiple challenges including an inadequate workforce; development and implementation of alternate models of service delivery; integration of new technologies to improve, extend, and expand services; and support for equitable education and counseling among all populations.

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Gorlin-Chaudhry-Moss syndrome (GCMS) is a dysmorphic syndrome characterized by coronal craniosynostosis and severe midface hypoplasia, body and facial hypertrichosis, microphthalmia, short stature, and short distal phalanges. Variable lipoatrophy and cutis laxa are the basis for a progeroid appearance. Using exome and genome sequencing, we identified the recurrent de novo mutations c.

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Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are ubiquitous cofactors essential to various cellular processes, including mitochondrial respiration, DNA repair, and iron homeostasis. A steadily increasing number of disorders are being associated with disrupted biogenesis of Fe-S clusters. Here, we conducted whole-exome sequencing of patients with optic atrophy and other neurological signs of mitochondriopathy and identified 17 individuals from 13 unrelated families with recessive mutations in FDXR, encoding the mitochondrial membrane-associated flavoprotein ferrodoxin reductase required for electron transport from NADPH to cytochrome P450.

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Importance: While congenital malformations and genetic diseases are a leading cause of early infant death, to our knowledge, the contribution of single-gene disorders in this group is undetermined.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic yield and use of clinical exome sequencing in critically ill infants.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Clinical exome sequencing was performed for 278 unrelated infants within the first 100 days of life who were admitted to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas, during a 5-year period between December 2011 and January 2017.

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