Publications by authors named "Malak A Alghamdi"

Myoclonus-dystonia syndrome (MDS, OMIM #159900) is an autosomal-dominant movement disorder caused by heterozygous variants in the epsilon sarcoglycan gene (SGCE) and characterized by a combination of myoclonic jerks, dystonia, and psychiatric comorbidities. Patients with MDS have a normal life expectancy with markedly reduced quality of life. Here, we report four family members diagnosed with MDS of variable severity due to a novel heterozygous splicing variant in SGCE (c.

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Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism resulting from a deficiency of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). If untreated by dietary restriction of phenylalanine intake, impaired postnatal cognitive development results from the neurotoxic effects of excessive phenylalanine (Phe). Signs and symptoms include severe intellectual disability and behavior problems with a high frequency of seizures and variable microcephaly.

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Article Synopsis
  • AADC deficiency is a rare genetic disorder that impacts the production of neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and serotonin, diagnosed via CSF/plasma analysis, AADC activity measurement, and genetic testing for the DDC gene.
  • In a study involving 348 patients, researchers identified 26 new DDC variants and analyzed their prevalence, finding that a specific splice variant, c.714+4A>T, was the most common, particularly prevalent in Taiwan and China.
  • The majority of identified genotypes were classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic, with only one benign variant reported, and most AADC protein variants impacted protein function significantly based on their structural characteristics.*
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Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency is a rare inherited neurometabolic disorder that can lead to severe physical and developmental impairment. This report includes 16 patients from the Middle East and is the largest series of patients with confirmed AADC deficiency from this region reported to date. The patients displayed a range of signs and symptoms at presentation and almost all failed to reach major motor milestones.

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Background: Primary hyperoxalurias (PHs) constitute rare disorders resulting in abnormal glyoxalate metabolism. PH-associated phenotypes range from progressive nephrocalcinosis and/or recurrent urolithiasis to early kidney failure.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted for patients with confirmed PH diagnoses from three tertiary centers in Saudi Arabia.

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Purpose: Pathogenic variants in genes encoding ubiquitin E3 ligases are known to cause neurodevelopmental syndromes. Additional neurodevelopmental disorders associated with the other genes encoding E3 ligases are yet to be identified.

Methods: Chromosomal analysis and exome sequencing were used to identify the genetic causes in 10 patients from 7 unrelated families with syndromic neurodevelopmental, seizure, and movement disorders and neurobehavioral phenotypes.

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Importance: Hypermanganesemia with dystonia type 2 is a rare autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of previously acquired milestones, dystonia, parkinsonian features, a high serum manganese level, and characteristic neuroimaging findings such as bilateral and symmetrically increased T1 and decreased T2/fluid-attenuated inversion recovery signal intensity in the basal ganglia. This condition is secondary to a mutation in the gene.

Objective: To present a series of three cases of hypermanganesemia with dystonia type 2, which was genetically confirmed secondary to a mutation in the gene, and to describe the treatment and clinical course in these cases.

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Background: Pulmonary hypoplasia, Diaphragmatic anomalies, Anophthalmia/microphthalmia and Cardiac defects delineate the PDAC syndrome. We aim to identify the cause of PDAC syndrome in patients who do not carry pathogenic variants in and , which have been previously associated with this disorder.

Methods: We sequenced the exome of patients with unexplained PDAC syndrome and performed functional validation of candidate variants.

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Purpose: We sought to describe a disorder clinically mimicking cystic fibrosis (CF) and to elucidate its genetic cause.

Methods: Exome/genome sequencing and human phenotype ontology data of nearly 40 000 patients from our Bio/Databank were analysed. RNA sequencing of samples from the nasal mucosa from patients, carriers and controls followed by transcriptome analysis was performed.

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Article Synopsis
  • SCOT deficiency is an inherited metabolic condition resulting from mutations in the OXCT1 gene, leading to symptoms like recurrent ketoacidosis, with a specific focus on patients with the homozygous p.R468C mutation.
  • A study of 17 patients revealed variability in symptoms and outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic individuals to those experiencing severe episodes, despite all patients receiving similar dietary management and carnitine supplementation.
  • Findings indicate that management strategies may need reconsideration as there was no strong link between dietary restrictions and patient outcomes, highlighting the need for further research with a larger, more diverse patient group.
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Background: Burnout is a workplace phenomenon and is high among healthcare workers, particularly physicians. It brings in significant negative impact on patient care and physicians. Considerable number of studies have highlighted burnout issues on residents of other specialties; however, scarcity of data exist on burnout among family medicine residents.

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Purpose: Within this study, we aimed to discover novel gene-disease associations in patients with no genetic diagnosis after exome/genome sequencing (ES/GS).

Methods: We followed two approaches: (1) a patient-centered approach, which after routine diagnostic analysis systematically interrogates variants in genes not yet associated to human diseases; and (2) a gene variant centered approach. For the latter, we focused on de novo variants in patients that presented with neurodevelopmental delay (NDD) and/or intellectual disability (ID), which are the most common reasons for genetic testing referrals.

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Central hypothyroidism might be another clinical sign of SSADH deficiency which prompts urinary organic acid screening for GHB in central hypothyroidism patients. Studies on GABA and thyroid hormone interaction might be a concept of a new therapy.

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STING-associated vasculopathy of infantile-onset (SAVI) is one of the newly identified types of interferonopathies. SAVI is caused by heterozygous gain-of-function mutations in the . We herein report for the first time a homozygous variant in the in two siblings that resulted in constitutive activation of gene and the SAVI phenotype.

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Congenital myopathies include a wide range of genetically determined disorders characterized by muscle weakness that usually manifest shortly after birth. To date, two different homozygous loss-of-function variants in the HACD1 gene have been reported to cause congenital myopathy. We identified three patients manifesting with neonatal-onset generalized muscle weakness and motor delay that carried three novel homozygous likely pathogenic HACD1 variants.

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Background: Childhood-onset cardiomyopathy is a heterogeneous group of conditions the cause of which is largely unknown. The influence of consanguinity on the genetics of cardiomyopathy has not been addressed at a large scale.

Methods: To unravel the genetic cause of childhood-onset cardiomyopathy in a consanguineous population, a categorized approach was adopted.

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Aim: To evaluate the quality and accuracy of websites written to the public on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) and assess their readability level.

Methods: Google™, Bing™, and Yahoo™ search engines were searched independently by three researchers in December 2014. Only English-language websites were selected on the basis of predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria.

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Few descriptions of the musculoskeletal system of humans with anencephaly or spina bifida exist in the literature. Even less is published about individuals in which both phenomena occur together, i.e.

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It is usually assumed that Galen is one of the fathers of anatomy and that between the Corpus Galenicum and the Renaissance there was no major advance in anatomical knowledge. However, it is also consensually accepted that Muslim scholars had the intellectual leadership from the 8th/9th to 13th centuries, and that they made remarkable progresses in numerous scientific fields including medicine. So, how is it possible that they did not contribute to advance human anatomy during that period? According to the dominant view, Muslim scholars exclusively had a passive role: their transmission of knowledge from the Greeks to the West.

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