Publications by authors named "Maria I Lopez-Molina"

Objective: To investigate the association between fatigue and clinical and demographic variables in people with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Data Sources: Five databases (MEDLINE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Cochrane, Google Scholar, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health) were searched up to November 2021.

Study Selection: Observational studies that reported the association between fatigue and clinical and demographic variables in English or Spanish were eligible.

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Inner nuclear layer (INL) microcysts have been reported in diseases affecting the optic nerve. The new ocular imaging techniques detect minimal structural alterations at the macula and correlate these findings to different etiologies with less invasive procedures. The relationship between ganglion cells distribution at the macula and chiasmal nerve fibers enables the diagnosis and location of neurological lesions by new generation optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) imaging devices.

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Inherited syndromic retinopathies are a highly heterogeneous group of diseases that involve retinal anomalies and systemic manifestations. They include retinal ciliopathies, other well-defined clinical syndromes presenting with retinal alterations and cases of non-specific multisystemic diseases. The heterogeneity of these conditions makes molecular and clinical characterization of patients challenging in daily clinical practice.

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Background: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the most common form of inherited retinal dystrophy, with a worldwide prevalence of 1 in 4000 persons. While in most cases of RP, the disease is limited to the eye (non-syndromic), over 40 forms of syndromic RP have been described.

Objectives: To identify the genetic basis for syndromic RP in three unrelated families from Israel and Spain.

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Purpose: The aim was to determine the prevalence of PRPF31 mutations in a cohort of Spanish autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) families to deepen knowledge of the pathogenic mechanisms underlying the disease and to assess genotype-phenotype correlations.

Methods: A cohort of 211 adRP patients was screened for variants in PRPF31 by using a combined strategy comprising next-generation sequencing approaches and copy-number variation (CNV) analysis. Quantitative RT-PCR and CNV analysis of the regulatory MSR1 element were also performed to assess PRPF31 gene expression.

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Choroideremia (CHM) is a rare X-linked disease leading to progressive retinal degeneration resulting in blindness. The disorder is caused by mutations in the CHM gene encoding REP-1 protein, an essential component of the Rab geranylgeranyltransferase (GGTase) complex. In the present study, we evaluated a multi-technique analysis algorithm to describe the mutational spectrum identified in a large cohort of cases and further correlate CHM variants with phenotypic characteristics and biochemical defects of choroideremia patients.

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Importance: This research is the single largest NR2E3 genotype-phenotype correlation study performed to date in autosomal dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyse the frequency of the p.Gly56Arg mutation in NR2E3 for the largest cohort of autosomal dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa patients to date and its associated phenotype.

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Inherited retinal dystrophies present extensive phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity, posing a challenge for patients' molecular and clinical diagnoses. In this study, we wanted to clinically characterize and investigate the molecular etiology of an atypical form of autosomal recessive retinal dystrophy in two consanguineous Spanish families. Affected members of the respective families exhibited an array of clinical features including reduced visual acuity, photophobia, defective color vision, reduced or absent ERG responses, macular atrophy and pigmentary deposits in the peripheral retina.

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This study aimed to identify the genetics underlying dominant forms of inherited retinal dystrophies using whole exome sequencing (WES) in six families extensively screened for known mutations or genes. Thirty-eight individuals were subjected to WES. Causative variants were searched among single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and insertion/deletion variants (indels) and whenever no potential candidate emerged, copy number variant (CNV) analysis was performed.

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Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of progressive inherited retinal dystrophies that cause visual impairment as a result of photoreceptor cell death. RP is heterogeneous, both clinically and genetically making difficult to establish precise genotype-phenotype correlations. In a Spanish family with autosomal recessive RP (arRP), homozygosity mapping and whole-exome sequencing led to the identification of a homozygous mutation (c.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Out of 59 families analyzed, 31 candidate variants were identified, with 17 mutations determined to be causative of RP; 64% of these mutations were newly discovered.
  • * The findings not only classified 16 families based on mutations detected (27% success rate), but also provided insights into genetic reclassification of some cases, highlighting the effectiveness of NGS in studying retinal dystrophies.
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Background: Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase (PRS) I deficiency is a rare medical condition caused by missense mutations in PRPS1 that lead to three different phenotypes: Arts Syndrome (MIM 301835), X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMTX5, MIM 311070) or X-linked non-syndromic sensorineural deafness (DFN2, MIM 304500). All three are X-linked recessively inherited and males affected display variable degree of central and peripheral neuropathy. We applied whole exome sequencing to a three-generation family with optic atrophy followed by retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in all three cases, and ataxia, progressive peripheral neuropathy and hearing loss with variable presentation.

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Importance: A new statistical approach is needed to describe the clinical differences between type I and type II Usher syndrome and between the 2 most frequent mutations in the USH2A gene.

Objectives: To describe the primary phenotypic characteristics and differences between type I and type II Usher syndrome and to establish a phenotype-genotype correlation for the 2 most frequent mutations in the USH2A gene.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cross-sectional study at a genetics department, in which clinical evaluations were performed for 433 patients (297 unrelated families) who were classified as having type I, II, III, atypical, or unclassified Usher syndrome according to their clinical history, pedigree data, results from ophthalmological studies, and audiological, neurophysiological, and vestibular test results.

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to deepen our knowledge on the basis of intrafamilial genetic heterogeneity of inherited retinal dystrophies (RD) to further discern the contribution of individual alleles to the pathology.

Methods: Families with intrafamilial locus and/or allelic heterogeneity were selected from a cohort of 873 characterized of 2468 unrelated RD families. Clinical examination included visual field assessments, electrophysiology, fundus examination, and audiogram.

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Objective: To identify the genetic causes underlying autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) and to describe the associated phenotype.

Design: Case series.

Participants: Three hundred forty-seven unrelated families affected by arRP and 33 unrelated families affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP) plus noncongenital and progressive hearing loss, ataxia, or both, respectively.

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Objective: We aimed to identify novel genetic defects in the LCA5 gene underlying Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) in the Spanish population and to describe the associated phenotype.

Design: Case series.

Participants: A cohort of 217 unrelated Spanish families affected by autosomal recessive or isolated retinal dystrophy, that is, 79 families with LCA and 138 families with early-onset retinitis pigmentosa (EORP).

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers found two new mutations in a gene called GUCA1A, which is linked to a type of eye disease that affects vision in families from Spain.
  • They studied multiple family members to understand how these mutations are connected to their vision problems and used advanced technology to screen for mutations.
  • The scientists think these mutations might cause the disease by affecting how the GUCA1A protein works, and they believe this could be a common reason for similar eye diseases in other people.
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