Two Cases of 6-Pyruvoyl Tetrahydropterin Synthase Deficiency: Case Report and Literature Review.

6-pyruvoyl tetrahydropterin synthase deficiency (PTPSD) is a rare neurometabolic disease that can be diagnosed in newborn screening (NBS) and is part of the family of tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency disorders (BH4Ds). It is essential to diagnose and treat this disease early to prevent permanent neurological damage secondary to this neurotransmitter disorder. We present the first two cases of PTPSD in Romania that were genetically confirmed and treated late.

Copy number variation analysis in 189 Romanian patients with global developmental delay/intellectual disability.

Background: Developmental delay and intellectual disability represent a common pathology in general population, involving about 3% of the pediatric age population, the genetic etiology being often involved. The aim of this study was to determine the clinically relevant copy number variants in patients diagnosed with global developmental delay/intellectual disability in our population, using the chromosomal microarray analysis.

Methods: We analyzed 189 patients diagnosed with global developmental delay/intellectual disability, presented in Clinical Emergency Hospital for Children, Cluj-Napoca.

One Molecule for Mental Nourishment and More: Glucose Transporter Type 1-Biology and Deficiency Syndrome.

Glucose transporter type 1 (Glut1) is the main transporter involved in the cellular uptake of glucose into many tissues, and is highly expressed in the brain and in erythrocytes. Glut1 deficiency syndrome is caused mainly by mutations of the gene, impairing passive glucose transport across the blood-brain barrier. All age groups, from infants to adults, may be affected, with age-specific symptoms.

Diagnostic Usefulness of MLPA Techniques for Recurrent Copy Number Variants Detection in Global Developmental Delay/Intellectual Disability.

Background: Genetic testing has become a standardized practice in the diagnosis of patients with global developmental delay/intellectual disability (GDD/ID). The aim of this study is to observe the frequency of recurrent copy number variations (CNVs) in patients diagnosed with GDD/ID, using MLPA technique.

Methods: A total of 501 paediatric patients with GDD/ID were analysed using SALSA MLPA probemix P245 Microdeletion Syndromes-1A, and the technical steps were performed according to the MRC Holland MLPA general protocol.

Ethnicity-related DMD Genotype Landscapes in European and Non-European Countries.

Objective: Genetic diagnosis and mutation identification are now compulsory for Duchenne (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophies (BMD), which are due to dystrophin () gene mutations, either for disease prevention or personalized therapies. To evaluate the ethnic-related genetic assortments of mutations, which may impact on DMD genetic diagnosis pipelines, we studied 328 patients with DMD and BMD from non-European countries.

Methods: We performed a full DMD mutation detection in 328 patients from 10 Eastern European countries (Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Russia) and 2 non-European countries (Cyprus and Algeria).

A novel common large genomic deletion and two new missense mutations identified in the Romanian phenylketonuria population.

The mutation spectrum for the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene was investigated in a cohort of 84 hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) patients from Romania identified through newborn screening or neurometabolic investigations. Differential diagnosis identified 81 patients with classic PAH deficiency while 3 had tetrahydropterin-cofactor deficiency and/or remained uncertain due to insufficient specimen. PAH-genetic analysis included a combination of Sanger sequencing of exons and exon–intron boundaries, MLPA and NGS with genomic DNA, and cDNA analysis from immortalized lymphoblasts.