Mutations in KCNH1 and ATP6V1B2 cause Zimmermann-Laband syndrome.

Zimmermann-Laband syndrome (ZLS) is a developmental disorder characterized by facial dysmorphism with gingival enlargement, intellectual disability, hypoplasia or aplasia of nails and terminal phalanges, and hypertrichosis. We report that heterozygous missense mutations in KCNH1 account for a considerable proportion of ZLS. KCNH1 encodes the voltage-gated K(+) channel Eag1 (Kv10.

Homozygous truncating PTPRF mutation causes athelia.

Athelia is a very rare entity that is defined by the absence of the nipple-areola complex. It can affect either sex and is mostly part of syndromes including other congenital or ectodermal anomalies, such as limb-mammary syndrome, scalp-ear-nipple syndrome, or ectodermal dysplasias. Here, we report on three children from two branches of an extended consanguineous Israeli Arab family, a girl and two boys, who presented with a spectrum of nipple anomalies ranging from unilateral hypothelia to bilateral athelia but no other consistently associated anomalies except a characteristic eyebrow shape.

A new large deletion in the DFNB1 locus causes nonsyndromic hearing loss.

Mutations in the GJB2 gene encoding the gap junction protein connexin 26 are responsible for up to 30% of all cases of autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment (HI) with prelingual onset in most populations. The corresponding locus DFNB1, located on chromosome 13q11-q12, is also affected by three distinct deletions. These deletions extended distally to GJB2, which remains intact.

Dissecting the molecular mechanisms in craniofrontonasal syndrome: differential mRNA expression of mutant EFNB1 and the cellular mosaic.

Craniofrontonasal syndrome (CFNS) is an X-linked malformation syndrome with variable phenotype that is caused by mutations in the ephrin-B1 gene (EFNB1). Over 50% of EFNB1 mutations result in premature termination codons that may elicit mRNA degradation by the nonsense-mediated decay pathway. To assess the effects of various mutations at the transcript level, expression of EFNB1 mRNA was studied by RT-PCR in fibroblast cultures established from CFNS female patients.

New cases of Bohring-Opitz syndrome, update, and critical review of the literature.

We report on four additional unrelated cases of Bohring-Opitz syndrome with the highly characteristic phenotype of facial anomalies including bulging forehead over the metopic suture, frontal nevus flammeus, exophthalmos, hypertelorism, upslanting palpebral fissures, and cleft lip and/or palate, as well as flexion deformities of the upper limbs, multiple other anomalies, and severe failure to thrive. We also update the clinical outcome of the patients reported in the original article by Bohring et al. [Am J Med Genet 85:438-446] and critically review the subsequently published cases considered to have Bohring-Opitz syndrome.

Prospective, double-blind, randomized trial of equimolar mixture of nitrous oxide/oxygen to prevent pain induced by insertion of venous access ports in cancer patients.

Background: To assess the efficacy of equimolar mixture of nitrous oxide/oxygen (EMNO) to prevent pain induced by venous access ports (VAPs) implantation in cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: In a randomized, double-blind study on an adult population not knowing the effects of EMNO, cancer patients were randomly assigned to breath via a facial mask, EMNO or a placebo mixture comprising 50% oxygen and 50% nitrogen. The primary end-point was the patients' assessment of the severity of pain evaluated using a visual analog scale (VAS, 0 to 100) and the proportion of patients suffering pain in each group.

Twenty-six novel EFNB1 mutations in familial and sporadic craniofrontonasal syndrome (CFNS).

Craniofrontonasal syndrome (CFNS) is an X-linked disorder characterized by a more severe manifestation in heterozygous females than in hemizygous males. Heterozygous females have craniofrontonasal dysplasia (CFND) and occasionally extracranial manifestations including midline defects and skeletal abnormalities, whereas hemizygous males show no or only mild features such as hypertelorism and rarely show cleft lip or palate. Mutations in the EFNB1 gene in Xq12 are responsible for familial and sporadic CFNS.