Publications by authors named "Prontera P"

Prostate cancer (PCa) ranks among the most prevalent malignancies in men, with notable associations to Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome (HBOC) and Lynch Syndrome, both linked to germline likely pathogenetic variant/pathogenetic variant (LPV/PV) in genes involved in DNA repair. Among these genes, BRCA2 in PCa patients is the most frequently altered. Despite progresses, challenges in BRCA carriers detection persist, with a quarter of PCa cases lacking family history.

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Article Synopsis
  • Amniotic fluid contains stem cells (AF-SCs) that have potential uses in regenerative medicine for treating various injuries and diseases.
  • When exposed to basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF), AF-SCs show the ability to survive and migrate in a rat brain model, resembling characteristics of neuronal/glial progenitor cells.
  • The study employs electrophysiological techniques to identify specific potassium currents in AF-SCs and confirms that histamine can influence calcium dynamics and potassium current activation in these cells.
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The etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders and epilepsy is very heterogeneous and partly still unknown, and the research of causative genes related to these diseases is still in progress. In 2020, pathogenic variants of the gene were associated with Beck-Fahrner syndrome, which is characterized by neurodevelopmental delay, intellectual and learning disabilities of variable degree, growth abnormalities, hypotonia and seizures. Variants of have been described having both an autosomal dominant with a milder phenotype and an autosomal recessive pattern.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examines how secondary genetic variants can influence the clinical features of individuals with primary disease-causing variants, suggesting that these modifiers play a significant role in disease expression.
  • - Specifically focusing on the 16p12.1 deletion, researchers identified various rare and common variants that predisposed individuals to specific developmental issues, such as neurological defects and microcephaly.
  • - By analyzing data from different cohorts, the findings indicate that the effects of primary and secondary variants on phenotype vary depending on the specific primary variant involved, highlighting the need for personalized approaches in treatment.
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Given the crucial role of the personalized management and treatment of hearing loss (HL), etiological investigations are performed early on, and genetic analysis significantly contributes to the determination of most syndromic and nonsyndromic HL cases. Knowing hundreds of syndromic associations with HL, little comprehensive data about HL in genomic disorders due to microdeletion or microduplications of contiguous genes is available. Together with the description of a new patient with a novel 3.

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CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a complex clinical condition resulting from non-functional or absent CDKL5 protein, a serine-threonine kinase pivotal for neural maturation and synaptogenesis. The disorder manifests primarily as developmental epileptic encephalopathy, with associated neurological phenotypes, such as hypotonia, movement disorders, visual impairment, and gastrointestinal issues. Its prevalence is estimated at 1 in 40,000-60,000 live births, and it is more prevalent in females due to the lethality of germline mutations in males during fetal development.

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Background: Social media are widely used information tools, including the medical/health field. Unfortunately, the levels of misinformation on these platforms seem to be high, with a medium-low quality of the proposed content, as evidenced by previous studies. You Tube is one of the most important platforms for audio/video content.

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Phospholipase C isozymes (PLCs) hydrolyze phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate into inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and diacylglycerol, important signaling molecules involved in many cellular processes. encodes the PLCγ1 isozyme that is broadly expressed. Hyperactive somatic mutations of are observed in multiple cancers, but only one germline variant has been reported.

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Biallelic pathogenic variants in neuroblastoma-amplified sequence (NBAS) cause a pleiotropic multisystem disorder. Three clinical subgroups have been defined correlating with the localisation of pathogenic variants in the NBAS gene: variants affecting the C-terminal region of NBAS result in SOPH syndrome (short stature, optic atrophy, Pelger-Huët anomaly), variants affecting the Sec 39 domain are associated with infantile liver failure syndrome type 2 (ILFS2) and variants affecting the ß-propeller domain give rise to a combined phenotype. However, there is still unexplained phenotypic diversity across the three subgroups, challenging the current concept of genotype-phenotype correlations in NBAS-associated disease.

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We examined more than 97,000 families from four neurodevelopmental disease cohorts and the UK Biobank to identify phenotypic and genetic patterns in parents contributing to neurodevelopmental disease risk in children. We identified within- and cross-disorder correlations between six phenotypes in parents and children, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (R = 0.32-0.

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Background: -related disorder (OMIM #613735) is an autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a variable degree of cognitive impairment and non-specific dysmorphic features. To date, fewer than thirty patients affected by this disorder have been described.

Methods: Our study included three children with haploinsufficiency recruited from three medical genetics centers.

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We examined more than 38,000 spouse pairs from four neurodevelopmental disease cohorts and the UK Biobank to identify phenotypic and genetic patterns in parents associated with neurodevelopmental disease risk in children. We identified correlations between six phenotypes in parents and children, including correlations of clinical diagnoses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (R=0.31-0.

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Accurate diagnosis for patients living with neurodevelopmental disorders is often met with numerous challenges, related to the ambiguity of findings and lack of specificity in genetic variants leading to pathology. Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis has been used to develop highly sensitive and specific 'episignatures' as biomarkers capable of differentiating and classifying complex neurodevelopmental disorders. In this study we describe distinct episignatures for KAT6A syndrome, caused by pathogenic variants in the lysine acetyltransferase A gene (), and for the two neurodevelopmental disorders associated with lysine acetyl transferase B ().

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Lafora disease is a rare recessive form of progressive myoclonic epilepsy, usually diagnosed during adolescence. Patients present with myoclonus, neurological deterioration, and generalized tonic-clonic, myoclonic, or absence seizures. Symptoms worsen until death, usually within the first ten years of clinical onset.

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Craniofacial microsomia (CFM; also known as Goldenhar syndrome), is a craniofacial developmental disorder of variable expressivity and severity with a recognizable set of abnormalities. These birth defects are associated with structures derived from the first and second pharyngeal arches, can occur unilaterally and include ear dysplasia, microtia, preauricular tags and pits, facial asymmetry and other malformations. The inheritance pattern is controversial, and the molecular etiology of this syndrome is largely unknown.

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Objectives: Arterio-ureteralfistula (AUF) is an infrequent but potentially life-threatening condition. The aim of this study was reviewing the literature to build a flow-chart useful for an early and effective diagnosis and treatment of this pathology.

Materials And Methods: A literature search in PubMed was conducted.

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The progressive myoclonus epilepsies (PMEs) are a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders, typically presenting in late childhood. An etiologic diagnosis is achieved in about 80% of patients with PME, and genome-wide molecular studies on remaining, well-selected, undiagnosed cases can further dissect the underlying genetic heterogeneity. Through whole-exome sequencing (WES), we identified pathogenic truncating variants in the IRF2BPL gene in two, unrelated patients presenting with PME.

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Article Synopsis
  • Sotos syndrome is linked to specific DNA methylation patterns, but distinguishing it from other overgrowth syndromes can be challenging due to variants of unknown significance (VoUS).
  • Researchers analyzed DNA methylation in 11 individuals suspected of having Sotos syndrome to assess the pathogenicity of VoUS and found that a specific DNAm signature could confirm or refute diagnoses.
  • The study successfully confirmed Sotos syndrome in 8 individuals and excluded it in 3, highlighting the effectiveness of DNA methylation profiling in clarifying diagnostic uncertainties.
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Purpose: Triple X syndrome, is an often undiagnosed chromosomal abnormality with an incidence of 1/1000 females. Main associated disorders are urogenital malformations, premature ovarian failure or primary amenorrhea, gastrointestinal problems, psychiatric disorders and epilepsy. To date, triple X is not related to a specific epileptic syndrome.

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Background: PCDH19-related epilepsy is a rare X-linked type of epilepsy caused by genomic variants of the Protocadherin 19 (PCDH19) gene. The clinical characteristics of PCDH19-related epilepsy are epileptic and non-epileptic symptoms with highly variable severity among patients.

Case Presentation: We present a case of a 4-year old female with PCDH19-related epilepsycaused by new variants in the PCDH19 gene.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on "episignatures," which are unique DNA methylation patterns used as biomarkers for diagnosing various genetic syndromes, particularly neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • Researchers analyzed DNA methylation changes in 65 genetic syndromes, identifying specific differentially methylated probes (DMPs) and regions (DMRs) associated with these conditions.
  • Findings indicated that DMPs and DMRs were mostly located in gene promoters and pathways related to neurodevelopment, highlighting a connection between gene mutations and altered DNA methylation profiles in these disorders.
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Objective: This study delineates the clinical and molecular spectrum of ANKLE2-related microcephaly (MIC), as well as highlights shared pathological mechanisms between ANKLE2 and the Zika virus.

Methods: We identified 12 individuals with MIC and variants in ANKLE2 with a broad range of features. Probands underwent thorough phenotypic evaluations, developmental assessments, and anthropometric measurements.

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Background: Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) and Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1B (PHP1B) are imprinting disorders (ID) caused by deregulation of the imprinted gene clusters located at 11p15.5 and 20q13.32, respectively.

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