Publications by authors named "S M Azzarello-Burri"

Background: BRCA2 germline mutations are known to predispose carriers to various cancer types, including breast, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancer. An association with melanoma has also been reported. However, the full tumour spectrum associated with BRCA2 mutations, particularly in patients with other concurrent pathogenetic mutations, is unexplored.

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This paper presents the Swiss guideline for genetic counselling and testing of individuals with an increased probability for carrying mutations in high risk cancer predisposition genes, particularly BRCA1 and BRCA2. It aims to help providers of genetic counselling to identify valuable candidates for testing and serves as a basis for reimbursement claims to Swiss insurance companies.

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Background: Autophagy is the major intracellular degradation route in mammalian cells. Systemic ablation of core autophagy-related () genes in mice leads to embryonic or perinatal lethality, and conditional models show neurodegeneration. Impaired autophagy has been associated with a range of complex human diseases, yet congenital autophagy disorders are rare.

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Article Synopsis
  • Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) using targeted or genome-wide copy number profiling (cnNIPT) may detect more chromosomal abnormalities than the standard methods, but the impact of maternal copy number variants (CNVs) on test results is a concern.
  • * In a study of over 3,000 prospective and retrospective cases, cnNIPT was able to identify confirmed fetal chromosomal abnormalities in 1.5% of cases, with some undetected by standard NIPTs.
  • * The study found high sensitivity and specificity for detecting common fetal trisomies, but results suggest that the presence of maternal CNVs and other health factors could affect the accuracy of the tests.
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Cadherins constitute a family of transmembrane proteins that mediate calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion. The extracellular domain of cadherins consists of extracellular cadherin (EC) domains, separated by calcium binding sites. The EC interacts with other cadherin molecules in cis and in trans to mechanically hold apposing cell surfaces together.

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