Dendritic arborization and spine dynamics are abnormal in the mouse model of MECP2 duplication syndrome.

MECP2 duplication syndrome is a childhood neurological disorder characterized by intellectual disability, autism, motor abnormalities, and epilepsy. The disorder is caused by duplications spanning the gene encoding methyl-CpG-binding protein-2 (MeCP2), a protein involved in the modulation of chromatin and gene expression. MeCP2 is thought to play a role in maintaining the structural integrity of neuronal circuits.

Algorithm to predict assisted reproductive technology pregnancy outcome reveals minimal embryo synergy.

A mathematical model was developed to calculate the implantation probability for individual embryos based on the pregnancy outcome of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) cases with multiple embryos transferred. This model was used to calculate implantation probabilities of embryos of 31 morphological types using the outcome of 1,200 IVF/ICSI cases. The algorithm was validated by comparing the calculated pregnancy probability and multiple pregnancy probability with the actual outcome of 281 separate IVF/ICSI cases.

Paternal gonadal mosaicism detected in a couple with recurrent abortions undergoing PGD: FISH analysis of sperm nuclei proves valuable.

Many couples are now seeking preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) as an alternative approach to avoid spontaneous abortion by ensuring transfer of presumed chromosomally normal embryos. This case report describes unexpected findings in a couple having three spontaneous abortions and two failed IVF cycles. In two IVF PGD cycles, four of 13 (30.