Publications by authors named "Victoria Marca"

Background: We report the molecular analysis of the DMD gene in a group of Peruvian patients with Duchenne/Becker dystrophinopathy. This is the first study to thoroughly characterize mutations in this population.

Methods: We used the combination of multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and sequencing analysis of the DMD gene.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the genetic distribution of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) subtypes in a Peruvian mestizo population, specifically looking at the CAG repeat in genes ATXN1, ATXN3, and CACNA1A to understand their correlation with disease prevalence.
  • - Researchers genotyped 213 healthy individuals and found no link between the frequency of large normal (LN) alleles in ATXN1 and ATXN3 and the prevalence of SCA1 and MJD/SCA3.
  • - While a correlation was found between CACNA1A LN alleles and SCA6 frequency in different populations, the study concludes that the low prevalence of SCA1 and MJD/SCA3
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The original version of this article unfortunately contained some mistakes in Table 2. The additional row (just above SCA2) with the following information "SCA1, 1(1), 1, 50, 74, 24, 46 and 0/1" should be inserted.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the frequency of hereditary ataxias in Peru, identifying specific types of spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) and Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) among 104 families with ataxic individuals.
  • It finds that SCA10 is the most common hereditary ataxia, with an estimated maximum penetrance of 85%, and suggests that some cases may not be fully penetrant, leading to genetic variability.
  • The research highlights the need for tailored diagnostic screening panels in Peru, prioritizing SCA10 in local guidelines for hereditary ataxias.
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Background: Late onset cases of Huntington disease (HD), with onset ≥60 years, account for up to 20% of HD cases worldwide. Clinical features include mild motor dysfunction with slow progression and cognitive impairment, frequent absence of family history and low number of CAG repeats. The clinical and molecular features of late onset HD is still understudied in Latin America.

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Neurogenetics, the science that studies the genetic basis of the development and function of the nervous system, is a discipline of recent development in Peru, an emerging Latin American country. Herein, we review the clinical, scientific and ethical aspects regarding the development of this discipline, starting with the first molecular diagnosis of neurogenetic diseases, to family and population-based genetic association studies. Neurogenetics in Peru aims to better explain the epidemiology of monogenic and complex neurodegenerative disorders that will help in implementing public health policies for these disorders.

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Kennedy's disease is an X-linked recessive disorder with onset in adulthood, characterized by progressive degeneration of spinal motor neurons due to a dynamic mutation in the androgen receptor gene. We report three families (five cases) characterized by progressive weakness involving both limbs and bulbar muscles, atrophy, tremor, cramps and endocrinologic disturbances; the neurophysiological studies demonstrated second motor neuron impairment. The molecular analysis identified abnormal CAG repeats expansion in the androgen receptor gene (AR) in all cases.

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Objectives: To determine the allelic and genotypic frequencies of the APOE gene in a sample of a population group in Peru.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional analytic study in 189 apparently healthy volunteers, workers of the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas in Lima, Perú, divided into 5 groups by birth department and two generations ancestry. Genomic DNA was amplified using PCR-RFLP.

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Mutations in the LRRK2 gene are the most common genetic cause of Parkinson's disease, with frequencies displaying a high degree of population-specificity. Although more than 100 coding substitutions have been identified, only seven have been proven to be highly penetrant pathogenic mutations. Studies however are lacking in non-white populations.

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Variation in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene represents the most common genetic determinant of Parkinson's disease (PD) identified to date. While the frequency and distribution of LRRK2 mutations have been well-studied in Europe and North America, few data are available from South America. To address this gap in knowledge, we screened two cohorts of patients with PD from Peru (n=240) and Uruguay (n=125) for the three most common LRRK2 mutations (R1441C, R1441G, G2019S).

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