Publications by authors named "Weisfeld-Adams J"

MN1 encodes a transcriptional co-regulator without homology to other proteins, previously implicated in acute myeloid leukaemia and development of the palate. Large deletions encompassing MN1 have been reported in individuals with variable neurodevelopmental anomalies and non-specific facial features. We identified a cluster of de novo truncating mutations in MN1 in a cohort of 23 individuals with strikingly similar dysmorphic facial features, especially midface hypoplasia, and intellectual disability with severe expressive language delay.

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Visceral myopathy with abnormal intestinal and bladder peristalsis includes a clinical spectrum with megacystis-microcolon intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome and chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction. The vast majority of cases are caused by dominant variants in ACTG2; however, the overall genetic architecture of visceral myopathy has not been well-characterized. We ascertained 53 families, with visceral myopathy based on megacystis, functional bladder/gastrointestinal obstruction, or microcolon.

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Objective: To determine the underlying etiology in a patient with progressive dementia with extrapyramidal signs and chronic inflammation referred to the National Institutes of Health Undiagnosed Diseases Program.

Methods: Extensive investigations included metabolic profile, autoantibody panel, infectious etiologies, genetic screening, whole exome sequencing, and the phage-display assay, VirScan, for viral immune responses. An etiological diagnosis was established postmortem.

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Aim: To explore the clinical presentation, course, treatment and impact of early treatment in patients with remethylation disorders from the European Network and Registry for Homocystinurias and Methylation Defects (E-HOD) international web-based registry.

Results: This review comprises 238 patients (cobalamin C defect n = 161; methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency n = 50; cobalamin G defect n = 11; cobalamin E defect n = 10; cobalamin D defect n = 5; and cobalamin J defect n = 1) from 47 centres for whom the E-HOD registry includes, as a minimum, data on medical history and enrolment visit. The duration of observation was 127 patient years.

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Organic acidemias and urea cycle disorders are ultra-rare inborn errors of metabolism characterized by episodic acute decompensation, often associated with hyperammonemia, resulting in brain edema and encephalopathy. Retrospective reports and translational studies suggest that N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) may be effective in reducing ammonia levels during acute decompensation in two organic acidemias, propionic and methylmalonic acidemia (PA and MMA), and in two urea cycle disorders, carbamylphosphate synthetase 1 and ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (CPSD and OTCD). We established the 9-site N-carbamylglutamate Consortium (NCGC) in order to conduct two randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of NCG in acute hyperammonemia of PA, MMA, CPSD and OTCD.

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We describe two cases of neonatal onset interstitial lung disease eventually diagnosed as mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I). In both cases, evaluation led to lung biopsy, pathology review, and identification of glycogen deposition. Pulmonary interstitial glycogenosis (PIG) was considered as a clinical diagnosis in case one; however, further review of electron microscopy (EM) was more consistent with MPS I rather than PIG.

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Elevations of specific acylcarnitines in blood reflect carboxylase deficiencies, and have utility in newborn screening for life-threatening organic acidemias and other inherited metabolic diseases. In this report, we describe a newly-identified association of biochemical features of multiple carboxylase deficiency in individuals harboring mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in MT-ATP6 and in whom organic acidemias and multiple carboxylase deficiencies were excluded. Using retrospective chart review, we identified eleven individuals with abnormally elevated propionylcarnitine (C3) or hydroxyisovalerylcarnitine (C5OH) with mutations in MT-ATP6, most commonly m.

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Background: Remethylation defects are rare inherited disorders in which impaired remethylation of homocysteine to methionine leads to accumulation of homocysteine and perturbation of numerous methylation reactions.

Objective: To summarise clinical and biochemical characteristics of these severe disorders and to provide guidelines on diagnosis and management.

Data Sources: Review, evaluation and discussion of the medical literature (Medline, Cochrane databases) by a panel of experts on these rare diseases following the GRADE approach.

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Objectives: To determine the incidence of pathogenic SCN8A variants in a cohort of epilepsy patients referred for clinical genetic testing. We also investigated the contribution of SCN8A to autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and neuromuscular disorders in individuals referred for clinical genetic testing at the same testing laboratory.

Methods: Sequence data from 275 epilepsy panels screened by Emory Genetics Laboratory were reviewed for variants in SCN8A.

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Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX) is an inborn error of metabolism leading to progressive multisystem disease. Symptoms often begin in the first decade of life with chronic diarrhea, cataracts, developmental delay, intellectual disability, and cerebellar or pyramidal dysfunction. Later manifestations include tendon xanthomas, polyneuropathy, and abnormal neuroimaging.

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Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability (ID) and in the majority of cases is the result of complete trisomy 21. The hypothesis that the characteristic DS clinical features are due to a single DS critical region (DSCR) at distal chromosome 21q has been refuted by recently reported segmental trisomy 21 cases characterised by microarray-based comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH). These rare cases have implicated multiple regions on chromosome 21 in the aetiology of distinct features of DS; however, the map of chromosome 21 copy-number aberrations and their associated phenotypes remains incompletely defined.

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Background: Arginase 1 (ARG1) deficiency is a rare urea cycle disorder (UCD). This hypothesis-generating study explored clinical phenotypes, metabolic profiles, molecular genetics, and treatment approaches in a cohort of children and adults with ARG1 deficiency to add to our understanding of the underlying pathophysiology.

Methods: Clinical data were retrieved retrospectively from physicians using a questionnaire survey.

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Background: The classic form of Chédiak-Higashi syndrome (CHS), an autosomal recessive disorder of lysosomal trafficking with childhood onset caused by mutations in ITALIC! LYST, is typified ophthalmologically by ocular albinism with vision loss attributed to foveal hypoplasia or nystagmus. Optic nerve involvement and ophthalmological manifestations of the late-onset neurodegenerative form of CHS are rarely reported and poorly detailed.

Methods: Case series detailing ophthalmological and neurological findings in three adult siblings with the late-onset form of CHS.

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The association between combined methylmalonic acidemia and homocystinuria of cblC type (cobalamin C defect, cblC) and ocular disease is now well recognized, and is a significant component of morbidity and disability associated with the condition. In this review, through collation of historically reported cases of early- and late-onset cblC and previously unreported cases, we have attempted to characterize the epidemiology, clinical features, and pathomechanisms of individual ocular features of cblC. These data suggest that maculopathy and nystagmus with abnormal vision are extremely common and affect the majority of children with early-onset cblC, usually before school age; strabismus and optic atrophy are also seen at relatively high frequency.

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Several single gene disorders share clinical and radiologic characteristics with multiple sclerosis and have the potential to be overlooked in the differential diagnostic evaluation of both adult and paediatric patients with multiple sclerosis. This group includes lysosomal storage disorders, various mitochondrial diseases, other neurometabolic disorders, and several other miscellaneous disorders. Recognition of a single-gene disorder as causal for a patient's 'multiple sclerosis-like' phenotype is critically important for accurate direction of patient management, and evokes broader genetic counselling implications for affected families.

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Children with high-grade glioma (HGG) have a poor prognosis compared to those with low-grade glioma (LGG). Adjuvant chemotherapy may be beneficial, but its optimal use remains undetermined. Histology and extent of resection are important prognostic factors.

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Abnormal neurodevelopment has been widely reported in combined methylmalonic aciduria (MMA) and homocystinuria, cblC type (cblC disease), but neurodevelopmental phenotypes in cblC have not previously been systematically studied. We sought to further characterize developmental neurology in children with molecularly-confirmed cblC. Thirteen children at our center with cblC, born since implementation of expanded newborn screening in New York State, undertook standard-of-care evaluations with a pediatric neurologist and pediatric ophthalmologist.

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Background: Floating-Harbor syndrome (FHS) is a rare condition characterized by short stature, delays in expressive language, and a distinctive facial appearance. Recently, heterozygous truncating mutations in SRCAP were determined to be disease-causing. With the availability of a DNA based confirmatory test, we set forth to define the clinical features of this syndrome.

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Background: Mutations in LYST, a gene encoding a putative lysosomal trafficking protein, cause Chédiak-Higashi syndrome (CHS), an autosomal recessive disorder typically characterized by infantile-onset hemophagocytic syndrome and immunodeficiency, and oculocutaneous albinism. A small number of reports of rare, attenuated forms of CHS exist, with affected individuals exhibiting progressive neurodegenerative disease beginning in early adulthood with cognitive decline, parkinsonism, features of spinocerebellar degeneration, and peripheral neuropathy, as well as subtle pigmentary abnormalities and subclinical or absent immune dysfunction.

Methods: In a consanguineous Pakistani kindred with clinical phenotypes consistent with attenuated CHS, we performed SNP array-based homozygosity mapping and whole gene sequencing of LYST.

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The chromosome 22q11.2 region is commonly involved in non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) events. Microduplications of 22q11.

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