PKC-mediated inhibitory feedback of the cholecystokinin 1 receptor controls the shape of oscillatory Ca²⁺ signals.

Translation of extracellular hormonal input into cellular responses is often mediated by repetitive increases in cytosolic free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+) ]c ). Amplitude, duration and frequency of these so-called [Ca(2+) ]c oscillations then carry information about the nature and concentration of the extracellular signalling molecule. At present, there are different hypotheses concerning the induction and control of these oscillations.

Clinical and mutational characteristics of spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1 in The Netherlands.

Spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1 is an autosomal recessive disorder with early respiratory difficulties, distal muscle weakness, and contractures leading to foot deformities as the most striking clinical symptoms. Mutations of the gene encoding the immunoglobulin heavy chain μ-binding protein 2, mapped on chromosome 11q13, are the cause of the disease. We present the clinical and mutational characteristics of ten patients in the Netherlands who showed considerable clinical variability; they carried six novel mutations, including a deletion of exon 2.

Clinical phenotype of 5 females with a CDKL5 mutation.

Mutations in the X-linked cyclin dependent kinase like 5 (CDKL5) gene have been reported in approximately 80 patients since the first description in 2003. The clinical presentation partly corresponds with Rett syndrome, considering clinical features as intellectual disability, hypotonia, and poor visual, language, and motor development. However, these patients do not meet the consensus criteria for Rett syndrome since they lack the clear period of regression.

Scoliosis surgery in a patient with "de novo" myosin storage myopathy.

Myosin storage myopathy is a rare neuromuscular disorder, characterized by subsarcolemmal inclusions exclusively in type I skeletal muscle fibers, known as hyaline bodies. Its clinical spectrum is diverse, as are its modes of inheritance. Myosin storage myopathy, also called hyaline body myopathy, is caused by a pathogenic mutation in the MYH7 gene, encoding for the slow/β-cardiac myosin heavy chain.