Relevance of muscle biopsies in the neonatal and early infantile period: a 52 years retrospective study in the gene-sequencing era.

Neuromuscular disorders (NMD) with neonatal or early infantile onset are usually severe and differ in symptoms, complications, and treatment options. The establishment of a diagnosis relies on the combination of clinical examination, morphological analyses of muscle biopsies, and genetic investigations. Here, we re-evaluated and classified a unique collection of 535 muscle biopsies from NMD infants aged 0-6 months examined over a period of 52 years.

Congenital Titinopathies Linked to Mutations in Metatranscript-Only Exons.

Congenital titinopathies reported to date show autosomal recessive inheritance and are caused by a variety of genomic variants, most of them located in metatranscript (MTT)-only exons. The aim of this study was to describe additional patients and establish robust genotype-phenotype associations in titinopathies. This study involved analyzing molecular, clinical, pathological, and muscle imaging features in 20 patients who had at least one pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in MTT-only exons, with onset occurring antenatally or in the early postnatal stages.

Systemic inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein 1.3 as a possible treatment for laminin-related congenital muscular dystrophy.

Congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) is a group of rare neuromuscular disorders typically characterized by the onset of symptoms at birth or within the first two years of life. CMDs are relatively rare, but extremely severe pathological conditions currently without a safe and effective therapeutic solution. Merosin-deficient congenital muscular dystrophy type 1A (MDC1A) is among the most frequent CMDs and it is caused by mutations in the LAMA2 gene that encodes for the α2 chain of laminin-211 (merosin).

Segregation of the Variant (c.1817-3C>G) in a Consanguineous Saudi Family with Bethlem Myopathy.

Bethlem myopathy is a rare genetic disease caused by a variant mapped to 21q22, which harbors the collagen type VI alpha 2 chain and collagen type VI alpha 1 chain ( genes, and 2q37, which harbors the collagen type VI alpha 3 chain () gene. Disease onset can occur at any age, and the symptoms are related to those of muscular dystrophy. Since Bethlem myopathy is a rare disease, no previous studies have been conducted in Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Restored Collagen VI Microfilaments Network in the Extracellular Matrix of CRISPR-Edited Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy Fibroblasts.

Collagen VI is an essential component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) composed by α1, α2 and α3 chains and encoded by , and genes. Dominant negative pathogenic variants in genes result in defects in collagen VI protein and are implicated in the pathogenesis of muscular diseases, including Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD). Here, we designed a CRISPR genome editing strategy to tackle a dominant heterozygous deletion c.

An Exoskeleton Design and Numerical Characterization for Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

This research addresses a feasibility study for validating an exoskeleton with kinematic considerations. The designed exoskeleton will be used for children with congenital disorders, especially for a case study characterized by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The research core focuses on virtual simulations carried out through the multibody systems theory under an MSC Adams 2012 software environment, with an exoskeleton constructive solution.

Gastruloids are competent to specify both cardiac and skeletal muscle lineages.

Cardiopharyngeal mesoderm contributes to the formation of the heart and head muscles. However, the mechanisms governing cardiopharyngeal mesoderm specification remain unclear. Here, we reproduce cardiopharyngeal mesoderm specification towards cardiac and skeletal muscle lineages with gastruloids from mouse embryonic stem cells.

[The influence of hydrokinesitherapy on motor and cardiorespiratory functions in hereditary myopathy of childhood].

Objective: To evaluate the impact of regular hydrokinesotherapy sessions and indicators of cardiorespiratory functions on the motor abilities of patients with hereditary myopathy of childhood.

Material And Methods: The study included 63 patients with genetically confirmed hereditary myopathy. Group 1 included 32 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) who were in the early ambulatory stage.

Sinus node dysfunction in children: different aetiologies, similar clinical course in two-centre experience.

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of children diagnosed with sinus node dysfunction.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of patients diagnosed with sinus node dysfunction in two tertiary paediatric cardiology centres in Turkey from January 2011 to June 2022.

Results: In all, 77 patients (50, 64.

In a cohort of 961 clinically suspected Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, 105 were diagnosed to have other muscular dystrophies (OMDs), with LGMD2E (variant SGCB c.544A>C) being the most common.

Background: Targeted next generation sequence analyses in a cohort of 961 previously described patients with clinically suspected Duchene muscular dystrophy (DMD) revealed that 145/961 (15%) had variants in genes associated with other muscular dystrophies (OMDs).

Methods: NGS was carried out in DMD negative patients after deletion/duplication analysis followed by WES for No variant cases.

Results: The majority of patients with OMDs had autosomal recessive diseases that included Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophies (LGMDs), Bethlem, Ullrich congenital Myopathies and Emery-Driefuss muscular dystrophy.

A Novel Splice Site Variant in COL6A1 Causes Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy in a Consanguineous Malian Family.

Background: Congenital muscular dystrophies (CMDs) are diverse early-onset conditions affecting skeletal muscle and connective tissue. This group includes collagen VI-related dystrophies such as Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD) and Bethlem myopathy (BM), caused by mutations in the COL6A1, COL6A2 and COL6A3 genes. We report a consanguineous Malian family with three siblings affected by UCMD due to a novel homozygous splice site variant in the COL6A1 gene.

Structural and functional consequences of non-synonymous SNPs within the LAMA2 protein: a molecular dynamics perspective.

Clinical phenotypic presentations associated with LAMA2 deficiency have shown a variety of manifestations. LAMA2 mutations are mainly linked to congenital muscular dystrophy, but there is also mounting evidence suggesting their presence in inflammatory breast cancer, laryngopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and ventricular tachycardia related to coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy. This study examined the structural and functional impacts of 144 non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) within the LAMA2 gene.

Efficacy of ephedrine treatment in COLQ-related Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome (CMS): longitudinal quantitative assessment in a 71-year-old man.

Introduction And Aims: We describe a case of long-living COLQ-related congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS) benefitting from ephedrine with an overall improvement quantified with functional measures.

Results: A 71-year-old man was referred with limb-girdle/axial myopathy and fatigability since infancy. In his thirties, a decremental response was observed at 3Hz-nerve stimulation, although testing seronegative for anti-neuromuscular junction antibodies.

A 5-year natural history study in LAMA2-related muscular dystrophy and SELENON-related myopathy: the Extended LAST STRONG study.

Background: SELENON-related myopathy (SELENON-RM) is a rare congenital myopathy characterized by slowly progressive axial muscle weakness, rigidity of the spine, scoliosis, and respiratory insufficiency. Laminin-a2-related muscular dystrophy (LAMA2-MD) has a similar clinical phenotype, which ranges from severe, early-onset congenital muscular dystrophy type 1A (MDC1A) to milder forms presenting as childhood- or adult-onset limb-girdle type muscular dystrophy. The first 1.

Aligning with the 3Rs: alternative models for research into muscle development and inherited myopathies.

Inherited and acquired muscle diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in human medical and veterinary patients. Researchers use models to study skeletal muscle development and pathology, improve our understanding of disease pathogenesis and explore new treatment options. Experiments on laboratory animals, including murine and canine models, have led to huge advances in congenital myopathy and muscular dystrophy research that have translated into clinical treatment trials in human patients with these debilitating and often fatal conditions.