Search

Introduction: The definition of a molecular diagnosis for patients affected by hereditary hearing loss (HHL) is significantly hampered by the extreme clinical and genetic heterogeneity that characterise the condition. In particular, peculiar and understudied cases are those of non-syndromic mimics (NSM), meaning patients with particularly mild forms of syndromic HHL or initially presenting isolated deafness and delayed onset of other clinical signs. Material and methods: In the last 18 months, a cohort of 73 apparently non-syndromic Italian HHL patients has been enrolled in the study. All the individuals were negative at GJB2 and STRC genetic tests and underwent whole-exome sequencing, aiming to define a molecular diagnosis and eventually identify NSMs. Results: A molecular diagnosis was provided for 36/73 patients (49.3%), and 12 of them could be classified as NSMs. In detail, two groups of patients could be highlighted: (1) patients presenting subtle additional signs that were missed during the first clinical evaluation and (2) patients whose molecular diagnosis suggests the future development of additional clinical features. In Group 1, two patients were identified, and they carried pathogenic variants within the MITF and GATA3 genes, which are associated with Waardenburg and Barakat syndromes, respectively. As regards Group 2, ten patients were detected, and the involved genes were CDH23 (one patient), USH2A (six patients) and ADGRV1 (three patients). Thus, these results suggest that Usher syndrome type 2 accounts for the vast majority of NSMs (75%). Moreover, these considerations further confirm our previous findings regarding the high prevalence of Usher syndrome type 2 carriers in the Italian population (1: 70). Conclusions: Identifying patients within Group 1 of NSMs highlights the importance of a critical re-evaluation of the diagnostic criteria of each condition and provides crucial insight into the clinical characteristics of very mild forms of syndromic deafness. On the other hand, the clinical condition of Group 2 NSM patients will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary team in order to provide personalised follow-up and specific preventive strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Epidemiological research has shown relevant differences between sexes in clinical manifestations, severity, and progression of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. To date, the mechanisms underlying these differences remain unknown. Given the rising incidence of such diseases, gender-specific research on established and emerging risk factors, such as dysfunction of glycaemic and/or lipid metabolism, of sex hormones and of gut microbiome, is of paramount importance. The relationships between sex hormones, gut microbiome, and host glycaemic and/or lipid metabolism are largely unknown even in the homoeostasis status. Yet this knowledge gap would be pivotal to pinpoint to key mechanisms that are likely to be disrupted in disease context., Methods and Results: Here we present the Women4Health (W4H) cohort, a unique cohort comprising up to 300 healthy women followed up during a natural menstrual cycle, set up with the primary goal to investigate the combined role of sex hormones and gut microbiota variations in regulating host lipid and glucose metabolism during homoeostasis, using a multi-omics strategy. Additionally, the W4H cohort will take into consideration another ecosystem that is unique to women, the vaginal microbiome, investigating its interaction with gut microbiome and exploring-for the first time-its role in cardiometabolic disorders., Conclusion: The W4H cohort study lays a foundation for improving current knowledge of women-specific mechanisms in cardiometabolic regulation. It aspires to transform insights on host-microbiota interactions into prevention and therapeutic approaches for personalized health care., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)