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Septo-optic nerve dysplasia is a rare congenital anomaly with optic nerve hypoplasia, pituitary hormone deficiencies and midline developmental defects of the brain. The clinical findings are visual impairment, hypopituitarism and developmental delays. The aim of this study was to report prevalence, associated anomalies, maternal age and other epidemiological factors from a large European population based network of congenital anomaly registries (EUROCAT). Data from 29 full member registries for the years 2005-2014 were included, covering 6.4 million births. There were 99 cases with a diagnosis of septo-optic dysplasia. The prevalence of septo-optic dysplasia in Europe was calculated to lie between 1.9 and 2.5 per 100,000 births after adjusting for potential under-reporting in some registries. The prevalence was highest in babies of mothers aged 20-24 years of age and was significantly higher in UK registries compared with other EUROCAT registries (P = 0.021 in the multilevel model) and the additional risk for younger mothers was significantly greater in the UK compared to the rest of Europe (P = 0.027). The majority of septo-optic dysplasia cases were classified as an isolated cerebral anomaly (N = 76, 77%). Forty percent of diagnoses occurred in fetuses with a prenatal diagnosis. The anomaly may not be visible at birth, which is reflected in that 57% of the postnatal diagnoses occurred over 1 month after birth. This is the first population based study to describe the prevalence of septo-optic dysplasia in Europe. Septo-optic dysplasia shares epidemiological patterns with gastroschisis and this strengthens the hypothesis of vascular disruption being an aetiological factor for septo-optic dysplasia., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Interstitial deletions of the long arm of chromosome 3 are rare and detailed genotype-phenotype correlations are not well established. We report on the clinical, cytogenetic and molecular findings of a 5-year-old patient with a de novo interstitial deletion from 3q25.1 to 3q25.32. Clinical features include relative microcephaly, developmental delay and facial dysmorphism with a coarse face, ptosis, synophrys, epicanthic folds, broad nasal bridge, long philtrum, large mouth with full lips, dysplastic and low-set ears. Revealed by conventional banding techniques, the deleted region of 8.9 Mb was confirmed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses and array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH). To our knowledge, this is the smallest interstitial deletion reported in the 3q25 region. The phenotype of our patient is compared with the 10 previously reported cases implicating the 3q25 region., (Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Purpose: Interferon regulatory factor 6 encodes a member of the IRF family of transcription factors. Mutations in interferon regulatory factor 6 cause Van der Woude and popliteal pterygium syndrome, two related orofacial clefting disorders. Here, we compared and contrasted the frequency and distribution of exonic mutations in interferon regulatory factor 6 between two large geographically distinct collections of families with Van der Woude and between one collection of families with popliteal pterygium syndrome., Methods: We performed direct sequence analysis of interferon regulatory factor 6 exons on samples from three collections, two with Van der Woude and one with popliteal pterygium syndrome., Results: We identified mutations in interferon regulatory factor 6 exons in 68% of families in both Van der Woude collections and in 97% of families with popliteal pterygium syndrome. In sum, 106 novel disease-causing variants were found. The distribution of mutations in the interferon regulatory factor 6 exons in each collection was not random; exons 3, 4, 7, and 9 accounted for 80%. In the Van der Woude collections, the mutations were evenly divided between protein truncation and missense, whereas most mutations identified in the popliteal pterygium syndrome collection were missense. Further, the missense mutations associated with popliteal pterygium syndrome were localized significantly to exon 4, at residues that are predicted to bind directly to DNA., Conclusion: The nonrandom distribution of mutations in the interferon regulatory factor 6 exons suggests a two-tier approach for efficient mutation screens for interferon regulatory factor 6. The type and distribution of mutations are consistent with the hypothesis that Van der Woude is caused by haploinsufficiency of interferon regulatory factor 6. On the other hand, the distribution of popliteal pterygium syndrome-associated mutations suggests a different, though not mutually exclusive, effect on interferon regulatory factor 6 function.

Purpose: The present study aimed at investigating if 2'-2' difluorodeoxycytidine (dFdC) radioenhancement was mediated by an effect on induction and/or repair of radiation-induced DNA DSBs and chromosome aberrations in cells with different intrinsic radiosensitivity., Methods: Confluent human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines designated SCC61 and SQD9 were treated with 5 microM dFdC for 3 or 24 h prior to irradiation. DNA DSBs induction and repair were analyzed by PFGE. Radiation-induced chromosome aberrations were examined with a FISH technique., Results: In both cell lines, dFdC did not modify radiation-induced DNA DSBs in a dose range between 0 and 40 Gy. After a single dose of 40 Gy, dFdC affected neither the kinetic of repair nor the residual amount of DNA DSBs up to 4 h after irradiation. Whereas dFdC did not increase the induction of chromosome aberrations, after a single dose of 5 Gy, the percentage of aberrant cells and the number of aberrations per aberrant cells were significantly higher in combination with dFdC., Conclusion: Our data suggest that under experimental conditions yielding substantial radioenhancement, dFdC decreases the repair of genomic lesions inducing secondary chromosome breaks but has no effect on DNA DSBs repair as measured by PFGE.

Study Objective: To assess the frequency of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene mutations in patients with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA)., Design: Case-control study. All subjects in the study were screened for the presence of 13 mutations in the CFTR gene (R117H, 621 + 1G(-)>T, R334 W, Delta F508, Delta I507, 1717-1G(-)>A, G542X, R553X, G551D, R1162X, 3849 + 10kbC(-)>T, W1282X, and N1303K). Moreover, they were also screened for the presence of the 5T variant in intron 8., Setting: University hospital and community-based hospital., Patients: Twenty-one white patients with ABPA participated in the study. The presence of CFTR mutations was also investigated in 43 white subjects with allergic asthma who did not show sensitization to Aspergillus fumigatus and in 142 subjects seeking genetic counseling for diseases other than cystic fibrosis (CF)., Results: Six patients with ABPA were found to be heterozygous for one CFTR mutation, including Delta F508 (n = 2), G542X (n = 1), R1162X (n = 1), 1717-1G(-)>A (n = 1), and R117H (n = 1). The 5T allele was not detected in ABPA patients. None of the ABPA patients showed sweat chloride concentrations > 60 mEq/L. The frequency of CFTR mutation carriers was significantly higher in ABPA patients (6 of 21 patients; 28.5%) than in control asthmatic subjects (2 of 43 subjects; 4.6%; p = 0.01) and in subjects seeking genetic counseling (6 of 142 subjects; p < 0.001)., Conclusion: These findings indicate that in patients without a clinical diagnosis of CF, CFTR gene mutations could be involved in the development of ABPA, in association with other genetic or environmental factors.

Rupture of intracranial aneurysm (ICA) is a rare but severe manifestation of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). In order to assess its natural history, to determine the prevalence of familial aggregation and to document linkage to PKD1 locus, we conducted a retrospective study on 77 ADPKD patients from 64 families presenting with ruptured (N = 71) or unruptured (N = 6) aneurysm. Information was collected on kidney disease, intracranial aneurysm and family history. Linkage to PKD1 locus was examined by five probes to obtain informative flanking markers. Within one year prior to rupture, blood pressure was normal in 29% of the patients. At the time of rupture, mean age was 39.5 years (range 15 to 69), renal function was normal in half of the patients and 11% were on renal replacement therapy. The ruptured aneurysm was usually located on the middle cerebral artery. Additional intact aneurysms (1 to 6) were detected in 31% of the patients. Surgical or endovascular treatment was performed in 54 (76%) patients whereas 17 (24%) had medical management only. Rupture of ICA was fatal in seven (10%) patients. On long-term follow-up 27 (38%) were left with severe disablement. Five patients bled from another aneurysm 2 days to 14 years after initial rupture. Only two of six patients with unruptured aneurysm alone were treated on a prophylactic basis. No clinical marker associated with aneurysm was found. A family history of aneurysm rupture was demonstrated in 10 (18%) kindreds. Linkage to the PKD1 locus was established in two of three tested families.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) in blood lymphocytes, serum tumors markers, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA), and urinary excretion of chromium, cobalt and nickel were determined in 26 male workers occupationally exposed to chromium, cobalt and nickel dust and in 25 controls matched for age and smoking habits. The differences in the urinary excretion of metals between exposed persons and controls were statistically significant. An analysis of variance on the SCE rank values revealed that both exposure status (exposed persons vs. controls) and smoking habits (smokers and former smokers vs. never smokers) had a statistically significant effect. For the tumor markers, the analysis of variance did not reveal a statistically significant difference between exposed persons and controls. However, CEA serum levels were significantly correlated not only with smoking habits but also with duration of exposure. As cobalt is only weakly mutagenic, these results suggest that the small amount of absorbed chromium and nickel may have been sufficient to induce SCE. The hypothesis that tumor markers may be increased in groups of subjects exposed to genotoxic substances deserves further study.

The authors report 19 cases of congenital ring-constriction syndrome of the limbs. Complications arose in eight of the pregnancies. The limb anomalies were always congenital ring-constrictions together with distal amputation. Moreover, 13 patients also had syndactyly and 15 associated anomalies were registered in 9 patients--8 of the limbs, 3 craniofacial and 4 visceral. One patient had a family history of hypospadias and cardiac malformation. Treatment usually required several operations, staged Z-plasty being the procedure of choice in surgical release of constriction bands. The acrosyndactylies were released early in life. More extensive fusions required division and skin grafting even if the webs did exist. The aetiology of the condition is still under discussion. The number of cases in the literature that cannot be explained by the exogenous theory of the congenital ring-constriction syndrome is increasing. Among them are four cases in our series.