Novel variants in aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency: Case report of sisters with mild phenotype

BackgroundAromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, caused by a pathogenic variant in the dopa decarboxylase (DDC) gene, is a rare neurometabolic disorder in which catecholamine and serotonin are not synthesized. From a large number of reports, it has been recognized that most affected patients show severe developmental delay in a bedridden state and are unable to speak. On the other hand, patients with a mild phenotype with AADC deficiency have been reported, but they number only a few cases. Therefore, the variation of phenotypes of the disease appears to be broad, and it may be challenging to diagnose an atypical phenotype as AADC deficiency.Case reportWe report novel compound heterozygous variants in DDC (c.202G > A and c.254C > T) in two sisters, whose main complaint was mild developmental delay, by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Additionally, we describe their clinical features and provide an image that shows the variants located at different sites responsible for the catalysis of AADC in a three-dimensional structure. The patients were prescribed a Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor after diagnosis.InterpretationOur cases indicate that a comprehensive genomic approach helps to diagnose AADC deficiency with atypical features, and underscore the significance of understanding the variations of this disorder for diagnosis and appropriate treatment.     

Associations of metabolically healthy obesity with prevalence and progression of coronary artery calcification: Results from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Cohort Study

Background and aims

There is controversy on the potentially benign nature of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO), i.e., obese persons with few or no metabolic abnormalities. So far, associations between MHO and coronary artery calcification (CAC), a measure of subclinical atherosclerosis, have mainly been studied cross-sectionally in Asian populations. We assessed cross-sectional and longitudinal MHO CAC associations in a Caucasian population.

Humanized C3 Mouse: A Novel Accelerated Model of C3 Glomerulopathy

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Frequency and clinical manifestation of prenatal cytogenetic diagnosis of chromosomal polymorphisms in Northeast China

ObjectiveTo retrospectively analyze the incidence of chromosomal polymorphisms in prenatal cytogenetic diagnostic cases and the effect of the clinical manifestation of these fetuses.Materials and methods490 fetuses with chromosomal polymorphisms among 9996 pregnant women who underwent prenatal cytogenetic diagnosis were included in this study and were set as group 1. Other 500 pregnant women, whose fetuses were with normal karyotypes, were randomly selected from the remaining pregnant women and set as group 2. Clinical information and outcomes and maternal serum screening results of group 1 were compared with group 2.ResultsThe frequency of fetal chromosomal polymorphism was 4.90% (490/9996). The most common variants observed were 1/9/16 qh± (2.27%, 227/9996), followed by inv(9) (0.90%, 90/9996). 94.62% (264/279) of fetal chromosomal variants were inherited from parents. No statistical difference was found in clinical information and outcomes and maternal serum screening results between group 1 and group 2.ConclusionThe fetus with chromosomal polymorphism has no impact on serum markers of second trimester screening and does not play an important role for the clinical outcome of the current pregnancy either, whether it is inherited from the parents or a de novo mutation.