The Genome Clinic: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Assessing the Opportunities and Challenges of Integrating Genomic Analysis into Clinical Care

Our increasing knowledge of how genomic variants affect human health and the falling costs of whole‐genome sequencing are driving the development of individualized genetic medicine. This new clinical paradigm uses knowledge of an individual's genomic variants to guide health care decisions throughout life, to anticipate, diagnose, and manage disease. While individualized genetic medicine offers the promise of transformative change in health care, it forces us to reconsider existing ethical, scientific, and clinical paradigms. The potential benefits of presymptomatic identification of at risk individuals, improved diagnostics, individualized therapy, accurate prognosis, and avoidance of adverse drug reactions coexist with the potential risks of uninterpretable results, psychological harm, outmoded counseling models, and increased health care costs. Here, we review the challenges of integrating genomic analysis into clinical practice and describe a prototype for implementing genetic medicine. Our multidisciplinary team of bioinformaticians, health economists, ethicists, geneticists, genetic counselors, and clinicians has designed a “Genome Clinic” research project that addresses multiple challenges in genomic medicine—ranging from the development of bioinformatics tools for the clinical assessment of genomic variants and the discovery of disease genes to health policy inquiries, assessment of clinical care models, patient preference, and the ethics of consent.     

非酒精性脂肪性肝炎大鼠模型的建立及其胰腺、肾脏的组织学病理变化

目的探讨非酒精性脂肪性肝炎大鼠模型肝外脏器胰腺、肾脏的组织学病理变化情况。方法将20只SD大鼠中的6只首先按完全随机配对分配到观察组(B组),将剩下的14只按体质量配对成7个区组,最后将每个区组中的1只大鼠按随机数字表分配到实验组(C组),其余7只为对照组(A组)。B组和C组给予高脂饮食,A组给予普通饮食。B组于实验第4、8、12周各处死2只,提取肝脏组织行HE染色,显微镜下观察肝脏病理切片是否达到脂肪性肝炎,第12周末建模成功(提示C组建模成功)。处死A组和C组全部大鼠,分别检测血清学指标ALT、AST、GGT、TG、TC、LDL、GLU、INS、HOMA-IR,取肝脏组织行HE染色;胰腺组织行HE染色观察大鼠胰腺腺泡和胰岛变化情况;肾脏组织行PAS染色,免疫组织化学desmin蛋白染色观察肾小球和足细胞desmin表达情况。计量资料2组间比较采用t检验。结果C组大鼠病理评分及血清ALT、GGT、LDL、TG、TC、GLU、INS、HOMAIR水平均高于A组(t值分别为4.67、2.83、2.34、4.58、4.78、3.00、2.97、3.80、4.10,P值均<0.05)。高脂组从第4周开始到第12周末肝脏病理改变为:肝小叶结构逐渐破坏,肝细胞胞浆内的小脂肪空泡逐渐转变为大脂肪空泡,汇管区逐渐出现炎症细胞浸润。高脂组第12周末胰腺病理改变为:胰腺腺泡细胞开始出现凋亡,萎缩,胰岛细胞未见明显异常。高脂组第12周末肾脏病理改变为:PAS染色阳性物质明显增多,肾小球体积增大,肾小球毛细血管基底膜增厚,毛细血管袢排列紊乱,系膜区增生明显;肾小管上皮细胞肿胀,部分管腔狭窄。高脂组肾组织免疫组化:肾小球足细胞desmin表达增强。结论高脂饮食诱导大鼠成功构建大鼠非酒精性脂肪性肝炎模型;大鼠非酒精性脂肪性肝炎模型可能导致胰腺腺泡细胞凋亡、萎缩;肾脏肾小球体积增大,毛细血管基底膜增厚,系膜增生,足细胞损伤。     

An unusual case of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis

The present article reports a case involving an immunocompetent, previously well child who, despite two previous doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine, developed severe flaccid paralysis consistent with polio after receiving oral polio vaccine.     

Muscle biopsy findings predictive of malignancy in rare infiltrative dermatomyositis

Objective

The characteristic pathological muscular findings of polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) have been shown to reflect their different pathogeneses. Here, we characterized the muscle biopsy findings of PM and DM patients with or without malignancy.

Methods

We evaluated the muscle biopsy findings of 215 consecutive PM and DM patients admitted to our hospital between 1970 and 2009. Pathology of the lesion biopsy sections was classified into 3 types: endomysial infiltration-type, perivascular infiltration-type, and rare-infiltrative-type.

Results

There was no difference between the muscle pathology of PM patients with and without malignancy. However, the incidence of rare-infiltrative type muscle pathology in DM patients with malignancy was significantly higher than in those without such tumors (p = 0.0345).

Conclusion

The incidence of rare-infiltrative type muscle pathology may be a predictive marker of DM with malignancy.     

Prevalence and risk factors for pulmonary arterial hypertension in end-stage renal disease patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a major complication in renal failure patients, but very little information is available on the cardiovascular parameters in these patients. The prevalence and risk factors for PAH were systematically evaluated in patients with end-stage renal diseases (ESRD) undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Methods: Between January 2010 and January 2014, 177 ESRD patients (85 males and 92 females) undergoing CAPD therapy were recruited. General data, biochemical parameters and echocardiographic findings were collected and PAH risk factors studied. Results: Study participants consisted of 65 patients (36.52%) with PAH (PAH group) and 112 patients without PAH (non-PAH group). The interdialytic weight gain, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure and hypertensive nephropathy incidence in the PAH group were significantly higher than the non-PAH group (all p?p?p?p?Conclusion: We observed a high incidence of PAH in ESRD patients undergoing CAPD. Logistic regression analysis revealed that DBP, NT-proBNP, LAD, RVID, RVOTD, LVEF, TAPSE and E/E’ are high-risk factors for PAH in ESRD patients undergoing CAPD.     

Patterns of arteriosclerotic lesions of the lower extremity in a West Indian population based on angiographic findings and ethnicity

Introduction

This study aimed to determine whether ethnic differences show different patterns of arterial disease in the lower limb.

Methods

A prospective analysis of 100 consecutive patients with 160 lower limb arteriograms was performed looking at the pattern of disease with relation to ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago.

Results

There were 53 male and 47 female patients with an age range of 43–90 years (mean: 66 years). Of the 100 patients, 45 were of East Indian descent, 36 of Afro-Caribbean descent, 14 of mixed descent and 5 had other backgrounds. There were 32 smokers and 69 diabetics.The most commonly affected artery in East Indians was the anterior tibial artery (ATA, 70%) followed by the peroneal artery (60%), superficial femoral artery (SFA, 60%), posterior tibial artery (PTA, 57%) and tibioperoneal trunk (TPT, 39%). In Afro-Caribbeans, the most commonly affected artery was the ATA (79%) followed by the PTA (74%), peroneal artery (66%) and TPT (55%). The mixed group showed the PTA (85%) to be most diseased followed by the peroneal artery (75%), ATA (70%), SFA (70%), dorsalis pedis artery (DPA, 60%) and TPT (50%). Overall, the most diseased vessel in all groups was the ATA (73%) followed by the PTA (66%), peroneal artery (64%), SFA (59%), TPT (46%), DPA (38%), popliteal artery (31%) and medial plantar artery (MPA, 29%), with the proximal vessels not being affected severely.

Conclusions

Ethnic divisions were only statistically significant (p<0.05) with East Indians showing worse disease in the profunda femoris artery and Afro-Caribbeans showing worse disease in the PTA, DPA and MPA. This suggests that environmental factors may play a significant role in the disease process including smoking and dietary factors rather than purely genetics.