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Majethia P, Kaur N, Mascarenhas S, Rao LP, Pande S, Narayanan DL, Bhat V, Nayak SS, Nair KV, Prasannakumar AP, Chaurasia A, Hunakunti B, Jadhav N, Farooqui S, Yeole M, Kothiwale V, Naik R, Bhat V, Aroor S, Lewis L, Purkayastha J, Bhat YR, Praveen BK, Yatheesha BL, Patil SJ, Nampoothiri S, Kamath N, Siddiqui S, Bielas S, Girisha KM, Sharma S, Shukla A. Genetic and phenotypic landscape of pediatric-onset epilepsy in 142 Indian families: Counseling and therapeutic implications. Clin Genet 2024; 105:639-654. [PMID: 38374498 PMCID: PMC7615923 DOI: 10.1111/cge.14495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
The application of genomic technologies has led to unraveling of the complex genetic landscape of disorders of epilepsy, gaining insights into their underlying disease mechanisms, aiding precision medicine, and providing informed genetic counseling. We herein present the phenotypic and genotypic insights from 142 Indian families with epilepsy with or without comorbidities. Based on the electroclinical findings, epilepsy syndrome diagnosis could be made in 44% (63/142) of the families adopting the latest proposal for the classification by the ILAE task force (2022). Of these, 95% (60/63) of the families exhibited syndromes with developmental epileptic encephalopathy or progressive neurological deterioration. A definitive molecular diagnosis was achieved in 74 of 142 (52%) families. Infantile-onset epilepsy was noted in 81% of these families (61/74). Fifty-five monogenic, four chromosomal, and one imprinting disorder were identified in 74 families. The genetic variants included 65 (96%) single-nucleotide variants/small insertion-deletions, 1 (2%) copy-number variant, and 1 (2%) triplet-repeat expansion in 53 epilepsy-associated genes causing monogenic disorders. Of these, 35 (52%) variants were novel. Therapeutic implications were noted in 51% of families (38/74) with definitive diagnosis. Forty-one out of 66 families with monogenic disorders exhibited autosomal recessive and inherited autosomal dominant disorders with high risk of recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Purvi Majethia
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Namanpreet Kaur
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Selinda Mascarenhas
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Lakshmi Priya Rao
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Shruti Pande
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Dhanya Lakshmi Narayanan
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Vivekananda Bhat
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Shalini S. Nayak
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Karthik Vijay Nair
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Adarsh Pooradan Prasannakumar
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Ankur Chaurasia
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Bhagesh Hunakunti
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Nalesh Jadhav
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Sheeba Farooqui
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Mayuri Yeole
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Vishaka Kothiwale
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Rohit Naik
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Veena Bhat
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Shrikiran Aroor
- Department of Paediatrics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Leslie Lewis
- Department of Paediatrics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Jayashree Purkayastha
- Department of Paediatrics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Y. Ramesh Bhat
- Department of Paediatrics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - B. K. Praveen
- Department of Pediatrics, Father Muller Medical College Hospital, Mangalore, India
| | - B. L. Yatheesha
- Paediatric neurology, Dheemahi Child Neurology and Development Center, Shimoga, India
| | - Siddaramappa J. Patil
- Division of Medical Genetics, Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals/Mazumdar-Shaw Medical Center, Bangalore, India
| | - Sheela Nampoothiri
- Department of Pediatric Genetics, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, Cochin, India
| | - Nutan Kamath
- Department of Paediatrics, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - Shahyan Siddiqui
- Department of Neuro and Vascular Interventional Radiology, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad, India
| | - Stephanie Bielas
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Katta Mohan Girisha
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
- Suma Genomics Private Limited, Manipal Center for Biotherapeutics Research, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
- Department of Genetics, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
| | - Suvasini Sharma
- Neurology Division, Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Anju Shukla
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
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Amin S, Møller RS, Aledo‐Serrano A, Arzimanoglou A, Bager P, Jóźwiak S, Kluger GJ, López‐Cabeza S, Nabbout R, Partridge C, Schubert‐Bast S, Specchio N, Kälviäinen R. Providing quality care for people with CDKL5 deficiency disorder: A European expert panel opinion on the patient journey. Epilepsia Open 2024; 9:832-849. [PMID: 38450883 PMCID: PMC11145618 DOI: 10.1002/epi4.12914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) deficiency disorder (CDD) is a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy caused by variants in the CDKL5 gene. The disorder is characterized by intractable early-onset seizures, severe neurodevelopmental delay, hypotonia, motor disabilities, cerebral (cortical) visual impairment and microcephaly. With no disease-modifying therapies available for CDD, treatment is symptomatic with an initial focus on seizure control. Another unmet need in the management of people with CDD is the lack of evidence to aid standardized care and guideline development. To address this gap, experts in CDD and representatives from patient advocacy groups from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom convened to form an Expert Working Group. The aim was to provide an expert opinion consensus on how to ensure quality care in routine clinical practice within the European setting, including in settings with limited experience or resources for multidisciplinary care of CDD and other developmental and epileptic encephalopathies. By means of one-to-one interviews around the current treatment landscape in CDD, insights from the Expert Working Group were collated and developed into a Europe-specific patient journey for individuals with CDD, which was later validated by the group. Further discussions followed to gain consensus of opinions on challenges and potential solutions for achieving quality care in this setting. The panel recognized the benefit of early genetic testing, a holistic personalized approach to seizure control (taking into consideration various factors such as concomitant medications and comorbidities), and age- and comorbidity-dependent multidisciplinary care for optimizing patient outcomes and quality of life. However, their insights and experiences also highlighted much disparity in management approaches and resources across different European countries. Development of standardized European recommendations is required to align realistic diagnostic criteria, treatment goals, and management approaches that can be adapted for different settings. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) deficiency disorder (CDD) is a rare condition caused by a genetic mutation with a broad range of symptoms apparent from early childhood, including epileptic seizures that do not respond to medication and severe delays in development. Due to the lack of guidance on managing CDD, international experts and patient advocates discussed best practices in the care of people with CDD in Europe. The panel agreed that early testing, a personalized approach to managing seizures, and access to care from different disciplines are beneficial. Development of guidelines to ensure that care is standardized would also be valuable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Amin
- University Hospitals BristolBristolUK
| | - Rikke S. Møller
- The Danish Epilepsy Centre, FiladelfiaDianalundDenmark
- Department of Regional Health Research, Faculty of Health SciencesUniversity of Southern DenmarkOdenseDenmark
| | - Angel Aledo‐Serrano
- Vithas Madrid La Milagrosa University HospitalVithas Hospital GroupMadridSpain
| | | | | | | | - Gerhard Josef Kluger
- Epilepsy Center for Children and AdolescentsVogtareuthGermany
- Paracelsus Medical University SalzburgSalzburgAustria
| | | | - Rima Nabbout
- Necker‐Enfants Malades HospitalUniversité Paris Cité, Imagine InstituteParisFrance
| | | | - Susanne Schubert‐Bast
- Center of Neurology and NeurosurgeryEpilepsy Center Frankfurt Rhine‐MainGoethe‐University and University Hospital FrankfurtFrankfurt am MainGermany
- LOEWE Center for Personalized and Translational Epilepsy Research (CePTER)Goethe‐UniversityFrankfurt am MainGermany
- University Children's HospitalGoethe‐University and University Hospital FrankfurtFrankfurt am MainGermany
| | | | - Reetta Kälviäinen
- University of Eastern Finland and Epilepsy CenterKuopio University HospitalKuopioFinland
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Papadopoulou MT, Muccioli L, Bisulli F, Klotz KA, Fons C, Trivisano M, Kabulashvili T, Specchio N, Lesca G, Arzimanoglou A. Accessibility, availability and common practices regarding genetic testing for epilepsy across Europe: A survey of the European Reference Network EpiCARE. Epilepsia Open 2024; 9:996-1006. [PMID: 38517305 PMCID: PMC11145613 DOI: 10.1002/epi4.12930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The increasingly rapid pace of advancement in genetic testing may lead to inequalities in technical and human resources with a negative impact on optimal epilepsy clinical practice. In this view, the European Reference Network (ERN) for Rare and Complex Epilepsies EpiCARE conducted a survey addressing several aspects of accessibility, availability, costs, and standard practices on genetic testing across ERN EpiCARE centers. METHODS An online Google form was sent to 70 representatives of ERN EpiCARE centers. Descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis were used for data presentation. RESULTS We received 45 responses (1/center) representing 23 European countries with a better representation of Western Europe. Forty-five percent of the centers did not have access to all available types of genetic testing, mainly reflecting the limited availability of whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Thirty-five percent of centers report cost coverage only for some of the available tests, while costs per test varied significantly (interquartile range IQR ranging from 150 to 1173 euros per test across centers). Urgent genetic testing is available in 71.7% of countries (time-to-urgent result: 2 day to 2 months). The average time-to-result of specific tests in case of non-urgent prescription has a significant variance across centers, with the biggest range observed for whole-exome sequencing (6-128 weeks, IQR: 27 weeks). The percentage of agreement among the experts regarding the choice of genetic test at first intention in specific clinical situations was in all cases less than 50 percent (34.9% to 47% according to the proposed scenarios). SIGNIFICANCE Costs, time to deliver the results to the clinician, and type of first-line genetic testing vary widely across Europe, even in countries where ERN EpiCARE centers are present. Increased availability of genetic tests and guidance for optimal test choices in epilepsy remains essential to avoid diagnostic delays and excess health costs. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY The survey of the ERN EpiCARE highlights disparities in genetic testing for epilepsy across 45 ERN EpiCARE centers in 23 European countries. The findings reveal variable access to certain genetic tests, with lowest access to WGS. Costs and time-to-results vary widely. Urgent genetic testing is available in 71.7% of countries. Agreement among experts on first-line genetic tests for specific patient scenarios is below 50%. The study emphasizes the need for improved test availability and guidance to avoid diagnostic delays and unnecessary costs. EpiCARE has the mission to contribute in homogenizing best practices across Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria T. Papadopoulou
- Department of Paediatric Clinical Epileptology, Sleep Disorders and Functional NeurologyUniversity Hospitals of Lyon (HCL), Member of the European Reference Network (ERN) EpiCARELyonFrance
| | - Lorenzo Muccioli
- IRCCS Istituto Delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Member of the ERN EpiCAREBolognaItaly
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor SciencesUniversity of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | - Francesca Bisulli
- IRCCS Istituto Delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Member of the ERN EpiCAREBolognaItaly
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor SciencesUniversity of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | - Kerstin Alexandra Klotz
- Department of NeuropediatricsUniversity Hospital of Bonn, Member of the ERN EpiCAREBonnGermany
| | - Carmen Fons
- Unit for Epilepsy and NeurophysiologyDepartment of Pediatric Neurology, Sant Joan De Déu Children's Hospital, Member of the ERN EpiCARE, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de DéuUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Marina Trivisano
- Rare and Complex Epilepsy Unit, Department of NeuroscienceBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Member of the ERN EpiCARERomeItaly
| | - Teia Kabulashvili
- Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler University HospitalParacelsus Medical University, Member of the ERN EpiCARESalzburgAustria
| | - Nicola Specchio
- Rare and Complex Epilepsy Unit, Department of NeuroscienceBambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Member of the ERN EpiCARERomeItaly
| | - Gaetan Lesca
- Department of Medical GeneticsUniversity Hospitals of Lyon (HCL), Member of the ERN EpiCARELyonFrance
| | - Alexis Arzimanoglou
- Department of Paediatric Clinical Epileptology, Sleep Disorders and Functional NeurologyUniversity Hospitals of Lyon (HCL), Member of the European Reference Network (ERN) EpiCARELyonFrance
- Unit for Epilepsy and NeurophysiologyDepartment of Pediatric Neurology, Sant Joan De Déu Children's Hospital, Member of the ERN EpiCARE, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de DéuUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
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Macdonald-Laurs E, Dzau W, Warren AEL, Coleman M, Mignone C, Stephenson SEM, Howell KB. Identification and treatment of surgically-remediable causes of infantile epileptic spasms syndrome. Expert Rev Neurother 2024:1-20. [PMID: 38814860 DOI: 10.1080/14737175.2024.2360117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Infantile epileptic spasms syndrome (IESS) is a common developmental and epileptic encephalopathy with poor long-term outcomes. A substantial proportion of patients with IESS have a potentially surgically remediable etiology. Despite this, epilepsy surgery is underutilized in this patient group. Some surgically remediable etiologies, such as focal cortical dysplasia and malformation of cortical development with oligodendroglial hyperplasia in epilepsy (MOGHE), are under-diagnosed in infants and young children. Even when a surgically remediable etiology is recognised, for example, tuberous sclerosis or focal encephalomalacia, epilepsy surgery may be delayed or not considered due to diffuse EEG changes, unclear surgical boundaries, or concerns about operating in this age group. AREAS COVERED In this review, the authors discuss the common surgically remediable etiologies of IESS, their clinical and EEG features, and the imaging techniques that can aid in their diagnosis. They then describe the surgical approaches used in this patient group, and the beneficial impact that early epilepsy surgery can have on developing brain networks. EXPERT OPINION Epilepsy surgery remains underutilized even when a potentially surgically remediable cause is recognized. Overcoming the barriers that result in under-recognition of surgical candidates and underutilization of epilepsy surgery in IESS will improve long-term seizure and developmental outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Macdonald-Laurs
- Department of Neurology, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Neurosciences Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Winston Dzau
- Neurosciences Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Aaron E L Warren
- Department of Medicine (Austin Health), The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Matthew Coleman
- Neurosciences Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Cristina Mignone
- Department of Medical Imaging, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Sarah E M Stephenson
- Neurosciences Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Katherine B Howell
- Department of Neurology, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Neurosciences Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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Chowdhury SR, Whitney R, RamachandranNair R, Bijarnia Mahay S, Sharma S. Genetic Testing in Pediatric Epilepsy: Tools, Tips, and Navigating the Traps. Pediatr Neurol 2024; 157:42-49. [PMID: 38865949 DOI: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2024.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
With the advent of high-throughput sequencing and computational methods, genetic testing has become an integral part of contemporary clinical practice, particularly in epilepsy. The toolbox for genetic testing has evolved from conventional chromosomal microarray and epilepsy gene panels to state-of-the-art sequencing techniques in the modern genomic era. Beyond its potential for therapeutic benefits through precision medicine, optimizing the choice of antiseizure medications, or exploring nonpharmacological therapeutic modalities, genetic testing carries substantial diagnostic, prognostic, and personal implications. Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, the coexistence of neurodevelopmental comorbidities, early age of epilepsy onset, unexplained drug-refractory epilepsy, and positive family history have demonstrated the highest likelihood of yielding positive genetic test results. Given the diagnostic efficacy across different testing modalities, reducing costs of next-generation sequencing tests, and genetic diversity of epilepsies, exome sequencing or genome sequencing, where feasible and available, have been recommended as the first-tier test. Comprehensive clinical phenotyping at the outset, corroborative evidence from radiology and electrophysiology-based investigations, reverse phenotyping, and periodic reanalysis are some of the valuable strategies when faced with inconclusive test results. In this narrative review, the authors aim to simplify the approach to genetic testing in epilepsy by guiding on the selection of appropriate testing tools in the indicated clinical scenarios, addressing crucial aspects during pre- and post-test counseling sessions, adeptly navigating the traps posed by uncertain or negative genetic variants, and paving the way forward to the emerging testing modalities beyond DNA sequencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayoni Roy Chowdhury
- Department of Paediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Robyn Whitney
- Comprehensive Paediatric Epilepsy Program, Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, McMaster Children's Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rajesh RamachandranNair
- Comprehensive Paediatric Epilepsy Program, Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, McMaster Children's Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sunita Bijarnia Mahay
- Sr. Consultant, Clinical & Metabolic Geneticist, Institute of Medical Genetics & Genomics, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Suvasini Sharma
- Department of Paediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi, India.
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Rinaldi B, Bayat A, Zachariassen LG, Sun JH, Ge YH, Zhao D, Bonde K, Madsen LH, Awad IAA, Bagiran D, Sbeih A, Shah SM, El-Sayed S, Lyngby SM, Pedersen MG, Stenum-Berg C, Walker LC, Krey I, Delahaye-Duriez A, Emrick LT, Sully K, Murali CN, Burrage LC, Plaud Gonzalez JA, Parnes M, Friedman J, Isidor B, Lefranc J, Redon S, Heron D, Mignot C, Keren B, Fradin M, Dubourg C, Mercier S, Besnard T, Cogne B, Deb W, Rivier C, Milani D, Bedeschi MF, Di Napoli C, Grilli F, Marchisio P, Koudijs S, Veenma D, Argilli E, Lynch SA, Au PYB, Ayala Valenzuela FE, Brown C, Masser-Frye D, Jones M, Patron Romero L, Li WL, Thorpe E, Hecher L, Johannsen J, Denecke J, McNiven V, Szuto A, Wakeling E, Cruz V, Sency V, Wang H, Piard J, Kortüm F, Herget T, Bierhals T, Condell A, Ben-Zeev B, Kaur S, Christodoulou J, Piton A, Zweier C, Kraus C, Micalizzi A, Trivisano M, Specchio N, Lesca G, Møller RS, Tümer Z, Musgaard M, Gerard B, Lemke JR, Shi YS, Kristensen AS. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function variants in GRIA3 lead to distinct neurodevelopmental phenotypes. Brain 2024; 147:1837-1855. [PMID: 38038360 PMCID: PMC11068105 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) receptors (AMPARs) mediate fast excitatory neurotransmission in the brain. AMPARs form by homo- or heteromeric assembly of subunits encoded by the GRIA1-GRIA4 genes, of which only GRIA3 is X-chromosomal. Increasing numbers of GRIA3 missense variants are reported in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), but only a few have been examined functionally. Here, we evaluated the impact on AMPAR function of one frameshift and 43 rare missense GRIA3 variants identified in patients with NDD by electrophysiological assays. Thirty-one variants alter receptor function and show loss-of-function or gain-of-function properties, whereas 13 appeared neutral. We collected detailed clinical data from 25 patients (from 23 families) harbouring 17 of these variants. All patients had global developmental impairment, mostly moderate (9/25) or severe (12/25). Twelve patients had seizures, including focal motor (6/12), unknown onset motor (4/12), focal impaired awareness (1/12), (atypical) absence (2/12), myoclonic (5/12) and generalized tonic-clonic (1/12) or atonic (1/12) seizures. The epilepsy syndrome was classified as developmental and epileptic encephalopathy in eight patients, developmental encephalopathy without seizures in 13 patients, and intellectual disability with epilepsy in four patients. Limb muscular hypotonia was reported in 13/25, and hypertonia in 10/25. Movement disorders were reported in 14/25, with hyperekplexia or non-epileptic erratic myoclonus being the most prevalent feature (8/25). Correlating receptor functional phenotype with clinical features revealed clinical features for GRIA3-associated NDDs and distinct NDD phenotypes for loss-of-function and gain-of-function variants. Gain-of-function variants were associated with more severe outcomes: patients were younger at the time of seizure onset (median age: 1 month), hypertonic and more often had movement disorders, including hyperekplexia. Patients with loss-of-function variants were older at the time of seizure onset (median age: 16 months), hypotonic and had sleeping disturbances. Loss-of-function and gain-of-function variants were disease-causing in both sexes but affected males often carried de novo or hemizygous loss-of-function variants inherited from healthy mothers, whereas affected females had mostly de novo heterozygous gain-of-function variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Berardo Rinaldi
- Medical Genetics Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan 20122, Italy
| | - Allan Bayat
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Medicine, Danish Epilepsy Centre, Dianalund 4293, Denmark
- Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230Denmark
| | - Linda G Zachariassen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Jia-Hui Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center, Department of Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210032, China
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Organ Development and Regeneration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310030, China
| | - Yu-Han Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center, Department of Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210032, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Model Animal for Disease Study, National Resource Center for Mutant Mice, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210032, China
| | - Dan Zhao
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Kristine Bonde
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Laura H Madsen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | | | - Duygu Bagiran
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Amal Sbeih
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Syeda Maidah Shah
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Shaymaa El-Sayed
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Signe M Lyngby
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Miriam G Pedersen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Charlotte Stenum-Berg
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Louise Claudia Walker
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa K1H 8M5, Canada
| | - Ilona Krey
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Andrée Delahaye-Duriez
- Unité fonctionnelle de médecine génomique et génétique clinique, Hôpital Jean Verdier, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris, Bondy 93140, France
- NeuroDiderot, UMR 1141, Inserm, Université Paris Cité, Paris 75019, France
- UFR SMBH, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Bobigny 93000, France
| | - Lisa T Emrick
- Division of Neurology and Developmental Neurosciences, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Krystal Sully
- Division of Neurology and Developmental Neurosciences, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Chaya N Murali
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Lindsay C Burrage
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Julie Ana Plaud Gonzalez
- Division of Neurology and Developmental Neurosciences, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Mered Parnes
- Division of Neurology and Developmental Neurosciences, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Pediatric Movement Disorders Clinic, Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jennifer Friedman
- Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
| | - Bertrand Isidor
- Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, Service de Génétique Médicale, Nantes 44000, France
| | - Jérémie Lefranc
- Pediatric Neurophysiology Department, CHU de Brest, Brest 29200, France
| | - Sylvia Redon
- Service de Génétique Médicale, CHU de Brest, Brest 29200, France
- Université de Brest, CHU de Brest, UMR 1078, Brest F29200, France
| | - Delphine Heron
- APHP Sorbonne Université, Département de Génétique, Hôpital Armand Trousseau and Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris 75013, France
- Centre de Référence Déficiences Intellectuelles de Causes Rares, Paris 75013, France
| | - Cyril Mignot
- APHP Sorbonne Université, Département de Génétique, Hôpital Armand Trousseau and Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris 75013, France
- Centre de Référence Déficiences Intellectuelles de Causes Rares, Paris 75013, France
| | - Boris Keren
- Genetic Department, APHP, Sorbonne Université, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris 75013, France
| | - Mélanie Fradin
- Service de Génétique Médicale, Hôpital Sud, CHU de Rennes, Rennes 35200, France
| | - Christele Dubourg
- Service de Génétique Moléculaire et Génomique, CHU de Rennes, Rennes 35200, France
- Université de Rennes, CNRS, Institut de Genetique et Developpement de Rennes, UMR 6290, Rennes 35200, France
| | - Sandra Mercier
- Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, Service de Génétique Médicale, Nantes 44000, France
- Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, CNRS, INSERM, l’institut du thorax, Nantes 44000, France
| | - Thomas Besnard
- Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, Service de Génétique Médicale, Nantes 44000, France
- Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, CNRS, INSERM, l’institut du thorax, Nantes 44000, France
| | - Benjamin Cogne
- Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, Service de Génétique Médicale, Nantes 44000, France
- Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, CNRS, INSERM, l’institut du thorax, Nantes 44000, France
| | - Wallid Deb
- Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, Service de Génétique Médicale, Nantes 44000, France
- Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, CNRS, INSERM, l’institut du thorax, Nantes 44000, France
| | - Clotilde Rivier
- Department of Paediatrics, Villefranche-sur-Saône Hospital, Villefranche-sur-Saône 69655, France
| | - Donatella Milani
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan 20122, Italy
| | - Maria Francesca Bedeschi
- Medical Genetics Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan 20122, Italy
| | - Claudia Di Napoli
- Medical Genetics Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan 20122, Italy
| | - Federico Grilli
- Medical Genetics Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan 20122, Italy
| | - Paola Marchisio
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Pediatria Pneumoinfettivologia, Milan 20122, Italy
- University of Milan, Milan 20122, Italy
| | - Suzanna Koudijs
- Department of Neurology, ENCORE, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam 3015, The Netherlands
| | - Danielle Veenma
- Department of Pediatrics, ENCORE, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam 3015, The Netherlands
| | - Emanuela Argilli
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Sally Ann Lynch
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Children’s Health Ireland Crumlin, Dublin D12 N512, Ireland
| | - Ping Yee Billie Au
- Department of Medical Genetics, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | | | | | - Diane Masser-Frye
- Division of Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, UC San Diego School of Medicine, Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
| | - Marilyn Jones
- Division of Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, UC San Diego School of Medicine, Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
| | - Leslie Patron Romero
- Facultad de Medicina y Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Tijuana 22010, Mexico
| | | | | | - Laura Hecher
- Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20215, Germany
| | - Jessika Johannsen
- Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20215, Germany
| | - Jonas Denecke
- Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20215, Germany
| | - Vanda McNiven
- Division of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1E8, Canada
- Fred A Litwin Family Centre in Genetic Medicine, University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada
| | - Anna Szuto
- Division of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1E8, Canada
- Department of Paediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1E8, Canada
| | - Emma Wakeling
- North East Thames Regional Genetics Service, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London WC1N 3JH, UK
| | - Vincent Cruz
- DDC Clinic Center for Special Needs Children, Middlefield, OH 44062, USA
| | - Valerie Sency
- DDC Clinic Center for Special Needs Children, Middlefield, OH 44062, USA
| | - Heng Wang
- DDC Clinic Center for Special Needs Children, Middlefield, OH 44062, USA
| | - Juliette Piard
- Centre de Génétique Humaine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon 25000, France
- UMR 1231 GAD, Inserm, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon 21000, France
| | - Fanny Kortüm
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Theresia Herget
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Tatjana Bierhals
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Angelo Condell
- Brain and Mitochondrial Research Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Bruria Ben-Zeev
- Pediatric Neurology Unit, Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 52621, Israel
- Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 4R73+8Q, Israel
| | - Simranpreet Kaur
- Brain and Mitochondrial Research Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - John Christodoulou
- Brain and Mitochondrial Research Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
- Discipline of Genetic Medicine, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2050, Australia
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NewSouth Wales 2050, Australia
| | - Amelie Piton
- Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Laboratoire de Diagnostic Génétique, Strasbourg 67000, France
| | - Christiane Zweier
- Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen 91054, Germany
- Department of Human Genetics, Inselspital Bern, University of Bern, Bern 3010, Switzerland
| | - Cornelia Kraus
- Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen 91054, Germany
| | - Alessia Micalizzi
- Translational Cytogenomics Research Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome 00165, Italy
| | - Marina Trivisano
- Neurology, Epilepsy and Movement Disorders, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Full Member of European Reference Network EpiCARE, Rome 00165, Italy
| | - Nicola Specchio
- Neurology, Epilepsy and Movement Disorders, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Full Member of European Reference Network EpiCARE, Rome 00165, Italy
| | - Gaetan Lesca
- Department of Medical Genetics, University Hospital of Lyon and Claude Bernard Lyon I University, Lyon 69100, France
- Pathophysiology and Genetics of Neuron and Muscle (PNMG), UCBL, CNRS UMR5261 - INSERM U1315, Lyon 69100, France
| | - Rikke S Møller
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Medicine, Danish Epilepsy Centre, Dianalund 4293, Denmark
- Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230Denmark
| | - Zeynep Tümer
- Kennedy Center, Department of Clinical Genetics, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Maria Musgaard
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa K1H 8M5, Canada
| | - Benedicte Gerard
- Laboratoires de diagnostic genetique, Institut de genetique Medicale d'Alsace, Hopitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg 67000, France
| | - Johannes R Lemke
- Center for Rare Diseases, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Yun Stone Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Model Animal Research Center, Department of Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210032, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Model Animal for Disease Study, National Resource Center for Mutant Mice, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210032, China
- Guangdong Institute of Intelligence Science and Technology, Zhuhai 519031, China
| | - Anders S Kristensen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
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7
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Fitts W, Massey SL, McKee JL, Prelack MS. An introduction to epilepsy care. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care 2024:101591. [PMID: 38570217 DOI: 10.1016/j.cppeds.2024.101591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Whitney Fitts
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Becker L, Makridis KL, Abad‐Perez AT, Thomale U, Tietze A, Elger CE, Horn D, Kaindl AM. The importance of routine genetic testing in pediatric epilepsy surgery. Epilepsia Open 2024; 9:800-807. [PMID: 38366963 PMCID: PMC10984286 DOI: 10.1002/epi4.12916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Genetic variants in relevant genes coexisting with MRI lesions in children with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) can negatively influence epilepsy surgery outcomes. Still, presurgical evaluation does not include genetic diagnostics routinely. Here, we report our presurgical evaluation algorithm that includes routine genetic testing. We analyzed retrospectively the data of 68 children with DRE operated at a mean age of 7.8 years (IQR: 8.1 years) at our center. In 49 children, genetic test results were available. We identified 21 gene variants (ACMG III: n = 7, ACMG IV: n = 2, ACMG V: n = 12) in 19 patients (45.2%) in the genes TSC1, TSC2, MECP2, DEPDC5, HUWE1, GRIN1, ASH1I, TRIO, KIF5C, CDON, ANKD11, TGFBR2, ATN1, COL4A1, JAK2, KCNQ2, ATP1A2, and GLI3 by whole-exome sequencing as well as deletions and duplications by array CGH in six patients. While the results did not change the surgery indication, they supported counseling with respect to postoperative chance of seizure freedom and weaning of antiseizure medication (ASM). The presence of genetic findings leads to the postoperative retention of at least one ASM. In our cohort, the International League against Epilepsy (ILAE) seizure outcome did not differ between patients with and without abnormal genetic findings. However, in the 7/68 patients with an unsatisfactory ILAE seizure outcome IV or V 12 months postsurgery, 2 had an abnormal or suspicious genetic finding as a putative explanation for persisting seizures postsurgery, and 3 had received palliative surgery including one TSC patient. This study highlights the importance of genetic testing in children with DRE to address putative underlying germline variants as genetic epilepsy causes or predisposing factors that guide patient and/or parent counseling on a case-by-case with respect to their individual chance of postoperative seizure freedom and ASM weaning. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Genetic variants in children with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) can negatively influence epilepsy surgery outcomes. However, presurgical evaluation does not include genetic diagnostics routinely. This retrospective study analyzed the genetic testing results of the 68 pediatric patients who received epilepsy surgery in our center. We identified 21 gene variants by whole-exome sequencing as well as deletions and duplications by array CGH in 6 patients. These results highlight the importance of genetic testing in children with DRE to guide patient and/or parent counseling on a case-by-case with respect to their individual chance of postoperative seizure freedom and ASM weaning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena‐Luise Becker
- Department of Pediatric NeurologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- Center for Chronically Sick ChildrenCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- German Epilepsy Center for Children and AdolescentsCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- Institute of Cell and NeurobiologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Konstantin L. Makridis
- Department of Pediatric NeurologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- Center for Chronically Sick ChildrenCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- German Epilepsy Center for Children and AdolescentsCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- Institute of Cell and NeurobiologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
| | | | | | - Anna Tietze
- NeuroradiologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
| | | | - Denise Horn
- Institute of Human GeneticsCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Angela M. Kaindl
- Department of Pediatric NeurologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- Center for Chronically Sick ChildrenCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- German Epilepsy Center for Children and AdolescentsCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- Institute of Cell and NeurobiologyCharité – Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
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9
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Nyaga DM, Hildebrand MS, de Valles‐Ibáñez G, Keenan NF, Ye Z, LaFlamme CW, Mefford HC, Bennett MF, Bahlo M, Sadleir LG. Leveraging multiple approaches for the detection of pathogenic deep intronic variants in developmental and epileptic encephalopathies: A case report. Epilepsia Open 2024; 9:758-764. [PMID: 38129960 PMCID: PMC10984288 DOI: 10.1002/epi4.12887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
About 50% of individuals with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) are unsolved following genetic testing. Deep intronic variants, defined as >100 bp from exon-intron junctions, contribute to disease by affecting the splicing of mRNAs in clinically relevant genes. Identifying deep intronic pathogenic variants is challenging and resource intensive, and interpretation is difficult due to limited functional annotations. We aimed to identify deep intronic variants in individuals suspected to have unsolved single gene DEEs. In a research cohort of unsolved cases of DEEs, we searched for children with a DEE syndrome predominantly caused by variants in specific genes in >80% of described cases. We identified two children with Dravet syndrome and one individual with classic lissencephaly. Multiple sequencing and bioinformatics strategies were employed to interrogate intronic regions in SCN1A and PAFAH1B1. A novel de novo deep intronic 12 kb deletion in PAFAH1B1 was identified in the individual with lissencephaly. We showed experimentally that the deletion disrupts mRNA splicing, which results in partial intron retention after exon 2 and disruption of the highly conserved LisH motif. We demonstrate that targeted interrogation of deep intronic regions using multiple genomics technologies, coupled with functional analysis, can reveal hidden causes of unsolved monogenic DEE syndromes. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Deep intronic variants can cause disease by affecting the splicing of mRNAs in clinically relevant genes. A deep intronic deletion that caused abnormal splicing of the PAFAH1B1 gene was identified in a patient with classic lissencephaly. Our findings reinforce that targeted interrogation of deep intronic regions and functional analysis can reveal hidden causes of unsolved epilepsy syndromes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis M. Nyaga
- Department of Paediatrics and Child HealthUniversity of OtagoWellingtonNew Zealand
| | - Michael S. Hildebrand
- Department of Medicine (Austin Health)University of MelbourneMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Murdoch Children's Research InstituteRoyal Children's HospitalMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | | | - Ngaire F. Keenan
- Department of Paediatrics and Child HealthUniversity of OtagoWellingtonNew Zealand
| | - Zimeng Ye
- Department of Medicine (Austin Health)University of MelbourneMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Christy W. LaFlamme
- Center for Pediatric Neurological Disease ResearchSt. Jude Children's Research HospitalMemphisTennesseeUSA
| | - Heather C. Mefford
- Center for Pediatric Neurological Disease ResearchSt. Jude Children's Research HospitalMemphisTennesseeUSA
| | - Mark F. Bennett
- Department of Medicine (Austin Health)University of MelbourneMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Population Health and Immunity DivisionThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical ResearchParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
- Department of Medical BiologyUniversity of MelbourneParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
| | - Melanie Bahlo
- Population Health and Immunity DivisionThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical ResearchParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
- Department of Medical BiologyUniversity of MelbourneParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
| | - Lynette G. Sadleir
- Department of Paediatrics and Child HealthUniversity of OtagoWellingtonNew Zealand
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Slinger G, Noorlag L, van Diessen E, Otte WM, Zijlmans M, Jansen FE, Braun KPJ. Clinical characteristics and diagnoses of 1213 children referred to a first seizure clinic. Epilepsia Open 2024; 9:548-557. [PMID: 38101810 PMCID: PMC10984297 DOI: 10.1002/epi4.12883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE New-onset seizure-like events (SLEs) are common in children, but differentiating between epilepsy and its mimics is challenging. This study provides an overview of the clinical characteristics, diagnoses, and corresponding etiologies of children evaluated at a first seizure clinic (FSC), which will be helpful for all physicians involved in the care of children with SLEs. METHODS We included 1213 children who were referred to the FSC of a Dutch tertiary children's hospital over a 13-year period and described their clinical characteristics, first routine EEG recording results, and the distribution and specification of their eventual epilepsy and non-epilepsy diagnoses. The time interval to correct diagnosis and the diagnostic accuracy of the FSC were evaluated. RESULTS "Epilepsy" was eventually diagnosed in 407 children (33.5%), "no epilepsy" in 737 (60.8%), and the diagnosis remained "unclear" in 69 (5.7%). Epileptiform abnormalities were seen in 60.9% of the EEG recordings in the "epilepsy" group, and in 5.7% and 11.6% of the "no epilepsy" and "unclear" group, respectively. Of all children with final "epilepsy" and "no epilepsy" diagnoses, 68.6% already received their diagnosis at FSC consultation, and 2.9% of the children were initially misdiagnosed. The mean time to final diagnosis was 2.0 months, and 91.3% of all children received their final diagnosis within 12 months after the FSC consultation. SIGNIFICANCE We describe the largest pediatric FSC cohort to date, which can serve as a clinical frame of reference. The experience and expertise built at FSCs will improve and accelerate diagnosis in children with SLEs. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY Many children experience events that resemble but not necessarily are seizures. Distinguishing between seizures and seizure mimics is important but challenging. Specialized first-seizure clinics can help with this. Here, we report data from 1213 children who were referred to the first seizure clinic of a Dutch children's hospital. One-third of them were diagnosed with epilepsy. In 68.8% of all children-with and without epilepsy-the diagnosis was made during the first consultation. Less than 3% were misdiagnosed. This study may help physicians in what to expect regarding the diagnoses in children who present with events that resemble seizures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geertruida Slinger
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain CenterUniversity Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Lotte Noorlag
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain CenterUniversity Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Eric van Diessen
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain CenterUniversity Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, Franciscus Gasthuis & VlietlandRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Willem M. Otte
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain CenterUniversity Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Maeike Zijlmans
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain CenterUniversity Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
- Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland (SEIN)HeemstedeThe Netherlands
| | - Floor E. Jansen
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain CenterUniversity Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Kees P. J. Braun
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain CenterUniversity Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
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11
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Baldwin A, Copeland J, Azage M, Dratch L, Johnson K, Paul RA, Amado DA, Baer M, Deik A, Elman LB, Guo M, Hamedani AG, Irwin DJ, Lasker A, Orthmann-Murphy J, Quinn CC, Tropea TF, Scherer SS, Shinohara RT, Hamilton RH, Ellis CA. Disparities in Genetic Testing for Neurologic Disorders. Neurology 2024; 102:e209161. [PMID: 38447117 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000209161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Genetic testing is now the standard of care for many neurologic conditions. Health care disparities are unfortunately widespread in the US health care system, but disparities in the utilization of genetic testing for neurologic conditions have not been studied. We tested the hypothesis that access to and results of genetic testing vary according to race, ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, and insurance status for adults with neurologic conditions. METHODS We analyzed retrospective data from patients who underwent genetic evaluation and testing through our institution's neurogenetics program. We tested for differences between demographic groups in 3 steps of a genetic evaluation pathway: (1) attending a neurogenetic evaluation, (2) completing genetic testing, and (3) receiving a diagnostic result. We compared patients on this genetic evaluation pathway with the population of all neurology outpatients at our institution, using univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses. RESULTS Between 2015 and 2022, a total of 128,440 patients were seen in our outpatient neurology clinics and 2,540 patients underwent genetic evaluation. Black patients were less than half as likely as White patients to be evaluated (odds ratio [OR] 0.49, p < 0.001), and this disparity was similar after controlling for other demographic factors in multivariable analysis. Patients from the least wealthy quartile of zip codes were also less likely to be evaluated (OR 0.67, p < 0.001). Among patients who underwent evaluation, there were no disparities in the likelihood of completing genetic testing, nor in the likelihood of a diagnostic result after adjusting for age. Analyses restricted to specific indications for genetic testing supported these findings. DISCUSSION We observed unequal utilization of our clinical neurogenetics program for patients from marginalized and minoritized demographic groups, especially Black patients. Among patients who do undergo evaluation, all groups benefit similarly from genetic testing when it is indicated. Understanding and removing barriers to accessing genetic testing will be essential to health care equity and optimal care for all patients with neurologic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Baldwin
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Juliette Copeland
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Meron Azage
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Laynie Dratch
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Kelsey Johnson
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Rachel A Paul
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Defne A Amado
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Michael Baer
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Andres Deik
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Lauren B Elman
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Michael Guo
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Ali G Hamedani
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - David J Irwin
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Aaron Lasker
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Jennifer Orthmann-Murphy
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Colin C Quinn
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Thomas F Tropea
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Steven S Scherer
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Russell T Shinohara
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Roy H Hamilton
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Colin A Ellis
- From the Department of Neurology (A.B., J.C., M.A., L.D., K.J., R.A.P., D.A.A., M.B., A.D., L.B.E., M.G., A.G.H., D.J.I., A.L., J.O.-M., C.C.Q., T.F.T., S.S.S., R.H.H., C.A.E.), Penn Statistics in Imaging and Visualization Center (PennSIVE) (R.T.S.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, and Center for Biomedical Image Computing and Analytics (R.T.S.), Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
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12
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Boßelmann CM, Ivaniuk A, St John M, Taylor SC, Krishnaswamy G, Milinovich A, Leu C, Gupta A, Pestana-Knight EM, Najm I, Lal D. Healthcare utilization and clinical characteristics of genetic epilepsy in electronic health records. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae090. [PMID: 38524155 PMCID: PMC10959483 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the clinical characteristics and medical treatment of individuals affected by genetic epilepsies is instrumental in guiding selection for genetic testing, defining the phenotype range of these rare disorders, optimizing patient care pathways and pinpointing unaddressed medical need by quantifying healthcare resource utilization. To date, a matched longitudinal cohort study encompassing the entire spectrum of clinical characteristics and medical treatment from childhood through adolescence has not been performed. We identified individuals with genetic and non-genetic epilepsies and onset at ages 0-5 years by linkage across the Cleveland Clinic Health System. We used natural language processing to extract medical terms and procedures from longitudinal electronic health records and tested for cross-sectional and temporal associations with genetic epilepsy. We implemented a two-stage design: in the discovery cohort, individuals were stratified as being 'likely genetic' or 'non-genetic' by a natural language processing algorithm, and controls did not receive genetic testing. The validation cohort consisted of cases with genetic epilepsy confirmed by manual chart review and an independent set of controls who received negative genetic testing. The discovery and validation cohorts consisted of 503 and 344 individuals with genetic epilepsy and matched controls, respectively. The median age at the first encounter was 0.1 years and 7.9 years at the last encounter, and the mean duration of follow-up was 8.2 years. We extracted 188,295 Unified Medical Language System annotations for statistical analysis across 9659 encounters. Individuals with genetic epilepsy received an earlier epilepsy diagnosis and had more frequent and complex encounters with the healthcare system. Notably, the highest enrichment of encounters compared with the non-genetic groups was found during the transition from paediatric to adult care. Our computational approach could validate established comorbidities of genetic epilepsies, such as behavioural abnormality and intellectual disability. We also revealed novel associations for genitourinary abnormalities (odds ratio 1.91, 95% confidence interval: 1.66-2.20, P = 6.16 × 10-19) linked to a spectrum of underrecognized epilepsy-associated genetic disorders. This case-control study leveraged real-world data to identify novel features associated with the likelihood of a genetic aetiology and quantified the healthcare utilization of genetic epilepsies compared with matched controls. Our results strongly recommend early genetic testing to stratify individuals into specialized care paths, thus improving the clinical management of people with genetic epilepsies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian M Boßelmann
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Epilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Alina Ivaniuk
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Epilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Mark St John
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Epilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Sara C Taylor
- Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | | | - Alex Milinovich
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Costin Leu
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Center for Neurogenetics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ajay Gupta
- Epilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | | | - Imad Najm
- Epilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Dennis Lal
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Epilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Department of Neurology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Center for Neurogenetics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Harvard and M.I.T., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Cologne Center for Genomics (CCG), University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
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13
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Rajan-Babu IS, Dolzhenko E, Eberle MA, Friedman JM. Sequence composition changes in short tandem repeats: heterogeneity, detection, mechanisms and clinical implications. Nat Rev Genet 2024:10.1038/s41576-024-00696-z. [PMID: 38467784 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-024-00696-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Short tandem repeats (STRs) are a class of repetitive elements, composed of tandem arrays of 1-6 base pair sequence motifs, that comprise a substantial fraction of the human genome. STR expansions can cause a wide range of neurological and neuromuscular conditions, known as repeat expansion disorders, whose age of onset, severity, penetrance and/or clinical phenotype are influenced by the length of the repeats and their sequence composition. The presence of non-canonical motifs, depending on the type, frequency and position within the repeat tract, can alter clinical outcomes by modifying somatic and intergenerational repeat stability, gene expression and mutant transcript-mediated and/or protein-mediated toxicities. Here, we review the diverse structural conformations of repeat expansions, technological advances for the characterization of changes in sequence composition, their clinical correlations and the impact on disease mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indhu-Shree Rajan-Babu
- Department of Medical Genetics, The University of British Columbia, and Children's & Women's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
| | | | | | - Jan M Friedman
- Department of Medical Genetics, The University of British Columbia, and Children's & Women's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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14
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Grew E, Reddy M, Reichner H, Kim J, Salam M, Hashim A. Yield and Utility of Routine Epilepsy Panel Genetic Testing Among Young Patients With Seizures. J Child Neurol 2024; 39:138-146. [PMID: 38528770 DOI: 10.1177/08830738241240516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Objective: We examined the yield of routine epilepsy panel genetic testing in pediatric patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed epilepsy genetic panel results routinely performed in the hospital or clinic on patients <8 years old from July 2021 to July 2023. We evaluated demographics, family history, seizure type, severity, and frequency, development, tone and movement abnormalities, dysmorphism, and electroencephalography (EEG) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results as predictors of results. Results: 65 patients were included with mean age 4.5 years. Sixty percent of patients were male; 11 patients had pathogenic variants (16.9%), 7 were carriers for autosomal recessive conditions (10.8%), 36 had variants of uncertain significance (55.4%), and 11 tested negative (16.9%). Pathogenic variants and variants of uncertain significance were unassociated with demographics, clinical features, imaging, or family history. Conclusion: Variants identified have potential implications for treatment (SCN1), comorbidity screening (TSC1), reproduction (ATAD1, PSAT1, and CLN8), and prognostication (FOXG1). Patients not routinely screened for a genetic cause of epilepsy by our standard practices had clinically relevant results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Grew
- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Mayuri Reddy
- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | | | - Jinsoo Kim
- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Misbah Salam
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Children's Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Anjum Hashim
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Children's Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, NJ, USA
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15
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Fasaludeen A, McTague A, Jose M, Banerjee M, Sundaram S, Madhusoodanan UK, Radhakrishnan A, Menon RN. Genetic variant interpretation for the neurologist - A pragmatic approach in the next-generation sequencing era in childhood epilepsy. Epilepsy Res 2024; 201:107341. [PMID: 38447235 DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Genetic advances over the past decade have enhanced our understanding of the genetic landscape of childhood epilepsy. However a major challenge for clinicians ha been understanding the rationale and systematic approach towards interpretation of the clinical significance of variant(s) detected in their patients. As the clinical paradigm evolves from gene panels to whole exome or whole genome testing including rapid genome sequencing, the number of patients tested and variants identified per patient will only increase. Each step in the process of variant interpretation has limitations and there is no single criterion which enables the clinician to draw reliable conclusions on a causal relationship between the variant and disease without robust clinical phenotyping. Although many automated online analysis software tools are available, these carry a risk of misinterpretation. This guideline provides a pragmatic, real-world approach to variant interpretation for the child neurologist. The focus will be on ascertaining aspects such as variant frequency, subtype, inheritance pattern, structural and functional consequence with regard to genotype-phenotype correlations, while refraining from mere interpretation of the classification provided in a genetic test report. It will not replace the expert advice of colleagues in clinical genetics, however as genomic investigations become a first-line test for epilepsy, it is vital that neurologists and epileptologists are equipped to navigate this landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfiya Fasaludeen
- Dept of Neurology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
| | - Amy McTague
- Developmental Neurosciences, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Manna Jose
- Dept of Neurology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
| | - Moinak Banerjee
- Human Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
| | - Soumya Sundaram
- Dept of Neurology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
| | - U K Madhusoodanan
- Department of Biochemistry, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
| | - Ashalatha Radhakrishnan
- Dept of Neurology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
| | - Ramshekhar N Menon
- Dept of Neurology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
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16
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Dratch L, Azage M, Baldwin A, Johnson K, Paul RA, Bardakjian TM, Michon SC, Amado DA, Baer M, Deik AF, Elman LB, Gonzalez-Alegre P, Guo MH, Hamedani AG, Irwin DJ, Lasker A, Orthmann-Murphy J, Quinn C, Tropea TF, Scherer SS, Ellis CA. Genetic testing in adults with neurologic disorders: indications, approach, and clinical impacts. J Neurol 2024; 271:733-747. [PMID: 37891417 PMCID: PMC11095966 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-023-12058-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
The role of genetic testing in neurologic clinical practice has increased dramatically in recent years, driven by research on genetic causes of neurologic disease and increased availability of genetic sequencing technology. Genetic testing is now indicated for adults with a wide range of common neurologic conditions. The potential clinical impacts of a genetic diagnosis are also rapidly expanding, with a growing list of gene-specific treatments and clinical trials, in addition to important implications for prognosis, surveillance, family planning, and diagnostic closure. The goals of this review are to provide practical guidance for clinicians about the role of genetics in their practice and to provide the neuroscience research community with a broad survey of current progress in this field. We aim to answer three questions for the neurologist in practice: Which of my patients need genetic testing? What testing should I order? And how will genetic testing help my patient? We focus on common neurologic disorders and presentations to the neurology clinic. For each condition, we review the most current guidelines and evidence regarding indications for genetic testing, expected diagnostic yield, and recommended testing approach. We also focus on clinical impacts of genetic diagnoses, highlighting a number of gene-specific therapies recently approved for clinical use, and a rapidly expanding landscape of gene-specific clinical trials, many using novel nucleotide-based therapeutic modalities like antisense oligonucleotides and gene transfer. We anticipate that more widespread use of genetic testing will help advance therapeutic development and improve the care, and outcomes, of patients with neurologic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laynie Dratch
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Meron Azage
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Aaron Baldwin
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kelsey Johnson
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Rachel A Paul
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Tanya M Bardakjian
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Sarepta Therapeutics Inc, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Sara-Claude Michon
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Defne A Amado
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Michael Baer
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Andres F Deik
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Lauren B Elman
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Pedro Gonzalez-Alegre
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Spark Therapeutics Inc, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Michael H Guo
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Ali G Hamedani
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - David J Irwin
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Aaron Lasker
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Jennifer Orthmann-Murphy
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Colin Quinn
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Thomas F Tropea
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Steven S Scherer
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Colin A Ellis
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce St, 3 West Gates Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
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17
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Alaamery M, Massadeh S, Aldarwish M, Albesher N, Aljawini N, Alahmed O, Kashgari A, Walsh CA, Eyaid W. Case report: A founder UGDH variant associated with developmental epileptic encephalopathy in Saudi Arabia. Front Genet 2024; 14:1294214. [PMID: 38292436 PMCID: PMC10824937 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1294214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a group of more than 100 rare genetic disorders characterized by impaired glycosylation of proteins and lipids. The clinical presentation of CDG varies tremendously, from single-organ to multi-organ involvement and from prenatal death to a normal adult phenotype. In this case study, we report a large consanguineous family with multiple children suffering from cerebral palsy, seizure, developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, and global developmental delay. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) analysis revealed a homozygous variant in the UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (UGDH) gene (c.950G>A; p.R317Q) which segregates with the familial phenotype with a plausible autosomal recessive mode of inheritance, indicating a potential disease-causing association. The UGDH gene encodes the UDP-glucose dehydrogenase, a key enzyme in the synthesis of specific extracellular matrix constituents (proteoglycans and glycolipids) involved in neural migration and connectivity during early brain development. Many pathogenic mutations of UGDH have been reported in recent literature works. However, the variant identified in this study has been observed only in the Saudi population (13 families) and not in any other ethnic background, suggesting that it may be an ancient founder mutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manal Alaamery
- Developmental Medicine Department, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Genome Program, National Centre for Genomic Technologies, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- KACST-BWH Centre of Excellence for Biomedicine, Joint Centres of Excellence Program, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Salam Massadeh
- Developmental Medicine Department, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Genome Program, National Centre for Genomic Technologies, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- KACST-BWH Centre of Excellence for Biomedicine, Joint Centres of Excellence Program, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Manar Aldarwish
- Genetics and Precision Medicine Department (GPM), King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH), King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs (MNG-HA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nour Albesher
- Saudi Genome Program, National Centre for Genomic Technologies, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nora Aljawini
- KACST-BWH Centre of Excellence for Biomedicine, Joint Centres of Excellence Program, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Othman Alahmed
- Developmental Medicine Department, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Amna Kashgari
- King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Radiology, King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital, King Abdul Aziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Christopher A. Walsh
- Division of Genetics and Genomics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Wafaa Eyaid
- Genetics and Precision Medicine Department (GPM), King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH), King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs (MNG-HA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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18
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Khaksari K, Chen WL, Chanvanichtrakool M, Taylor A, Kotla R, Gropman AL. Applications of near-infrared spectroscopy in epilepsy, with a focus on mitochondrial disorders. Neurotherapeutics 2024; 21:e00323. [PMID: 38244258 PMCID: PMC10903079 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurot.2024.e00323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial diseases are inherited disorders that impede the mitochondria's ability to produce sufficient energy for the cells. They can affect different parts of the body, notably the brain. Neurological symptoms and epilepsy are prevalent in patients with mitochondrial disorders. The epileptogenicity of mitochondrial disorder is a complex process involving the intricate interplay between abnormal energy metabolism and neuronal activity. Several modalities have been used to detect seizures in different disorders including mitochondrial disorders. EEG serve as the gold standard for diagnosis and localization, commonly complemented by additional imaging modalities to enhance source localization. In the current work, we propose the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to identify the occurrence of epilepsy and seizure in patients with mitochondrial disorders. fNIRS proves an advantageous imaging technique due to its portability and insensitivity to motion especially for imaging infants and children. It has added a valuable factor to our understanding of energy metabolism and neuronal activity. Its real-time monitoring with high spatial resolution supplements traditional diagnostic tools such as EEG and provides a comprehensive understanding of seizure and epileptogenesis. The utility of fNIRS extends to its ability to detect changes in Cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) which is a crucial enzyme in cellular respiration. This facet enhances our insight into the metabolic dimension of epilepsy related to mitochondrial dysfunction. By providing valuable insights into both energy metabolism and neuronal activity, fNIRS emerges as a promising imaging technique for unveiling the complexities of mitochondrial disorders and their neurological manifestations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kosar Khaksari
- Division of Neurogenetics and Developmental Pediatrics, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA; Department of Neurology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - Wei-Liang Chen
- Division of Neurogenetics and Developmental Pediatrics, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA; Department of Neurology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Mongkol Chanvanichtrakool
- Division of Neurogenetics and Developmental Pediatrics, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Alexa Taylor
- Division of Neurogenetics and Developmental Pediatrics, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Rohan Kotla
- Division of Neurogenetics and Developmental Pediatrics, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA; Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA, USA
| | - Andrea L Gropman
- Division of Neurogenetics and Developmental Pediatrics, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA; Department of Neurology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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19
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De Wachter M, Schoonjans AS, Weckhuysen S, Van Schil K, Löfgren A, Meuwissen M, Jansen A, Ceulemans B. From diagnosis to treatment in genetic epilepsies: Implementation of precision medicine in real-world clinical practice. Eur J Paediatr Neurol 2024; 48:46-60. [PMID: 38039826 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2023.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
The implementation of whole exome sequencing (WES) has had a major impact on the diagnostic yield of genetic testing in individuals with epilepsy. The identification of a genetic etiology paves the way to precision medicine: an individualized treatment approach, based on the disease pathophysiology. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to: (1) determine the diagnostic yield of WES in a heterogeneous cohort of individuals with epilepsy referred for genetic testing in a real-world clinical setting, (2) investigate the influence of epilepsy characteristics on the diagnostic yield, (3) determine the theoretical yield of treatment changes based on genetic diagnosis and (4) explore the barriers to implementation of precision medicine. WES was performed in 247 individuals with epilepsy, aged between 7 months and 68 years. In 34/247 (14 %) a (likely) pathogenic variant was identified. In 7/34 (21 %) of these individuals the variant was found using a HPO-based filtering. Diagnostic yield was highest for individuals with an early onset of epilepsy (39 %) or in those with a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (34 %). Precision medicine was a theoretical possibility in 20/34 (59 %) of the individuals with a (likely) pathogenic variant but implemented in only 11/34 (32 %). The major barrier to implementation of precision treatment was the limited availability or reimbursement of a given drug. These results confirm the potential impact of genetic analysis on treatment choices, but also highlight the hurdles to the implementation of precision medicine. To optimize precision medicine in real-world practice, additional endeavors are needed: unifying definitions of precision medicine, establishment of publicly accessible databases that include data on the functional effect of gene variants, increasing availability and reimbursement of precision therapeutics, and broadening access to innovative clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias De Wachter
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Drie eikenstraat 655, 2650, Edegem, Belgium.
| | - An-Sofie Schoonjans
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Drie eikenstraat 655, 2650, Edegem, Belgium
| | - Sarah Weckhuysen
- Department of Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Drie eikenstraat 655, 2650, Edegem, Belgium; Applied&Translational Neurogenomics Group, VIB-CMN, VIB, UAntwerpen, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium; Translational Neurosciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Kristof Van Schil
- Department of Medical Genetics, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Drie eikenstraat 655, 2650, Edegem, Belgium
| | - Ann Löfgren
- Department of Medical Genetics, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Drie eikenstraat 655, 2650, Edegem, Belgium
| | - Marije Meuwissen
- Department of Medical Genetics, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Drie eikenstraat 655, 2650, Edegem, Belgium
| | - Anna Jansen
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Drie eikenstraat 655, 2650, Edegem, Belgium; Translational Neurosciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Berten Ceulemans
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Drie eikenstraat 655, 2650, Edegem, Belgium
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20
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Witzel MGW, Gebhard C, Wenzel S, Kleier S, Eichhorn B, Lorenz P, von der Heyden L, Kuhn M, Luedeke M, Döcker M, Jüngling J, Schulte B, Hörtnagel K, Glaubitz R, Knippenberger S, Teubert A, Abicht A, Neuhann TM. Prospective evaluation of NGS-based sequencing in epilepsy patients: results of seven NASGE-associated diagnostic laboratories. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1276238. [PMID: 38125836 PMCID: PMC10731269 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1276238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Epilepsy is one of the most common and disabling neurological disorders. It is highly prevalent in children with neurodevelopmental delay and syndromic diseases. However, epilepsy can also be the only disease-determining symptom. The exact molecular diagnosis is essential to determine prognosis, comorbidity, and probability of recurrence, and to inform therapeutic decisions. Methods and materials Here, we describe a prospective cohort study of patients with epilepsy evaluated in seven diagnostic outpatient centers in Germany. Over a period of 2 months, 07/2022 through 08/2022, 304 patients (317 returned result) with seizure-related human phenotype ontology (HPO) were analyzed. Evaluated data included molecular results, phenotype (syndromic and non-syndromic), and sequencing methods. Results Single exome sequencing (SE) was applied in half of all patients, followed by panel (P) testing (36%) and trio exome sequencing (TE) (14%). Overall, a pathogenic variant (PV) (ACMG cl. 4/5) was identified in 22%; furthermore, a significant number of patients (12%) carried a reported clinically meaningful variant of unknown significance (VUS). The average diagnostic yield in patients ≤ 12 y was higher compared to patients >12 y cf. Figure 2B vs. Figure 3B. This effect was more pronounced in cases, where TE was applied in patients ≤ 12 vs. >12 y [PV (PV + VUS): patients ≤ 12 y: 35% (47%), patients > 12 y: 20% (40%)]. The highest diagnostic yield was achieved by TE in syndromic patients within the age group ≤ 12 y (ACMG classes 4/5 40%). In addition, TE vs. SE had a tendency to result in less VUS in patients ≤ 12 y [SE: 19% (22/117) VUS; TE: 17% (6/36) VUS] but not in patients >12 y [SE: 19% (8/42) VUS; TE: 20% (2/10) VUS]. Finally, diagnostic findings in patients with syndromic vs. non-syndromic symptoms revealed a significant overlap of frequent causes of monogenic epilepsies, including SCN1A, CACNA1A, and SETD1B, confirming the heterogeneity of the associated conditions. Conclusion In patients with seizures-regardless of the detailed phenotype-a monogenic cause can be frequently identified, often implying a possible change in therapeutic action (36.7% (37/109) of PV/VUS variants); this justifies early and broad application of genetic testing. Our data suggest that the diagnostic yield is highest in exome or trio-exome-based testing, resulting in a molecular diagnosis within 3 weeks, with profound implications for therapeutic strategies and for counseling families and patients regarding prognosis and recurrence risk.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sören Wenzel
- Gemeinschaftspraxis für Humangenetik and Genetische Labore Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Saskia Kleier
- Gemeinschaftspraxis für Humangenetik and Genetische Labore Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Birgit Eichhorn
- MVZ Mitteldeutscher Praxisverbund Humangenetik GmbH, Dresden, Germany
| | - Peter Lorenz
- MVZ Mitteldeutscher Praxisverbund Humangenetik GmbH, Dresden, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Konstanze Hörtnagel
- Zentrum für Humangenetik und Laboratoriumsdiagnostik (MVZ), Martinsried, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Angela Abicht
- MGZ Medizinisch Genetisches Zentrum, München, Germany
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21
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Johannesen KM, Tümer Z, Weckhuysen S, Barakat TS, Bayat A. Solving the unsolved genetic epilepsies: Current and future perspectives. Epilepsia 2023; 64:3143-3154. [PMID: 37750451 DOI: 10.1111/epi.17780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Many patients with epilepsy undergo exome or genome sequencing as part of a diagnostic workup; however, many remain genetically unsolved. There are various factors that account for negative results in exome/genome sequencing for patients with epilepsy: (1) the underlying cause is not genetic; (2) there is a complex polygenic explanation; (3) the illness is monogenic but the causative gene remains to be linked to a human disorder; (4) family segregation with reduced penetrance; (5) somatic mosaicism or the complexity of, for example, a structural rearrangement; or (6) limited knowledge or diagnostic tools that hinder the proper classification of a variant, resulting in its designation as a variant of unknown significance. The objective of this review is to outline some of the diagnostic options that lie beyond the exome/genome, and that might become clinically relevant within the foreseeable future. These options include: (1) re-analysis of older exome/genome data as knowledge increases or symptoms change; (2) looking for somatic mosaicism or long-read sequencing to detect low-complexity repeat variants or specific structural variants missed by traditional exome/genome sequencing; (3) exploration of the non-coding genome including disruption of topologically associated domains, long range non-coding RNA, or other regulatory elements; and finally (4) transcriptomics, DNA methylation signatures, and metabolomics as complementary diagnostic methods that may be used in the assessment of variants of unknown significance. Some of these tools are currently not integrated into standard diagnostic workup. However, it is reasonable to expect that they will become increasingly available and improve current diagnostic capabilities, thereby enabling precision diagnosis in patients who are currently undiagnosed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrine M Johannesen
- Department of Genetics, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Medicine, The Danish Epilepsy Center, Dianalund, Denmark
| | - Zeynep Tümer
- Department of Genetics, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sarah Weckhuysen
- Applied and Translational Neurogenomics Group, VIB Centre for Molecular Neurology, Antwerp, Belgium
- Translational Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- μNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Tahsin Stefan Barakat
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Discovery Unit, Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- ENCORE Expertise Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Allan Bayat
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Medicine, The Danish Epilepsy Center, Dianalund, Denmark
- Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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22
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Johannesen KM, Møller RS. Genome sequencing for the fast diagnosis of early-onset epilepsies. Lancet Neurol 2023; 22:773-774. [PMID: 37596000 DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(23)00289-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Katrine M Johannesen
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Treatment, The Danish Epilepsy Centre, 4293 Dianalund, Denmark; Department of Genetics, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rikke S Møller
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Treatment, The Danish Epilepsy Centre, 4293 Dianalund, Denmark; Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
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23
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D'Gama AM, Mulhern S, Sheidley BR, Boodhoo F, Buts S, Chandler NJ, Cobb J, Curtis M, Higginbotham EJ, Holland J, Khan T, Koh J, Liang NSY, McRae L, Nesbitt SE, Oby BT, Paternoster B, Patton A, Rose G, Scotchman E, Valentine R, Wiltrout KN, Hayeems RZ, Jain P, Lunke S, Marshall CR, Rockowitz S, Sebire NJ, Stark Z, White SM, Chitty LS, Cross JH, Scheffer IE, Chau V, Costain G, Poduri A, Howell KB, McTague A. Evaluation of the feasibility, diagnostic yield, and clinical utility of rapid genome sequencing in infantile epilepsy (Gene-STEPS): an international, multicentre, pilot cohort study. Lancet Neurol 2023; 22:812-825. [PMID: 37596007 DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(23)00246-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Most neonatal and infantile-onset epilepsies have presumed genetic aetiologies, and early genetic diagnoses have the potential to inform clinical management and improve outcomes. We therefore aimed to determine the feasibility, diagnostic yield, and clinical utility of rapid genome sequencing in this population. METHODS We conducted an international, multicentre, cohort study (Gene-STEPS), which is a pilot study of the International Precision Child Health Partnership (IPCHiP). IPCHiP is a consortium of four paediatric centres with tertiary-level subspecialty services in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA. We recruited infants with new-onset epilepsy or complex febrile seizures from IPCHiP centres, who were younger than 12 months at seizure onset. We excluded infants with simple febrile seizures, acute provoked seizures, known acquired cause, or known genetic cause. Blood samples were collected from probands and available biological parents. Clinical data were collected from medical records, treating clinicians, and parents. Trio genome sequencing was done when both parents were available, and duo or singleton genome sequencing was done when one or neither parent was available. Site-specific protocols were used for DNA extraction and library preparation. Rapid genome sequencing and analysis was done at clinically accredited laboratories, and results were returned to families. We analysed summary statistics for cohort demographic and clinical characteristics and the timing, diagnostic yield, and clinical impact of rapid genome sequencing. FINDINGS Between Sept 1, 2021, and Aug 31, 2022, we enrolled 100 infants with new-onset epilepsy, of whom 41 (41%) were girls and 59 (59%) were boys. Median age of seizure onset was 128 days (IQR 46-192). For 43 (43% [binomial distribution 95% CI 33-53]) of 100 infants, we identified genetic diagnoses, with a median time from seizure onset to rapid genome sequencing result of 37 days (IQR 25-59). Genetic diagnosis was associated with neonatal seizure onset versus infantile seizure onset (14 [74%] of 19 vs 29 [36%] of 81; p=0·0027), referral setting (12 [71%] of 17 for intensive care, 19 [44%] of 43 non-intensive care inpatient, and 12 [28%] of 40 outpatient; p=0·0178), and epilepsy syndrome (13 [87%] of 15 for self-limited epilepsies, 18 [35%] of 51 for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, 12 [35%] of 34 for other syndromes; p=0·001). Rapid genome sequencing revealed genetic heterogeneity, with 34 unique genes or genomic regions implicated. Genetic diagnoses had immediate clinical utility, informing treatment (24 [56%] of 43), additional evaluation (28 [65%]), prognosis (37 [86%]), and recurrence risk counselling (all cases). INTERPRETATION Our findings support the feasibility of implementation of rapid genome sequencing in the clinical care of infants with new-onset epilepsy. Longitudinal follow-up is needed to further assess the role of rapid genetic diagnosis in improving clinical, quality-of-life, and economic outcomes. FUNDING American Academy of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital Children's Rare Disease Cohorts Initiative, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Epilepsy Canada, Feiga Bresver Academic Foundation, Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, Medical Research Council, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute for Health and Care Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, One8 Foundation, Ontario Brain Institute, Robinson Family Initiative for Transformational Research, The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation, University of Toronto McLaughlin Centre.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alissa M D'Gama
- Epilepsy Genetics Program, Division of Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sarah Mulhern
- Victorian Clinical Genetics Service, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Beth R Sheidley
- Epilepsy Genetics Program, Division of Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Fadil Boodhoo
- Department of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK
| | - Sarah Buts
- Department of Paediatric Neurology, Aachen University Hospital, Germany
| | - Natalie J Chandler
- North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub, Great Ormond Street NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Joanna Cobb
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Meredith Curtis
- Division of Genome Diagnostics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | - Jonathon Holland
- Department of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK
| | - Tayyaba Khan
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Julia Koh
- Epilepsy Genetics Program, Division of Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nicole S Y Liang
- Department of Genetic Counselling, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Lyndsey McRae
- Division of Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sarah E Nesbitt
- North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub, Great Ormond Street NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; Genetics and Genomic Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
| | - Brandon T Oby
- Epilepsy Genetics Program, Division of Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ben Paternoster
- North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub, Great Ormond Street NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Alistair Patton
- Department of Paediatrics, Frimley Park Hospital, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Frimley, UK
| | - Graham Rose
- North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub, Great Ormond Street NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Elizabeth Scotchman
- North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub, Great Ormond Street NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Rozalia Valentine
- Epilepsy Genetics Program, Division of Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kimberly N Wiltrout
- Epilepsy Genetics Program, Division of Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robin Z Hayeems
- Program in Child Health Evaluative Sciences, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Puneet Jain
- Division of Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sebastian Lunke
- Victorian Clinical Genetics Service, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Pathology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Christian R Marshall
- Division of Genome Diagnostics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Shira Rockowitz
- The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Research Computing, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Neil J Sebire
- DRIVE Centre, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK
| | - Zornitza Stark
- Victorian Clinical Genetics Service, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Susan M White
- Victorian Clinical Genetics Service, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Lyn S Chitty
- North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub, Great Ormond Street NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; Genetics and Genomic Medicine, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
| | - J Helen Cross
- Department of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK; Developmental Neurosciences, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
| | - Ingrid E Scheffer
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Austin Health, and Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Neurology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Vann Chau
- Division of Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gregory Costain
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Division of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, Department of Paediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Annapurna Poduri
- Epilepsy Genetics Program, Division of Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Katherine B Howell
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Neurology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Amy McTague
- Department of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK; Developmental Neurosciences, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
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24
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Johannesen KM, Nielsen J, Sabers A, Isidor B, Kattentidt-Mouravieva AA, Zieglgänsberger D, Heidlebaugh AR, Oetjens KF, Vidal AA, Christensen J, Tiller J, Freed AN, Møller RS, Rubboli G. The phenotypic presentation of adult individuals with SLC6A1-related neurodevelopmental disorders. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1216653. [PMID: 37662110 PMCID: PMC10472133 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1216653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction SLC6A1 is one of the most common monogenic causes of epilepsy and is a well-established cause of neurodevelopmental disorders. SLC6A1-neurodevelopmental disorders have a consistent phenotype of mild to severe intellectual disability (ID), epilepsy, language delay and behavioral disorders. This phenotypic description is mainly based on knowledge from the pediatric population. Method Here, we sought to describe patients with SLC6A1 variants and age above 18 years through the ascertainment of published and unpublished patients. Unpublished patients were ascertained through international collaborations, while previously published patients were collected through a literature search. Results A total of 15 adult patients with SLC6A1 variants were included. 9/13 patients had moderate to severe ID (data not available in two). Epilepsy was prevalent (11/15) with seizure types such as absence, myoclonic, atonic, and tonic-clonic seizures. Epilepsy was refractory in 7/11, while four patients were seizure free with lamotrigine, valproate, or lamotrigine in combination with valproate. Language development was severely impaired in five patients. Behavioral disorders were reported in and mainly consisted of autism spectrum disorders and aggressive behavior. Schizophrenia was not reported in any of the patients. Discussion The phenotype displayed in the adult patients presented here resembled that of the pediatric cohort with ID, epilepsy, and behavioral disturbances, indicating that the phenotype of SLC6A1-NDD is consistent over time. Seizures were refractory in >60% of the patients with epilepsy, indicating the lack of targeted treatment in SLC6A1-NDDs. With increased focus on repurposing drugs and on the development of new treatments, hope is that the outlook reflected here will change over time. ID appeared to be more severe in the adult patients, albeit this might reflect a recruitment bias, where only patients seen in specialized centers were included or it might be a feature of the natural history of SLC6A1-NDDs. This issue warrants to be explored in further studies in larger cohorts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrine M. Johannesen
- Department of Genetics, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Treatment, The Danish Epilepsy Centre, Member of the European Reference Network, EpiCARE, Dianalund, Denmark
| | - Jimmi Nielsen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital, Capital Region of Denmark Mental Health Services, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Anne Sabers
- Epilepsy Clinic, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Bertrand Isidor
- Service de Génétique Médicale, CHU de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | | | | | | | - Kathryn F. Oetjens
- Autism and Developmental Medicine Institute, Danville, VA, United States
| | - Anna Abuli Vidal
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Genetics, University Hospital Vall d’Hebron and Medicine Genetics Group Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jakob Christensen
- Department of Neurology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- National Centre for Register-based Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | | | - Rikke S. Møller
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Treatment, The Danish Epilepsy Centre, Member of the European Reference Network, EpiCARE, Dianalund, Denmark
- Department of Regional Health Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Guido Rubboli
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Treatment, The Danish Epilepsy Centre, Member of the European Reference Network, EpiCARE, Dianalund, Denmark
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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25
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Whitney R, Sharma S, Jones KC, RamachandranNair R. Genetics and SUDEP: Challenges and Future Directions. Seizure 2023; 110:188-193. [PMID: 37413779 DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2023.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the leading cause of epilepsy-related deaths in children and adults with epilepsy. The incidence of SUDEP in children and adults is equal, approximately 1.2 per 1000-person years. Although inroads have been made in our understanding of SUDEP, its pathophysiology remains unknown. The most important risk factor for SUDEP is the presence of tonic-clonic seizures. Recently there has been growing interest in the contribution of genetic risk factors to SUDEP deaths. Pathogenic variants in epilepsy-related and cardiac genes have been found in some cases of SUDEP post-mortem. Pleiotropy may occur in which a single gene when altered may cause multiple phenotypes (i.e., epilepsy and cardiac arrhythmia). Recently it has been shown that some developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) may also be at heightened risk of SUDEP. In addition, polygenic risk has been postulated to effect SUDEP risk with current models evaluating the additive effect of variants in multiple genes. However, the mechanisms underpinning polygenic risk in SUDEP are likely more complex than this. Some preliminary studies also highlight the feasibility of detecting genetic variants in brain tissue post-mortem. Despite the advances in the field of SUDEP genetics, the use of molecular autopsy remains underutilized in SUDEP cases. Several challenges exist concerning genetic testing post-mortem in SUDEP cases, such as interpretation, cost of testing, and availability. In this focused review, we highlight the current landscape of genetic testing in SUDEP cases, its challenges, and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn Whitney
- Division of Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Suvasini Sharma
- Neurology Division, Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and associated Kalawati Saran Children Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Kevin C Jones
- Division of Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rajesh RamachandranNair
- Division of Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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26
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Boßelmann CM, Leu C, Lal D. Technological and computational approaches to detect somatic mosaicism in epilepsy. Neurobiol Dis 2023:106208. [PMID: 37343892 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Lesional epilepsy is a common and severe disease commonly associated with malformations of cortical development, including focal cortical dysplasia and hemimegalencephaly. Recent advances in sequencing and variant calling technologies have identified several genetic causes, including both short/single nucleotide and structural somatic variation. In this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the methodological advancements in this field while highlighting the unresolved technological and computational challenges that persist, including ultra-low variant allele fractions in bulk tissue, low availability of paired control samples, spatial variability of mutational burden within the lesion, and the issue of false-positive calls and validation procedures. Information from genetic testing in focal epilepsy may be integrated into clinical care to inform histopathological diagnosis, postoperative prognosis, and candidate precision therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian M Boßelmann
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA; Epilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Costin Leu
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA; Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Dennis Lal
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA; Epilepsy Center, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Harvard and M.I.T., Cambridge, MA, USA; Cologne Center for Genomics (CCG), University of Cologne, Cologne, DE, USA
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27
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Revdal E, Kolstad BP, Winsvold BS, Selmer KK, Morken G, Brodtkorb E. Psychiatric comorbidity in relation to clinical characteristics of epilepsy: A retrospective observational study. Seizure 2023; 110:136-143. [PMID: 37379699 DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2023.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in people with epilepsy is high. However, diagnostic validity and information about the nature of the seizure disorders are often poor in population-based studies. In a well validated and classified patient sample, we investigated psychiatric comorbidity according to clinical characteristics. METHOD Participants in The Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) with ≥ 2 diagnostic epilepsy codes during 1987-2019 were identified. Medical records were reviewed, and epilepsy was validated and classified according to ILAE. Psychiatric comorbidity was defined by ICD-codes. RESULTS In 448 individuals with epilepsy, 35% had at least one psychiatric disorder (anxiety and related disorders 23%, mood disorders 15%, substance abuse and personality disorders 7%, and psychosis 3%). Comorbidity was significantly higher in women than in men (p = 0.007). The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 37% in both focal and generalized epilepsy. In focal epilepsy, it was significantly lower when etiology was structural (p = 0.011), whereas it was higher when the cause was unknown (p = 0.024). Comorbidity prevalence was 35% both in patients achieving seizure freedom and in those with active epilepsy but 38% among 73 patients with epilepsy resolved. CONCLUSION Just over one third of people with epilepsy had psychiatric comorbidities. The prevalence was equal in focal and generalized epilepsy but was significantly higher in focal epilepsy of unknown cause compared to lesional epilepsy. Comorbidity was independent of seizure control at last follow-up but was slightly more common in those with resolved epilepsy, often having non-acquired genetic etiologies possibly linked to neuropsychiatric susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline Revdal
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, St. Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim N-7491, Norway.
| | - Bjørn Patrick Kolstad
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Bendik Slagsvold Winsvold
- Department of Research and Innovation, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kaja Kristine Selmer
- Department of Research and Innovation, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Division of Clinical Neuroscience, National Centre for Epilepsy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Gunnar Morken
- Department of Psychiatry, St Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Mental Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Eylert Brodtkorb
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, St. Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim N-7491, Norway
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28
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Krey I, Platzer K, Lemke JR. Monogenetic epilepsies and how to approach them in 2022. MED GENET-BERLIN 2022; 34:201-205. [PMID: 38835882 PMCID: PMC11006248 DOI: 10.1515/medgen-2022-2143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Ilona Krey
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Konrad Platzer
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Johannes R Lemke
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
- Center for Rare Diseases, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
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29
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Krey I, Johannesen KM, Kohnen O, Lemke JR. Genetic testing in adults with developmental and epileptic encephalopathy - what do we know? MED GENET-BERLIN 2022; 34:207-213. [PMID: 38835877 PMCID: PMC11006368 DOI: 10.1515/medgen-2022-2144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Knowledge of underlying genetic causes of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE) in adults is still limited when compared to the routine diagnostic approach in similarly affected children. A well-documented longitudinal study of adults with DEE is of utmost importance to understand the natural history of the respective entity. This information is of great value especially for genetic counselling of newly diagnosed children with identical genetic diagnoses and may impact treatment and management of affected individuals. In our meta-analysis we provide an overview of the most recurrent genetic findings across an adult DEE cohort (n = 1 , 020 ). The gene mostly associated with a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in adult DEE is SCN1A, followed by MECP2 and CHD2. Studies employing exome sequencing and calling of both single nucleotide variants and copy number variants are associated with diagnostic yields of almost 50 %. Finally, we highlight three remarkable cases, each representing the oldest individual ever published with their genetic diagnosis, i. e., Angelman syndrome, Miller-Dieker syndrome, and CAMK2A-related disorder, and describe lessons learned from each of these adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilona Krey
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 55, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kathrine M Johannesen
- Department of Epilepsy Genetics and Personalized Medicine, The Danish Epilepsy Centre, Dianalund, Denmark
- Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Oona Kohnen
- Swiss Epilepsy Center, Klinik Lengg, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Johannes R Lemke
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 55, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Center for Rare Diseases, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
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30
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Lemke JR. Epilepsy and genetics. MED GENET-BERLIN 2022; 34:199-200. [PMID: 38835871 PMCID: PMC11006258 DOI: 10.1515/medgen-2022-2142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Johannes R Lemke
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
- Center for Rare Diseases, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
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