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Biomedical subjects

E Legius

Publications and source records attributed to E Legius.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Cohen syndrome: the clinical symptoms and stigmata at a young age.

We present the clinical findings and follow-up data of four female children with Cohen syndrome, two sisters and one pair of dizygotic female twins. The most characteristic findings from birth on were as follows: 1. Low-normal growth parameters at birth. 2. Mild hypotonia and evidence of progressive microcephaly with narrow forehead in the first year of life. 3. Neutropenia was present from the beginning, remained unchanged over the years and is not associated with higher susceptibility to infections. 4. Autistic behavior and severe psychomotor retardation up to the age of 2 years. At that age the ocular anomalies with high-grade myopia and chorioretinal dystrophy were diagnosed. Correction of the myopia resulted in a marked catch-up in psychomotor development. 5. After the age of 6 years facial stigmata became more evident with short philtrum of the upper lip and broad and large upper incisors. 6. Tendency to truncular obesity with rest hypotonia and poor muscle development after the ages of 6 to 8 years. The clinical findings and follow-up data in the present four children with Cohen syndrome illustrate that the diagnosis of Cohen syndrome in infancy is very difficult.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1996

Unusual molecular findings in autosomal recessive spinal muscular atrophy.

All three types of autosomal recessive spinal muscular atrophy map to chromosome 5q11.2-q13.3 and are associated with deletions or mutations of the SMN (survival motor neurone) gene. The availability of a test to distinguish between the SMN gene and its nearly identical centromeric copy cBCD541 allows molecular diagnosis. We have analysed patients from 24 Belgian and 34 Turkish families for the presence or absence of a deletion in the SMN gene. A homozygous deletion in the SMN gene was seen in 90% of unrelated SMA patients. A non-radioactive SSCP assay allows for a semiquantitative analysis of the copy number of the centromeric and SMN genes. Hence, direct carrier detection has become feasible under certain conditions. We observed a phenotypically normal male, father of an SMA type I patient, presenting with only a single copy of the SMN gene and lacking both copies of the cBCD541 gene. This illustrates that a reduction of the total number of SMN and cBCD541 genes to a single SMN copy is compatible with normal life. In another SMA type I family, there is evidence for a de novo deletion of the centromeric gene in a normal sib. This observation illustrates the susceptibility of the SMA locus to de novo deletions and rearrangements.

Carrier State↗
PubMed1996

Marden-Walker phenotype: a diagnostic dilemma.

Two cases are presented with a phenotype mostly resembling the condition named Marden-Walker syndrome. Main features of this condition are blepharophimosis, micrognatia, congenital joint contractures, mental retardation, growth retardation and decreased muscular mass. Follow-up data of patients with this condition are scarce and most patients reported so far were infants or young children. We report two patients meeting many of the criteria proposed for diagnosing this particular phenotype. One case was diagnosed in adolescence and the other as an adult. Initially described as a syndrome, this condition is more likely to be a phenotypic expression of various heterogeneous diseases.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1995

Apparently new "anophthalmia-plus" syndrome in sibs.

The index patient of this report is a 17-week-gestation female fetus with bilateral anophthalmia, bilateral cleft lip/cleft palate, macrotia with bilateral lateral facial cleft, large open sacral neural tube defect, and uterus unicornis. Parents were normal and nonconsanguineous with an unremarkable family history. Their first child, a 4-year-old boy, is normal. The second child, a 2 1/2-year-old boy, has bilateral anophthalmia and an abnormal left ear with absent lobule as the sole additional anomaly. These 2 sibs seem to be the first examples of a new "anophthalmia-plus" syndrome apparently inherited as autosomal-recessive.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1995

Diaphragmatic hernia in Denys-Drash syndrome.

We report on a newborn infant with male pseudohermaphroditism and glomerular lesions (Denys-Drash syndrome) but without Wilms tumor. A constitutional heterozygous mutation in the WT1 gene (366Arg to His) was identified. In addition the child had a large diaphragmatic hernia, so far not described in Denys-Drash syndrome. The expression of the WT1 gene in pleural and abdominal mesothelium and the occurrence of diaphragmatic hernia in transgenic mice with a homozygous WT1 deletion strongly suggests that the diaphragmatic hernia in this patient is part of the malformation pattern caused by WT1 mutations.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Correlations between triplet repeat expansion and clinical features in Huntington's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate possible correlations between the length of the (CAG)n trinucleotide repeat in Hungtington's disease gene IT15 and clinical features (age at onset, symptoms at onset, and mode of progression) in Huntington's disease. DESIGN: In 59 patients with Huntington's disease, the expansion of the (CAG)n trinucleotide repeat was determined and clinical data were obtained retrospectively. SETTING: The Center for Human Genetics, affiliated with a university hospital. PATIENTS: All patients belonged to an initial group of 248 individuals tested in an indirect predictive testing procedure. RESULTS: A good correlation was found between the expansion of the (CAG)n trinucleotide repeat and the age at onset (r = -.71). No correlation was found between the repeat length of the normal allele and the age at onset. No correlations were found between repeat expansion and other clinical features, such as the nature of the symptoms at onset (neurologic, psychiatric/cognitive, or both) and the mode of progression. CONCLUSION: Factors that determine the nature of symptoms at onset and the mode of progression of Huntington's disease seem to be operating independently of the (CAG)n trinucleotide repeat in gene IT15.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1995

Consecutive glioblastoma and B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a young child with von Recklinghausen's Neurofibromatosis.

A young child with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is reported who developed two primary malignancies: a glioblastoma, followed 6 months later by an abdominal B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The child is now 4.5 years off treatment and disease free, but has developed progressive and severe psychomotor retardation as sequelae. The NF1 gene is known to act as a tumor suppressor gene. The possible mechanisms leading to the occurrence of a second primary tumor in this child are discussed.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗
PubMed1995

Increased and decreased relative risk for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus conferred by HLA class II and by CD4 alleles.

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus has been recognized to be heterogeneous in etiology, with multiple subgroups. Several genes or chromosomal regions have been implicated in the development of the disease. In this study the association of HLA class II alleles and genotypes and the association of CD4 and CD3 polymorphisms were assessed in a large number of Belgian non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients. Furthermore, the importance of the DQ alpha 1Arg52/DQ alpha 1Arg52 and the DQ beta 1Asp57/DQ beta 1Asp57 genotypes and the combination of both genotypes were examined. Our results show that in the HLA class II genes only the DQ alpha 1Arg52+/DQ alpha 1Arg52+ genotype was significantly associated with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus compared with controls (p = 0.011, RR = 2.02). We also observed that the frequency of the CD4*A4/*A8 genotype and the CD4*A7 allele was significantly increased and decreased respectively in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients as compared with the controls (p = 0.018, RR = 2.16 and p = 0.0003, RR = 0.49 respectively). These results therefore suggest that HLA class II and CD4 genes might independently contribute to the susceptibility for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and that these alleles and genotypes might identify subgroups of patients with different susceptibilities.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis with a mutation in the NF1 gene.

Encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis (ECCL) is a congenital hamartomatous disorder characterised by unilateral skin lesions, lipomas, and ipsilateral ophthamological and cerebral malformations. The disorder is thought to represent a localised form of Proteus syndrome. In this report, a child is described with ECCL and a de novo nonsense mutation in exon 29 (S1745X) of the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) gene. Although it is possible that both ECCL and NF1 occur coincidentally in this patient, we favour the hypothesis that in exceptional cases a mutation in the NF1 gene might give rise to severe congenital malformations such as ECCL. Possible pathogenetic mechanisms for these malformations are discussed.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Mutations in L1-CAM in two families with X linked complicated spastic paraplegia, MASA syndrome, and HSAS.

The suggestion that the three X linked syndromes X linked spastic paraplegia (MIM 312900), MASA syndrome (MIM 303350), and X linked hydrocephalus owing to stenosis of the aqueduct of Sylvius (MIM 307000) are variable clinical manifestations of mutations at the same locus at Xq28 was confirmed by the finding of mutations in the L1-CAM gene in the three syndromes. Recently, two families in which different subjects showed a clearly different phenotype within the same family of the three X linked syndromes were described. A reverse transcription PCR assay was developed for the analysis of the L1-CAM cDNA in two of the members of these families. RNA isolated from EBV transformed cell lines and a colon carcinoma derived cell line was used as a starting material. The L1-CAM cDNA of two male patients from each family was sequenced. We report two new mutations in the L1-CAM gene in these two families showing that the three different phenotypes observed in different generations within the same family are variable phenotypic expressions of the same mutation.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Neurofibromatosis type 1 in childhood: correlation of MRI findings with intelligence.

In a group of 28 children with neurofibromatosis type 1 aged between 4 and 16 years, neuroradiological findings were correlated with intelligence as measured by the Wechsler scales. The presence or specific location in the brain of T2 weighted prolonged signals on MRI was not associated with cognitive problems. No other physical characteristics associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 were found to correlate significantly with IQ. At the present these T2 weighted hyper-intense spots should not be used to predict neurofibromatosis type 1 associated cognitive problems.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1994

TP53 mutations are frequent in malignant NF1 tumors.

Neurofibromatosis type I (NFI) is a common autosomal dominant disorder with an increased risk for developing benign and malignant tumors. The NFI gene has been cloned and maps to 17q11.2, and the gene product acts as a tumor suppressor gene. Here we analyzed the role of mutations in TP53 in four malignant NFI tumors. Mutations were found in 3 out of 4 tumors. One of these mutations is a common missense mutation in codon 278 in one of the previously identified hot spots for mutations. The two other are hitherto unreported mutations, including a splice mutation of exon 3 and a nonsense mutation in exon 4. In addition, these four tumors also showed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for markers on chromosome 17 in the region of TP53. Malignant NFI tumors are initiated by a somatic inactivation of the second NFI allele. Tumor progression, however, occurs by accumulation of additional genetic abnormalities, such as homozygous inactivation of TP53, as demonstrated in this paper.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Possible association of CD3 and CD4 polymorphisms with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).

Population and family studies show that predisposition to type I diabetes (IDDM) is multifactorial, and that polymorphisms in the MHC region contribute substantially to the susceptibility to IDDM. In the present study the association of polymorphisms in the CD4 and the delta subunit of CD3 with IDDM were examined in a Belgian population. We observed that the frequency of the CD A4/A4 genotype and of the CD3 91 allele were significantly increased P = 0.0077) and decreased (P = 3.8 x 10(-5), respectively, in IDDM compared with controls. These results therefore suggest that CD4, CD3 or neighbouring genes might contribute to IDDM susceptibility. These results are, however, preliminary and cannot be considered as established until re-tested in a new population.

Alleles↗
PubMed1994

Fine mapping of X-linked clasped thumb and mental retardation (MASA syndrome) in Xq28.

The MASA syndrome is an X-linked disorder with mental retardation, spastic paraparesis, and adducted thumbs as the most characteristic features. We performed linkage analysis, using Xq28 markers, on a large MASA syndrome family. The maximum lodscore was 6.37 at 0 recombination for DXS52 and 5.99 at 0 recombination for DXS305. Crossovers were demonstrated between the disorder and DXS455. Clinical and linkage data from this family further support the hypothesis that the MASA syndrome and X-linked hydrocephalus are allelic disorders.

Chromosome Mapping↗
PubMed1994

Clinical aspects of the MASA syndrome in a large family, including expressing females.

We have evaluated, both clinically and by linkage analysis, a large family with 22 known affected males with the MASA syndrome (McKusick 303300). Clinical findings varied widely amongst the affected family members, with some appearing initially to have the MASA syndrome and others to have X-linked hydrocephalus (HSAS) (McKusick 307000). Important findings included the presence of adducted thumbs in two obligate carriers, learning problems or mild mental retardation in three females, two of whom were obligate carriers, and hydrocephalus with neonatal death in three females born to obligate carriers. X-inactivation analysis in lymphocytes from the two women with adducted thumbs revealed preferential inactivation of one X chromosome, suggesting that nonrandom X-inactivation may be responsible for clinical expression in females. The presence of HSAS in some individuals of this family and the MASA syndrome in others further supports the hypothesis that these two conditions are the result of a mutation in the same gene.

Child, Preschool↗