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Biomedical subjects

M W Partington

Publications and source records attributed to M W Partington.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Fragile X syndrome without CCG amplification has an FMR1 deletion.

We describe a patient with typical clinical features of the fragile X syndrome, but without cytogenetic expression of the fragile X or an amplified CCG trinucleotide repeat fragment. The patient has a previously uncharacterized submicroscopic deletion encompassing the CCG repeat, the entire FMR1 gene and about 2.5 megabases of flanking sequences. This finding confirms that the fragile X phenotype can exist, without amplification of the CCG repeat or cytogenetic expression of the fragile X, and that fragile X syndrome is a genetically homogeneous disorder involving FMR1. We also found random X-inactivation in the mother of the patient who was shown to be a carrier of this deletion.

Adult

Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome: a follow-up study.

Eighteen patients with a diagnosis of the Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) 18 to 23 years ago were traced and the survivors were seen personally. The diagnosis was confirmed in 11 patients. Three of these, all women, had died (ages 9, 37, and 52 years) from infections. The remaining 8 were doing well despite a variety of medical problems including structural lesions of the eyes, severe dental caries, gastroesophageal reflux, and mild keloid scarring. The original diagnosis could not be confirmed in 7 patients although some characteristics of the RTS were found in each. One patient was thought to have the Cornelia de Lange syndrome, and one the Ruvalcaba syndrome but no formal diagnosis was reached in the others.

Abnormalities, Multiple

X-linked cutaneous amyloidosis: further clinical and pathological observations.

A 10-year follow-up of a family with X-linked cutaneous amyloidosis confirmed no more than streaks or spots of brown pigmentation of the skin in females but much more varied and severe manifestations in males. These included neonatal colitis, infantile diarrhea, recurrent respiratory infections, corneal dystrophy, photophobia, unruly hair with a frontal upsweep, dry skin, and mottled, muddy-brown pigmentation seen first on the inner thighs and spreading diffusely to the buttocks, trunk, and arms. Amyloid was found in the pigmented skin of adults of both sexes but not in children. An autopsy of a 50-year-old man, subject to recurrent pneumonia, confirmed the presence of amyloid in the skin, but it was not found in other organs. Changes in the lungs were those of late-stage diffuse pulmonary fibrosis. The pattern of inheritance is X-linked, but the pathogenesis remains obscure.

Adult

Rett syndrome in monozygotic twins.

The evolution of the Rett syndrome in 29-year-old twin girls is presented. Evidence for monozygosity is given together with a brief account of the problems these girls posed to their family in early childhood.

Adult

Neurofibromatosis in a man with a ring 22: in situ hybridization studies.

In situ hybridization with a c-sis probe was performed on peripheral lymphocytes of a man with neurofibromatosis and a ring 22 chromosome. Hybridization was observed on both the normal #22 and the ring 22, indicating that the patient is not constitutionally hemizygous for c-sis. The implications of a ring 22 constitution and the neurofibromatosis phenotype are discussed.

Adult

X-linked short stature with skin pigmentation: evidence for heterogeneity of the Russell-Silver syndrome.

A family is described with a syndrome of short stature, abnormal pigmentation of the skin and mild facial dysmorphism. The short stature and pigmentary anomalies were more marked in the males than the females. The pattern of inheritance appeared X-linked. In 2 young brothers the clinical picture mimicked that of the Russell-Silver syndrome. It is suggested that the Russell-Silver syndrome is heterogeneous and that the criteria for its diagnosis need re-evaluation.

Adult

Further segregation analysis of the fragile X syndrome with special reference to transmitting males.

A new series of 96 pedigrees with the fra(X) syndrome was analysed using complex segregation analysis with pointers, defining affection as any degree of mental impairment. These families were found to exhibit the same segregation pattern as the first series of 110 pedigrees (Sherman et al. 1984). The best estimate for penetrance of mental impairment in males was 79% and in females was 35% for the combined data. Again, there was little evidence for sporadic cases among affected males. Many more intellectually normal transmitting males have been observed since the existence of such males and the concomitant need to investigate the paternal side of pedigrees was recognized. On further investigation of all 206 pedigrees from the old and new data sets, the sibships of nonexpressing males appeared to be different from those of expressing males. Our analysis, using mental impairment as the phenotype, suggested that obligate carrier mothers and daughters of intellectually normal transmitting males are rarely, if ever, mentally impaired and that the sibs of transmitting males are much less likely to be retarded than the sibs of mentally impaired males. Though mothers and daughters of transmitting males are similar in phenotype, the expression of the gene in their offspring appears to be different: the penetrance of mental impairment is higher in offspring of intellectually normal daughters of transmitting males than in offspring of intellectually normal mothers of transmitting males. The implications of these observations for genetic counseling and for genetic models of the fra(X) syndrome are discussed.

Female

The genetic distance between the coagulation factor IX gene and the locus for the fragile X syndrome: clinical implications.

In 3 families with the fragile-X [fra(X)] syndrome, we have identified a minimum of 4 recombinations in 9 meioses between the syndrome locus and the coagulation Factor IX gene. Two Factor IX intragenic restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), produced with TaqI and XmnI, were used as markers. In lod score calculations, incomplete penetrance of the fra(X) mutation in males and females was taken into account by the computer program LIPED. The cumulative maximum lod score calculated from these data and from data previously reported was 2.75 at a recombination frequency of 20% (theta = 0.20). This indicates that the genetic distance between the Factor IX gene and the fra(X) locus is too great for Factor IX probes to be used alone for carrier detection in the fra(X) syndrome. Additional polymorphic loci more tightly linked to the fra(X) syndrome locus are required.

Factor IX

Genetic mapping of DNA segments relative to the locus for the fragile-X syndrome at Xq27.3.

We have tested linkage between the locus for the fragile-X [fra(X)] syndrome at Xq27.3 and five polymorphic restriction sites identified by four DNA probes mapping distal to Xq26.1. A maximum distance of approximately 15 centimorgans (cM) between Xq27.3 and the marker loci mapping to this region was predicted based on the physical chromosome length. Close linkage between the disease and marker loci was excluded for probes DXS19 and DXS37 (theta = .05, Z = -2.94 and Z = -4.17, respectively). These marker loci were estimated to be less than five cM apart but approximately 40 cM proximal to the fragile site, indicating that there is a significantly greater frequency of recombination in this region of the X chromosome than expected from the physical length. Linkage results for the other marker loci and the fra(X) syndrome were inconclusive. However, the pX45d probe locus appears very closely linked to the factor IX locus (Z = 1.94 at theta = 0) and is approximately 20 cM proximal to Xq27.3. A relative map of the polymorphic restriction sites, fra(X) syndrome locus, and factor IX locus was constructed by maximizing lod scores over the Xq26.1----q27.3 region.

Animals

The fragile X syndrome II: preliminary data on growth and development in males.

Growth data--stature, body weight, occipito-frontal circumference (OFC), ear length and mean testicular volume (MTV)--in 61 males with the fragile X syndrome are presented. Small increases in the mean OFC and ear length and large increases in the MTV were found. The overgrowth of the head was evident in childhood. The characteristic facial appearance was deemed to be present in 60% of the subjects and was recognizable in childhood. Macro-orchidism (MTV of greater than or equal to 30 ml) was present in 80% of the adults but none of the children. Five subjects had a cleft palate, 11 serious eye disorders (3 with congenital nystagmus), and 4 had torticollis and/or kyphosis. Limited information on development suggested that mental retardation was present from early life and was not progressive. Although 3 subjects were autistic (2 with self abuse) most were pleasant, even tempered and cooperative men and boys.

Abnormalities, Multiple

Fragile-X syndrome III: dermatoglyphic studies in males.

Dermatoglyphics of 39 males with the fragile-X syndrome were compared with those of 3 groups of control subjects; 497 school boys, 15 males with non-specific mental retardation, and 15 with Down syndrome. Compared with the control males, there was an increased frequency of radial loops, whorls, and arches on the fingers and of third interdigital patterns and abnormal creases on the hands, and a decreased frequency of ulnar loops and fourth interdigital patterns in the patients with the fragile-X syndrome. The mean a-b ridge count was lower than in controls and there were more patients than controls with an a-b ridge count less than 70. All of these differences were significant at p less than 0.01. There was no differences between patients and controls with respect to total ridge count on the fingers and the dermatoglyphics in other areas of the hands or feet. From this small study a preliminary index was developed that attempts to distinguish male patients with the fragile-X syndrome from normal male controls and males with non-fragile-X forms of mental retardation. The patterns on the left and right third fingers, the a-b ridge count, and the palmar creases were used in the index. Sixty-four % of patients with the fragile-X syndrome would be selected out if greater than or equal to + 0.5 was used as the criterion and 90% of these males would be expected to have the fragile-X chromosome.

Adolescent

The fragile X syndrome I: familial variation in the proportion of lymphocytes with the fragile site in males.

A review of 61 males with the fragile X positive form of the Martin Bell syndrome from 30 families seen in the past 4 years suggests that the number of lymphocytes with the fragile site on the X chromosome (fra(X) ) in retarded males tends to be characteristic for the individual and similar to that found in other retarded males in the same family. The number of lymphocytes with fra(X) was not correlated with height, weight, occipitofrontal circumference, ear length or mean testicular volume in adults nor with age over the whole series.

Adolescent

Apnea and sudden unexpected death in infants with achondroplasia.

Thirteen infants with achondroplasia and sudden unexpected death or unexplained apnea were discovered through nonsystematic retrospective case collection. Most were initially thought to have died from sudden infant death syndrome. However, historical and pathologic findings suggest that many of these infants had apnea and sudden unexpected death secondary to acute or chronic compression of the lower brainstem or cervical spinal cord. Infants with achondroplasia evidently are at considerably increased risk for such deaths between 1 month and 1 year of age. Appropriate intervention, given these previously unrecognized risks, may include cervical restraint, polysomnographic evaluation, and apnea monitoring.

Achondroplasia