Consensus guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) deficiencies
Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2020 May 26;15(1):126. doi: 10.1186/s13023-020-01379-8. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) deficiencies comprise a group of six rare neurometabolic disorders characterized by insufficient synthesis of the monoamine neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin due to a disturbance of BH4 biosynthesis or recycling. Hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) is the first diagnostic hallmark for most BH4 deficiencies, apart from […]
Pathogenic variants in SQOR encoding sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase are a potentially treatable cause of Leigh disease
J Inherit Metab Dis. 2020 Sep;43(5):1024-1036. doi: 10.1002/jimd.12232. Epub 2020 Apr 15. ABSTRACT Hydrogen sulfide, a signaling molecule formed mainly from cysteine, is catabolized by sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (gene SQOR). Toxic hydrogen sulfide exposure inhibits complex IV. We describe children of two families with pathogenic variants in SQOR. Exome sequencing identified variants; SQOR enzyme activity was […]
Determining the incidence of rare diseases
Hum Genet. 2020 May;139(5):569-574. doi: 10.1007/s00439-020-02135-5. Epub 2020 Feb 13. ABSTRACT Extremely rare diseases are increasingly recognized due to wide-spread, inexpensive genomic sequencing. Understanding the incidence of rare disease is important for appreciating its health impact and allocating recourses for research. However, estimating incidence of rare disease is challenging because the individual contributory alleles are, […]
Diagnosis of genetic diseases in seriously ill children by rapid whole-genome sequencing and automated phenotyping and interpretation
Sci Transl Med. 2019 Apr 24;11(489):eaat6177. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aat6177. ABSTRACT By informing timely targeted treatments, rapid whole-genome sequencing can improve the outcomes of seriously ill children with genetic diseases, particularly infants in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units (ICUs). The need for highly qualified professionals to decipher results, however, precludes widespread implementation. We describe a platform […]