A machine learning decision support tool optimizes WGS utilization in a neonatal intensive care unit
NPJ Digit Med. 2025 Jan 30;8(1):72. doi: 10.1038/s41746-025-01458-9. ABSTRACT The Mendelian Phenotype Search Engine (MPSE), a clinical decision support tool using Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning, helped neonatologists expedite decisions to whole genome sequencing (WGS) to diagnose patients in the neonatal intensive care unit. After the MPSE was introduced, utilization of WGS increased, time […]
A comparative view of human and mouse telencephalon inhibitory neuron development
Development. 2025 Jan 1;152(1):dev204306. doi: 10.1242/dev.204306. Epub 2025 Jan 2. ABSTRACT Human GABAergic inhibitory neurons (INs) in the telencephalon play crucial roles in modulating neural circuits, generating cortical oscillations, and maintaining the balance between excitation and inhibition. The major IN subtypes are based on their gene expression profiles, morphological diversity and circuit-specific functions. Although previous […]
Genome-based newborn screening for severe childhood genetic diseases has high positive predictive value and sensitivity in a NICU pilot trial
Am J Hum Genet. 2024 Dec 5;111(12):2643-2667. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.10.020. ABSTRACT Large prospective clinical trials are underway or planned that examine the clinical utility and cost effectiveness of genome-based newborn screening (gNBS). One gNBS platform, BeginNGS, currently screens 53,575 variants for 412 severe childhood genetic diseases with 1,603 efficacious therapies. Retrospective evaluation of BeginNGS in 618,290 […]
Prequalification of genome-based newborn screening for severe childhood genetic diseases through federated training based on purifying hyperselection
Am J Hum Genet. 2024 Dec 5;111(12):2618-2642. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.10.021. ABSTRACT Genome-sequence-based newborn screening (gNBS) has substantial potential to improve outcomes in hundreds of severe childhood genetic disorders (SCGDs). However, a major impediment to gNBS is imprecision due to variants classified as pathogenic (P) or likely pathogenic (LP) that are not SCGD causal. gNBS with 53,855 […]
Clinical utility of rapid whole genome sequencing in neonatal patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)
J Perinatol. 2024 Nov 27. doi: 10.1038/s41372-024-02181-1. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to describe the impact of rapid and ultra-rapid whole genome sequencing (rWGS/urWGS) on the care of neonatal intensive care (NICU) patients who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study at […]
The ClinGen Syndromic Disorders Gene Curation Expert Panel: Assessing the Clinical Validity of 111 Gene-Disease Relationships
medRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Nov 20:2024.11.19.24317561. doi: 10.1101/2024.11.19.24317561. ABSTRACT PURPOSE: The Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) Gene Curation Expert Panels (GCEPs) have historically focused on specific organ systems or phenotypes; thus, the ClinGen Syndromic Disorders GCEP (SD-GCEP) was formed to address an unmet need. METHODS: The SD-GCEP applied ClinGen’s framework to evaluate the clinical validity of genes […]
Consolidating the Role of Mutated ATP2B2 in Neurodevelopmental and Cerebellar Pathologies
Clin Genet. 2024 Oct 5. doi: 10.1111/cge.14622. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Plasma membrane calcium ATPases (PMCAs) encoded by ATP2B genes have been implicated in Mendelian diseases with ataxia, dystonia, and intellectual disability. Work to date has shown that ATP2B2 (encoding PMCA2) is required for synaptic function and Purkinje-cell integrity in the cerebellum. A recent […]
Biallelic variants in ERLIN1: a series of 13 individuals with spastic paraparesis
Abstract Biallelic variants in the ERLIN1 gene were recently reported as the cause of two motor neuron degeneration diseases, SPG62 and a recessive form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, only 12 individuals from five pedigrees have been identified so far. Thus, the description of the disease remains limited. Following the discovery of a homozygous pathogenic […]
A framework for N-of-1 trials of individualized gene-targeted therapies for genetic diseases
Nat Commun. 2024 Nov 12;15(1):9802. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54077-5. ABSTRACT Individualized genetic therapies-medicines that precisely target a genetic variant that may only be found in a small number of individuals, as few as only one-offer promise for addressing unmet needs in genetic disease, but present unique challenges for trial design. By nature these new individualized medicines require […]
Biallelic variants in GTF3C3 result in an autosomal recessive disorder with intellectual disability
Genet Med. 2024 Nov 7:101253. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2024.101253. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT PURPOSE: This study details a novel syndromic form of autosomal recessive intellectual disability resulting from recessive variants in GTF3C3, encoding a key component of the DNA-binding transcription factor IIIC, which has a conserved role in RNA polymerase III-mediated transcription. METHODS: Exome sequencing, minigene […]