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Though the prevalence of Angelman syndrome is not precisely known, there are some estimates. The best data available are from studies of school age children, ages 6–13 years, living in Sweden and from Denmark where the diagnosis of AS children in medical clinics was compared to an 8-year period of about 45,000 births. The Swedish study showed an AS prevalence of about 1/20,000 and the Danish study showed a minimum AS prevalence of about 1/10,000.
PWS affects approximately 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 25,000 newborns. There are more than 400,000 people who live with PWS around the world.
About half of all 'marker' chromosomes are idic(15) but idic(15) in itself is one of the rare chromosome abnormalities. Incidence at birth appears to be 1 in 30,000 with a sex ratio of almost 1:1; however, since dysmorphic features are absent or subtle and major malformations are rare, chromosome analysis may not be thought to be indicated, and some individuals, particularly in the older age groups, probably remain undiagnosed. There are organizations for families with idic(15) children that offer extensive information and support.
The severity of the symptoms associated with Angelman syndrome varies significantly across the population of those affected. Some speech and a greater degree of self-care are possible among the least profoundly affected. Walking and the use of simple sign language may be beyond the reach of the more profoundly affected. Early and continued participation in physical, occupational (related to the development of fine-motor control skills), and communication (speech) therapies are believed to significantly improve the prognosis (in the areas of cognition and communication) of individuals affected by AS. Further, the specific genetic mechanism underlying the condition is thought to correlate to the general prognosis of the affected person. On one end of the spectrum, a mutation to the UBE3A gene is thought to correlate to the least affected, whereas larger deletions on chromosome 15 are thought to correspond to the most affected.
The clinical features of Angelman syndrome alter with age. As adulthood approaches, hyperactivity and poor sleep patterns improve. The seizures decrease in frequency and often cease altogether and the EEG abnormalities are less obvious. Medication is typically advisable to those with seizure disorders. Often overlooked is the contribution of the poor sleep patterns to the frequency and/or severity of the seizures. Medication may be worthwhile to help deal with this issue and improve the prognosis with respect to seizures and sleep. Also noteworthy are the reports that the frequency and severity of seizures temporarily escalate in pubescent Angelman syndrome girls, but do not seem to affect long-term health.The facial features remain recognizable with age, but many adults with AS look remarkably youthful for their age.
Puberty and menstruation begin at around the average age. Sexual development is thought to be unaffected, as evidenced by a single reported case of a woman with Angelman syndrome conceiving a female child who also had Angelman syndrome.
The majority of those with AS achieve continence by day and some by night. Angelman syndrome is not a degenerative syndrome, and thus people with AS may improve their living skills with support.
Dressing skills are variable and usually limited to items of clothing without buttons or zippers. Most adults can eat with a knife or spoon and fork, and can learn to perform simple household tasks. General health is fairly good and life-span near average. Particular problems which have arisen in adults are a tendency to obesity (more in females), and worsening of scoliosis if it is present. The affectionate nature which is also a positive aspect in the younger children may also persist into adult life where it can pose a problem socially, but this problem is not insurmountable.
PWS is commonly associated with development of strabismus. In one study, over 50% of patients had strabismus, mainly esotropia.
The prognosis for patients diagnosed with Timothy syndrome is very poor. Of 17 children analyzed in one study, 10 died at an average age of 2.5 years. Of those that did survive, 3 were diagnosed with autism, one with an autism spectrum disorder, and the last had severe delays in language development. One patient with atypical Timothy syndrome was largely normal with the exception of heart arrhythmia. Likewise, the mother of two Timothy syndrome patients also carried the mutation but lacked any obvious phenotype. In both of these cases, however, the lack of severity of the disorder was due to mosaicism.
Kleefstra syndrome affects males and females equally and approximately, 75% of all documented cases are caused by Eu-HMTase1 disruptions while only 25% are caused by 9q34.3 deletions. There are no statistics on the effect the disease has on life expectancy due to the lack of information available.
Exposure of spermatozoa to lifestyle, environmental and/or occupational hazards may increase the risk of aneuploidy. Cigarette smoke is a known aneugen (aneuploidy inducing agent). It is associated with increases in aneuploidy ranging from 1.5 to 3.0-fold. Other studies indicate factors such as alcohol consumption, occupational exposure to benzene, and exposure to the insecticides fenvalerate and carbaryl also increase aneuploidy.
In itself, NSML is not a life-threatening diagnosis, most people diagnosed with the condition live normal lives. Obstructive cardiomyopathy and other pathologic findings involving the cardiovascular system may be a cause of death in those whose cardiac deformities are profound.
Since the symptoms caused by this disease are present at birth, there is no “cure.” The best cure that scientists are researching is awareness and genetic testing to determine risk factors and increase knowledgeable family planning. Prevention is the only option at this point in time for a cure.
Due to its recent discovery, there are currently no existing treatments for Kleefstra syndrome.
Opitz G/BBB Syndrome is a rare genetic condition caused by one of two major types of mutations: MID1 mutation on the short (p) arm of the X chromosome or a mutation of the 22q11.2 gene on the 22nd chromosome. Since it is a genetic disease, it is an inherited condition. However, there is an extremely wide variability in how the disease presents itself.
In terms of prevention, several researchers strongly suggest prenatal testing for at-risk pregnancies if a MID1 mutation has been identified in a family member. Doctors can perform a fetal sex test through chromosome analysis and then screen the DNA for any mutations causing the disease. Knowing that a child may be born with Opitz G/BBB syndrome could help physicians prepare for the child’s needs and the family prepare emotionally. Furthermore, genetic counseling for young adults that are affected, are carriers or are at risk of carrying is strongly suggested, as well (Meroni, Opitz G/BBB syndrome, 2012). Current research suggests that the cause is genetic and no known environmental risk factors have been documented. The only education for prevention suggested is genetic testing for at-risk young adults when a mutation is found or suspected in a family member.
Both patients with idic(15) and int dup(15) (together, Dup15q syndrome) feature a distinctive electroencephalography (EEG) signature or biomarker in the form of high amplitude spontaneous beta frequency (12–30 Hz) oscillations. This EEG signature was first noted as a qualitative pattern in clinical EEG readings and was later described quantitatively by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles and their collaborators within the network of national Dup15q clinics. This group of researchers found that beta activity in children with Dup15q syndrome is significantly greater than that observed in (1) healthy, typically developing children of the same age and (2) children of the same age and IQ with autism not caused by a known genetic disorder (i.e., nonsyndromic ASD). The EEG signature appears almost identical to beta oscillations induced by benzodiazepine drugs that modulate GABA receptors, suggesting that the signature is driven by overexpression of duplicated GABA receptor genes "GABRA5", "GABRB3", and "GABRG3" found on 15q11.2-q13.1. Treatment monitoring and identification of molecular disease mechanisms may be facilitated by this biomarker.
Human trisomies compatible with live birth, other than Down syndrome (trisomy 21), are Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18) and Patau syndrome (trisomy 13). Complete trisomies of other chromosomes are usually not viable and represent a relatively frequent cause of miscarriage. Only in rare cases of a mosaicism, the presence of a normal cell line, in addition to the trisomic cell line, may support the development of a viable trisomy of the other chromosomes.
Birk-Barel syndrome is a rare genetic disorder associated with the KCNK9 gene. Signs and symptoms include mental retardation, hypotonia, hyperactivity, and syndromic facies.
Due to imprinting, mutations in the maternal copy of KCNK9 cause the conditions, while mutations in the paternal copy do not. As such, this condition can only be inherited from the mother.
Unlike Borjeson-Forssman-Lehmann syndrome, a disorder that was determined to be very similar to WTS, the individuals with Wilson–Turner syndrome do not develop cataracts or hypermetropia later in life. By far, the most debilitating part of this disorder is intellectual disability. Many of the other symptoms are more easily managed through hormone treatment, proper diet and exercise, and speech therapy.
In 2012, a 5-generation Dutch family consisting of 7 males and 7 females with Wilson-Turner Syndrome. These individuals had some characteristics that differed from the stated phenotype mentioned by Wilson. These individuals have a larger stature, head, and chin, in addition to coarse facial features. Unlike the females in Wilson's study, these females shown signs of being affected, although less severe than their male counterparts. None of the men could live on their own. Studies verified that the phenotype of the disorder range on a large scale and can affect everyone differently. This research group also used next-generation sequencing of the X chromosome exome to identify the HDAC8 gene mutation
There is also ongoing research to determine the cause of the decreased or low androgen levels. It is studying the possible disturbance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis because of the low levels of androgen are combined with normal levels of FSH and LH.
Chromosomal deletion syndromes result from deletion of parts of chromosomes. Depending on the location, size, and whom the deletion is inherited from, there are a few known different variations of chromosome deletions. Chromosomal deletion syndromes typically involve larger deletions that are visible using karyotyping techniques. Smaller deletions result in Microdeletion syndrome, which are detected using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)
Examples of chromosomal deletion syndromes include 5p-Deletion (cri du chat syndrome), 4p-Deletion (Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome), Prader–Willi syndrome, and Angelman syndrome.
The aneuploidy is thought to be caused by problems occurring during meiosis, either in the mother or in both the mother and father. Successive nondisjunctions have been observed in the mother of at least one patient.
The features of the syndrome likely arise due to failure of X-inactivation and the presence of multiple X chromosomes from the same parent causing problems with parental imprinting. In theory, X-inactivation should occur and leave only one X chromosome active in each cell. However, failure of this process has been observed in one individual studied. The reason for this is thought to be the presence of an unusually large, and imbalanced, number of X chromosomes interfering with the process.
If the Hirschsprung's disease is treated in time, ABCD sufferers live otherwise healthy lives. If it is not found soon enough, death often occurs in infancy. For those suffering hearing loss, it is generally regressive and the damage to hearing increases over time. Digestive problems from the colostomy and reattachment may exist, but most cases can be treated with laxatives. The only other debilitating symptom is hearing loss, which is usually degenerative and can only be treated with surgery or hearing aids.
One case of Cohen Syndrome, in a Palestinian boy from Tul-Karem, was reported in the Israeli monthly Kol Israel BeAsakim (in Hebrew) in the December 2007 issue. Over the past several years there have been approximately 50 new cases worldwide. There are population groups with this condition in Australia, the UK and the US. It still seems to go undiagnosed leaving the number of cases less than 500.
Surgery is typically used to correct structural heart defects and syndactyly. Propanolol or beta-adrenergic blockers are often prescribed as well as insertion of a pacemaker to maintain proper heart rhythm. With the characterization of Timothy syndrome mutations indicating that they cause defects in calcium currents, it has been suggested that calcium channel blockers may be effective as a therapeutic agent.
In the two predominant mutations of NSML (Y279C and T468M) the mutations cause a loss of catalytic activity of the SHP2 protein (the gene product of the "PTPN11" gene), which is a previously unrecognized behavior for this class of mutations. This interferes with growth factor and related signalling. While further research confirms this mechanism, additional research is needed to determine how this relates to all of the observed effects of NSML.
Its exact cause is unknown, but present research points toward a genetic component, possibly following maternal genes.
It involves hypomethylation of "H19" and "IGF2". In 10% of the cases the syndrome is associated with maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) on chromosome 7. This is an imprinting error where the person receives two copies of chromosome 7 from the mother (maternally inherited) rather than one from each parent.
Like other imprinting disorders (e.g. Prader–Willi syndrome, Angelman syndrome, and Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome), Silver–Russell syndrome may be associated with the use of assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization.
Miller syndrome is a genetic condition also known as the Genee–Wiedemann syndrome, Wildervanck–Smith syndrome, or postaxial acrofacial dystosis. The incidence of this condition is not known, but it is considered extremely rare. It is due to a mutation in the DHODH gene. Nothing is known of its pathogenesis.