Made by DATEXIS (Data Science and Text-based Information Systems) at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin
Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
Funded by The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Grant: 01MD19013D, Smart-MD Project, Digital Technologies
Current research suggests that nearly 8% of the population has at least partial DPD deficiency. A diagnostics determination test for DPD deficiency is available and it is expected that with a potential 500,000 people in North America using 5-FU this form of testing will increase. The whole genetic events affecting the DPYD gene and possibly impacting on its function are far from being elucidated, and epigenetic regulations could probably play a major role in DPD deficiency. It seems that the actual incidence of DPD deficiency remains to be understood because it could depend on the very technique used to detect it. Screening for genetic polymorphisms affecting the "DPYD" gene usually identify less than 5% of patients bearing critical mutations, whereas functional studies suggest that up to 20% of patients could actually show various levels of DPD deficiency.
Women could be more at risk than men. It is more common among African-Americans than it is among Caucasians.
A small number of genetic variants have been repeatedly associated with DPD deficiency, such as IVS14+1G>A mutation in intron 14 coupled with exon 14 deletion (a.k.a. DPYD*2A), 496A>G in exon 6; 2846A>T in exon 22 and T1679G (a.k.a. DPYD*13) in exon 13. However, testing patients for these allelic variants usually show high specificity (i.e., bearing the mutation means that severe toxicity will occur indeed)but very low sentivity (i.e., not bearing the mutation does not mean that there is no risk for severe toxicities). Alternatively, phenotyping DPD using ex-vivo enzymatic assay or surrogate testing (i.e., monitoring physiological dihydrouracil to uracil ratio in plasma) has been presented as a possible upfront strategy to detect DPD deficiency. 5-FU test dose (i.e., preliminary administration of a small dose of 5-FU with pharmacokinetics evaluation) has been proposed as another possible alternative strategy to secure the use of fluoropyrimidine drugs.
Glutathione synthetase deficiency can be classified into three types: mild, moderate and severe.
- "Mild" glutathione synthetase deficiency usually results in the destruction of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia). Rarely, affected people also excrete large amounts of a compound called 5-oxoproline (also called pyroglutamic acid, or pyroglutamate) in their urine (5-oxoprolinuria). This compound builds up when glutathione is not processed correctly in cells.
- Individuals with "moderate" glutathione synthetase deficiency may experience symptoms beginning shortly after birth including hemolytic anemia, 5-oxoprolinuria, and elevated acidity in the blood and tissues (metabolic acidosis).
- In addition to the features present in moderate glutathione synthetase deficiency, individuals affected by the "severe" form of this disorder may experience neurological symptoms. These problems may include seizures; a generalized slowing down of physical reactions, movements, and speech (psychomotor retardation); intellectual disability; and a loss of coordination (ataxia). Some people with severe glutathione synthetase deficiency also develop recurrent bacterial infections.[citation missing]
A triplex tetra-primer ARMS-PCR method was developed for the simultaneous detection of C677T and A1298C polymorphisms with the A66G MTRR polymorphism in a single PCR reaction.
It is difficult to determine the prevalence of hyperprolinemia type I, as many people with the condition are asymptomatic.
People with hyperprolinemia type I have proline levels in their blood between 3 and 10 times the normal level. Some individuals with type I exhibit seizures, intellectual disability, or other neurological problems.
A 2005 study on rats suggested that hyperprolininemia causes cognitive dysfunction.
The affected boy was born in 1984 and diagnosed by MRI as suffering from a white matter disease (leukoencephalopathy). Analysis of SPECT profiles indicated an increase in the polyols arabitol, ribitol and erythritol. This discovery later led to the identification of the disease-causing mutations, a premature stop codon and a missense mutation in the RPI gene.
Severe MTHFR deficiency is rare (about 50 cases worldwide) and caused by mutations resulting in 0–20% residual enzyme activity. Patients exhibit developmental delay, motor and gait dysfunction, seizures, and neurological impairment and have extremely high levels of homocysteine in their plasma and urine as well as low to normal plasma methionine levels.
A study on the Chinese Uyghur population indicated that rs1801131 polymorphism in MTHFR was associated with nsCL/P in Chinese Uyghur population. Given the unique genetic and environmental characters of the Uyghur population, these findings may be helpful for exploring the pathogenesis of this complex disease.
Glutathione synthetase deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder that prevents the production of glutathione. Glutathione helps prevent damage to cells by neutralizing harmful molecules generated during energy production. Glutathione also plays a role in processing medications and cancer-causing compounds (carcinogens), and building DNA, proteins, and other important cellular components.
Since the report of this first case in 1999, no further patients have been diagnosed. In the search for an explanation for this rarity, it has been found that the patient has a seldom-seen allelic combination. One allele is a non-functional null allele, while the other encodes for a partially active enzyme. Furthermore, the partially functional allele has expression deficits that depend on the cell type in which it is expressed. Therefore, some of the patient's cells have a considerable amount of RPI activity, whereas others do not.
The molecular cause of the pathology is not fully understood. One hypothesis is that ribose-5-phosphate may lack for RNA synthesis; another possibility is that the accumulation of D-ribitol and D-arabitol may be toxic.
Elevated levels of homocysteine have been associated with a number of disease states.
Hyperhomocysteinemia or hyperhomocysteinaemia is a medical condition characterized by an abnormally high level of homocysteine in the blood, conventionally described as above 15 µmol/L.
As a consequence of the biochemical reactions in which homocysteine is involved, deficiencies of
vitamin B, folic acid (vitamin B), and vitamin B can lead to high homocysteine levels.
Hyperhomocysteinemia is typically managed with vitamin B6, vitamin B9 and vitamin B12 supplementation. Supplements of these vitamins; however, do not change outcomes.
Diagnosis is based on the distinctive cry and accompanying physical problems. These common symptoms are quite easily observed in infants. Affected children are typically diagnosed by a doctor or nurse at birth. Genetic counseling and genetic testing may be offered to families with individuals who have cri du chat syndrome. Prenatally the deletion of the cri du chat related region in the p arm of chromosome 5 can be detected from amniotic fluid or chorionic villi samples with BACs-on-Beads technology. G-banded karyotype of a carrier is also useful. Children may be treated by speech, physical and occupational therapists. Heart abnormalities often require surgical correction.
As of today, no agreed-upon treatment of Dent's disease is known and no therapy has been formally accepted. Most treatment measures are supportive in nature:
- Thiazide diuretics (i.e. hydrochlorothiazide) have been used with success in reducing the calcium output in urine, but they are also known to cause hypokalemia.
- In rats with diabetes insipidus, thiazide diuretics inhibit the NaCl cotransporter in the renal distal convoluted tubule, leading indirectly to less water and solutes being delivered to the distal tubule. The impairment of Na transport in the distal convoluted tubule induces natriuresis and water loss, while increasing the reabsorption of calcium in this segment in a manner unrelated to sodium transport.
- Amiloride also increases distal tubular calcium reabsorption and has been used as a therapy for idiopathic hypercalciuria.
- A combination of 25 mg of chlorthalidone plus 5 mg of amiloride daily led to a substantial reduction in urine calcium in Dent's patients, but urine pH was "significantly higher in patients with Dent’s disease than in those with idiopathic hypercalciuria (P < 0.03), and supersaturation for uric acid was consequently lower (P < 0.03)."
- For patients with osteomalacia, vitamin D or derivatives have been employed, apparently with success.
- Some lab tests on mice with CLC-5-related tubular damage showed a high-citrate diet preserved kidney function and delayed progress of kidney disease.
Hematological, biochemical and metabolic investigations on blood and urine between attacks are normal, as are karyotyping and EKG recordings. EKG recordings during attacks show sinus tachycardia. CT, MRI, EMG and nerve conduction studies produce normal results. EEG recordings are normal between attacks but show early-onset tachycardia during attacks. On the Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire patients indicated that pain during attacks is extremely unpleasant and typically felt deep, though also superficial on occasion. Aside from presentation of typical symptoms (see Signs and symptoms above) mutation of the gene "SCN9A" aids in appropriate diagnosis as this gene is mutated in 8 of 14 studied families.
Neonatal seizures are often controlled with phenobarbital administration. Recurrent seizures later in life are treated in the standard ways (covered in the main epilepsy article). Depending on the severity, some infants are sent home with heart and oxygen monitors that are hooked to the child with stick on electrodes to signal any seizure activity. Once a month the monitor readings are downloaded into a central location for the doctor to be able to read at a future date. This monitor is only kept as a safeguard as usually the medication wards off any seizures. Once the child is weaned off the phenobarbital, the monitor is no longer necessary.
Surgery is an option to correct some of the morphological changes made by Liebenberg Syndrome. Cases exist where surgery is performed to correct radial deviations and flexion deformities in the wrist. A surgery called a carpectomy has been performed on a patient whereby a surgeon removes the proximal row of the carpal bones. This procedure removes some of the carpal bones to create a more regular wrist function than is observed in people with this condition.
Carbamazepine is at least partly effective at reducing the number or severity of attacks in the majority of PEPD patients. High doses of this drug may be required, perhaps explaining the lack of effect in some individuals. While other anti-epileptic drugs, gabapentin and topiramate, have limited effect in some patients, they have not been shown to be generally effective. Opiate derived analgesics are also largely ineffective, with only sporadic cases of beneficial effect.
The diagnosis is clinically made on the basis of the history of typical attacks, especially in patients from the ethnic groups in which FMF is more highly prevalent. An acute phase response is present during attacks, with high C-reactive protein levels, an elevated white blood cell count and other markers of inflammation. In patients with a long history of attacks, monitoring the kidney function is of importance in predicting chronic kidney failure.
A genetic test is also available to detect mutations in the "MEFV" gene. Sequencing of exons 2, 3, 5, and 10 of this gene detects an estimated 97% of all known mutations.
A specific and highly sensitive test for FMF is the "Metaraminol Provocative Test (MPT)," whereby a single 10 mg infusion of Metaraminol is administered to the patient. A positive diagnosis is made if the patient presents with a typical, albeit milder, FMF attack within 48 hours. As MPT is more specific than sensitive, it does not identify all cases of FMF. Although a positive MPT can be very useful.
Dent disease 2 (nephrolithiasis type 2) is associated with the "OCRL" gene. Both Lowe syndrome (oculocerebrorenal syndrome) and Dent disease can be caused by truncating or missense mutations in "OCRL".
Benign familial neonatal seizures (BFNS), formerly called benign familial neonatal convulsions (BFNC), is a rare autosomal dominant inherited form of seizures. It manifests in newborns, normally within the first 7 days of life, as tonic-clonic seizures. Infants are otherwise normal between attacks and develop without incident. Attacks normally spontaneously cease within the first 15 weeks of life. Lifetime susceptibility to seizures is increased, as 16% of those diagnosed with BFNE earlier in life will go on to have seizures versus a 2% lifetime risk for the general population. There are three known genetic causes of BFNE, two being the voltage-gated potassium channels KCNQ2 (BFNC1) and KCNQ3 (BFNC2) and the third being a chromosomal inversion (BFNC3). There is no obvious correlation between most of the known mutations and clinical variability seen in BFNE.
Acrocallosal syndrome (also known as ACLS) is a rare autosomal recessive syndrome characterized by corpus callosum agenesis, polydactyly, multiple dysmorphic features, motor and mental retardation, and other symptoms. The syndrome was first described by Albert Schinzel in 1979.
It is associated with "GLI3".
Liebenberg Syndrome is a rare autosomal genetic disease that involves a deletion mutation upstream of the PITX1 gene, which is one that's responsible for the body's organization, specifically in forming lower limbs. In animal studies, when this deletion was introduced to developing birds, their wing buds were noted to take on limb-like structures.
The condition was first described by Dr. F. Liebenberg in 1973 while he followed multiple generations of a South African family, but it has since been noticed in other family lineages across the world.
Acrocallosal syndrome (ACLS, ACS, Schinzel-Type, Hallux-duplication) is a rare, heterogeneous [3] autosomal recessive disorder first discovered by Albert Schinzel (1979) in a 3-year-old boy . To inherit ACLS, one gene copy from each parent must contain a mutation somewhere in the KIF7 gene and be passed on to the child [3]. Characteristics of this syndrome include absence or poor development of the area connecting the left and right parts of the brain, an abnormally large head, increased distance between facial features (eyes), poor motor skills, mental retardation [2], extra fingers and toes, many facial deformities [3], and cleft palate [5]. This is considered a rare disorder and is placed on the NIH Office of Rare Diseases (fewer than 200,000 cases) rare disease list [8]. Lifespan may range from stillbirth to normal expectancy depending on pregnancy complications and severity of the disorder [2,3,5]. In mild cases, the subjects have been shown to live relatively normal lives, but with developmental delays [2].
Microdeletion syndrome is a syndrome caused by a chromosomal deletion smaller than 5 million base pairs (5 Mb) spanning several genes that is too small to be detected by conventional cytogenetic methods or high resolution karyotyping (2–5 Mb). Detection is done by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Larger chromosomal deletion syndromes are detectable using karyotyping techniques.