OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of whole exome sequencing (WES) for the diagnosis of early-onset genetic diseases among infants aged 0 to 6 month in Ningbo region. METHODS: 268 infants presented at the Women and Children's Hospital Affiliated to Ningbo University from January 2022 to June 2024 undergoing WES-based genetic testing were enrolled. Peripheral blood samples were collected from the infants and their parents and subjected to WES. Pathogenic variants were identified by clinical manifestations. This study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Hospital (Ethics No. EC2023-017). RESULTS: Among the 268 infants, 124 (46.3%) had phenotype-explaining genetic variants. For 42 family-based WES tests, 20 (47.62%) were abnormal, whilst in 226 single-person WES tests, 104 (46.02%) had abnormalities, with 76 (33.63%) verified by parental testing. In 96 fully family-verified cases, 31 were de novo, 40 were parent-inherited, 25 were single-parent-inherited. These included 35 inborn metabolic errors, 28 rare syndromes, 9 neurodevelopmental disorders, 4 musculoskeletal diseases, 5 congenital deafness, 2 mitochondrial diseases, 4 endocrine diseases, and 9 others. Among these, there were 7 pathogenic copy number variations (all deletions), 3 chromosomal abnormalities, and 85 single-nucleotide variations. One case of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome was detected by methylation MLPA. Among the single-nucleotide variants, 114 pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants were identified in 61 genes, with common ones including missense variants (64.04%), frameshifting variants (20.18%) and splicing variants (4.39%). CONCLUSION WES can offer effective diagnosis for hereditary diseases with specific/non-specific manifestations. For early-age infants, higher detection rates may be attained for inborn metabolic errors, rare syndromes, neurodevelopmental disorders, congenital deafness, and musculoskeletal diseases. Compared with single-person WES, family-based WES can attain a higher diagnostic efficiency.
Humans ; Exome Sequencing/methods* ; Infant ; Female ; Male ; Infant, Newborn ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn/diagnosis* ; Genetic Testing/methods*

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral anisodine hydrobromide tablets in the treatment of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).Methods:A multicenter nonrandomized controlled trial was conducted.A total of 282 acute NAION patients (282 eyes) were recruited from 16 hospitals in China from July 2020 to May 2021.Patients were divided into two groups according to treatment methods, which were control group (124 cases, 124 eyes) receiving regular treatment including citicoline sodium plus Ginkgo biloba leaf liquid extract or Ginkgo biloba leaf extract tablets plus mecobalamin, and experimental group (158 cases, 158 eyes) receiving treatment in control group plus oral anisodine hydrobromide tablets 1 mg, twice daily for 2 to 3 months.Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), visual field index (VFI), peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and radial peripapillary capillary vessel density (RPC) were assessed at 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after enrollment using the standard decimal visual acuity chart, 750i Humphery visual field analyzer, Cirrus HD-OCT 4000/Cirrus HD-OCT 5000, RTVue-XR optical coherence tomography respectively.The primary outcomes were BCVA and VFI, and the secondary outcomes were pRNFL, RPC, and the side effects during the follow-up.The study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.All patients were fully informed about the treatment and purpose of this study and voluntarily signed the informed consent form.The study protocol was approved by Chinese PLA General Hospital (No.S2020-021-01). Results:In all, 242 patients (242 eyes) completed the follow-up of BCVA, and 98 patients (98 eyes) completed the VFI follow-up.In terms of visual function, BCVA and VFI improved significantly over time in the two groups, and BCVA and VFI were better in experimental group than in control group at various follow-up time points (all at P<0.05). In terms of structure, pRNFL gradually decreased in both groups with the extension of treatment, and pRNFL was significanthy thinner in experimental group than in control group at various follow-up time points (all at P<0.05). There was no significant difference in RPC between the two groups at the last follow-up ( P>0.05). There were two cases with side effects and one case was discontinued due to side effects 25 days after enrollment. Conclusions:Oral anisodine hydrobromide can improve visual acuity and visual field in NAION and accelerate the regression of optic disc edema, with good safety.

Objective:To investigate the incidence and risk factors of renal injury in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients with poor immune reconstitution.Methods:The HIV infection/AIDS patients with poor immune reconstitution who were visited Second Department of Infection of Hangzhou Xixi Hospital from January to December 2021 were enrolled. The clinical data and laboratory examinations of the patients were collected, and the relevant risk factors were analyzed by logistic regression.Results:Among 303 HIV infection/AIDS patients with poor immune reconstitution, 59(19.5%) patients had renal injury. Logistic regression analysis showed that hypertension (odds ratio ( OR)=0.200, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.065 to 0.618, P=0.005), taking tenofovir ( OR=0.275, 95% CI 0.130 to 0.580, P=0.001), hypoproteinemia ( OR=1.045, 95% CI 1.006 to 1.086, P=0.022), and low CD4 + T lymphocytes level ( OR=1.009, 95% CI 1.003 to 1.014, P=0.001) were risk factors for renal injury. Conclusions:The incidence of renal injury in HIV infection/AIDS patients with poor immune reconstitution is high. Hypertension, taking tenofovir, hypoproteinemia, and low CD4 + T lymphocytes level are risk factors for renal injury in patients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of genetic screening by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) for the early diagnosis of neonatal diseases. METHODS: A total of 2 060 neonates born at Ningbo Women and Children's Hospital from March to September 2021 were selected as the study subjects. All neonates had undergone conventional tandem mass spectrometry metabolite analysis and fluorescent immunoassay analysis. HTS was carried out to detect the definite pathogenic variant sites with high-frequency of 135 disease-related genes. Candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing or multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). RESULTS: Among the 2 060 newborns, 31 were diagnosed with genetic diseases, 557 were found to be carriers, and 1 472 were negative. Among the 31 neonates, 5 had G6PD, 19 had hereditary non-syndromic deafness due to variants of GJB2, GJB3 and MT-RNR1 genes, 2 had PAH gene variants, 1 had GAA gene variants, 1 had SMN1 gene variants, 2 had MTTL1 gene variants, and 1 had GH1 gene variants. Clinically, 1 child had Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), 1 had Glycogen storage disease II, 2 had congenital deafness, and 5 had G6PD deficiency. One mother was diagnosed with SMA. No patient was detected by conventional tandem mass spectrometry. Conventional fluorescence immunoassay had revealed 5 cases of G6PD deficiency (all positive by genetic screening) and 2 cases of hypothyroidism (identified as carriers). The most common variants identified in this region have involved DUOX2 (3.93%), ATP7B (2.48%), SLC26A4 (2.38%), GJB2 (2.33%), PAH (2.09%) and SLC22A5 genes (2.09%). CONCLUSION Neonatal genetic screening has a wide range of detection and high detection rate, which can significantly improve the efficacy of newborn screening when combined with conventional screening and facilitate secondary prevention for the affected children, diagnosis of family members and genetic counseling for the carriers.
Child ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Female ; Prospective Studies ; Connexins/genetics* ; Connexin 26/genetics* ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency ; Mutation ; Sulfate Transporters/genetics* ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Genetic Testing/methods* ; Deafness/genetics* ; Neonatal Screening/methods* ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/genetics* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Solute Carrier Family 22 Member 5/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: Through a retrospective large sample analysis of copy number variants in single center, we explored the technical standards for the interpretation and reporting of constitutional copy-number variants (CNVs) jointly proposed by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) in 2019, analyzing its impact on CNVs ratings and the improvement in the consistency of the classification of CNVs in clinical laboratories. METHODS: 236 CNVs that assessed as pathogenic, uncertain significant (including likely pathogenic, uncertain and likely benign) by the 2011 ACMG guidelines between August 2018 and December 2019 in our center were re-analyzed. Four working group members of the center reclassified and evaluated 235 CNVs according to 2019 ACMG guidelines. RESULTS: The consistency of clinical significance classification of CNVs was 91% and the α test coefficient was 0.98 among four working group members. Compared with the 2011 and 2019 ACMG technical standards for the CNVs classification, evaluation of pathogenicity and uncertain significant is basically consistent. 90% (45/50) of likely pathogenic and likely benign CNVs were Re-evaluated as variants of uncertain significance, and the difference is significant. CONCLUSION The new version ACMG/ClinGen guidelines for the evaluation of CNVs developed semi-quantitative point-based scoring system and help to improve the consistency in clinical classifications. It can also make the interpretation of CNVs more standardized and transparent.
DNA Copy Number Variations ; Genetic Testing ; Genetic Variation ; Genome, Human ; Humans ; Mutation ; Retrospective Studies

Objective:To analyze the diagnostic efficacy of targeted biopsy (TB) versus targeted biopsy combined with systematic biopsy (TB+ SB) for patients with multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) prostate imaging-reporting and data system (PI-RADS) score of 4-5.Methods:The clinical data of 378 patients with mpMRI PI-RADS score of 4-5 in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from January 2018 to February 2020 who received prostate TB+ SB were retrospectively analyzed. Median age was 69 (64, 75) years old, median prostate specific antigen was 9.5 (6.7, 16.3) ng/ ml, and median prostate volume was 34.1 (23.5, 48.4) ml. There were 240 cases with PI-RADS score of 4 and 138 cases with PI-RADS score of 5. Evaluating Gleason score of positive biopsy pathology and using χ 2 test or Fisher exact test to analyze the detection of prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant prostate cancer(CsPCa) by TB versus TB+ SB. Results:Of the all 378 cases, 88 cases (23.3%) were negative and 290 cases (76.7%) were positive. The average number of needle for TB was 2.4 per person, while SB was 12 per person. TB and SB had no statistically significant difference in the detection rate of PCa (73.3% vs. 68.3%, P=0.129) and CsPCa (55.8% vs. 49.7%, P=0.094) and in the accuracy (79.1% vs. 77.8%, P=0.658), but had a statistically significant difference in the positive rate (64.2% vs. 23.1%, P < 0.001). The pathological coincidence rate of TB and TB+ SB was 92.3%. There was no statistical difference in the detection rate of PCa (73.3% vs. 76.7%, P=0.275) and CsPCa (55.8% vs. 62.2%, P=0.076) between TB and TB+ SB. The missed diagnosis rate of TB for PCa was 4.5%, for CsPCa was 10.2%. For patients with PI-RADS score of 4, TB had no significant difference in the detection rate of PCa (65.4% vs. 69.2%, P=0.381) and CsPCa (46.7% vs. 52.9%, P=0.171) from TB+ SB. The accuracy of TB was 82.1%. The missed diagnosis rate of TB for PCa was 5.4%, for CsPCa was 11.8%. For patients with PI-RADS score of 5, TB had no significant difference in the detection rate of PCa (87.0% vs. 89.9%, P=0.452) and CsPCa (71.7% vs. 78.3%, P=0.211) from TB+ SB. The accuracy of TB was 73.9%. The missed diagnosis rate of TB for PCa was 3.2%, for CsPCa was 8.3%. Conclusions:For high-risk prostate cancer patients with PI-RADS score of 4-5, TB can obtain a detection effect similar to that of TB+ SB with fewer needles, but there is still the possibility of inaccurate diagnosis and missed diagnosis.

Objective To retrospectively investigate the distribution,molecular epidemiology and carbapenemases-encoding genes of carbapenem resistant K lebsiella pneumoniae(CRKP)in Zhejiang Province.Methods A total of 772 clinical isolates of K.pneumoniae isolated from 9 hospitals in Zhejiang Province in 2011 were selected,and antimicrobial susceptibility testings were carried out with disk diffusion or broth microdilution method.Polymerase chain reaction(PCR)was used to detect resistant genes,and molecular typing was performed by multilocus sequence typing(MLST)and pulsed field gel electrophoresis(PFGE).Results A total of 48 CRKP(6.2%)were screened in 9 hospitals. Carbapenemase-encoding genes were detected in 39 isolates by PCR,among which 37(77.1%)were identified as blaKPC-2and 2 were blaIMP-4.MLST showed that ST11 was the dominant ST type(30, 62.5%).Results of PFGE showed that 48 CRKP can be divided into 15 types.CRKP was found in 6 hospitals except hospitals in Wenzhou,Jiaxing and Shaoxing.Conclusions In 2011,CRKP is distributed in most areas of Zhejiang Province.The production of KPC-2 is the most important carbapenem resistance mechanism and ST11 is the most prevalent ST type.

Objective To observe the distribution of aerobic bacteria in conjunctival sac of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and the sensitive antimicrobial agents in order to master the distribution of bacteria in the conjunctival sac and select sensitive antibiotics to decrease the infection rate and improve the therapeutic effect. Methods From March 2013 to August 2016, 248 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy were treated with aerobic bacterial culture and antibiotic susceptibility test. The distribution characteristics of aerobic bacteria in conjunctival sac and the sensitivity of antibiotics were observed. Results There were 112 strains in this study, the positive rate was 45.16% (including 8 cases of mixed infection), including 104 strains of gram-positive bacteria, 92.86% of gram-negative bacteria and 7.14% of gram-negative bacteria, the difference was statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Among them, the positive rate of staphylococcus epidermidis higher than other types of strains, the difference were all significant differences (P all<0.05). The sensitivity of vancomycin to gram-positive bacteria 100% was higher than that of, ofloxacin 13.46%,ciprofloxacin 21.15%,gentamicin 69.23% and rifampicin 88.46%, (P all<0.05). The sensitivity of gentamicin to gram-negative bacteria 87.50% was higher than that of rifampicin 0 and vancomycin 12.50%, (P all<0.05). Positive rate of culture results and staphylococcal multidrug resistance rate were 72.94%,31.76%, the incidence of >65 years of age were higher than ≤ 65 years old 30.67%,12.27%, male 51.61%,23.12% than female 25.81%,6.45%, there are basic diseases 69.15%,31.91% were higher than those without underlying diseases30.54%,11.04%, (P<0.05). Staphylococcus number composition ratio, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion To strengthen the observation of aerobic bacteria and the sensitivity of commonly used antimicrobial agents in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, especially the high risk population, it is helpful to master the distribution characteristics of bacterial conjunctival sac and sensitive antimicrobial agents, so as to achieve the preoperative conjunctival sac Bacteria and reduce the rate of infection and other purposes.

Objective To investigate the effects of growth-discordant twin pregnancies on neonatal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level and congenital hypothyroidism (CH).Methods A total of 3 444 live-birth twin neonates born between January 1,2012 and December 30,2014 in Ningbo City were enrolled.Blood samples via heel puncture were collected and tested.Incidence of CH in singleton and twin neonates was compared.Deviation of birth weight larger than 25％ in twin neonates was set as the criteria for discordant growth.TSH and 17 α-hydroxylase levels in CH twins and normal twins,with or without discordant growth,were compared.Chi-square and non-parametric statistics were performed for data analysis.Results The incidence of CH in twin neonates was 0.56％ (19/3 444),higher than that in singleton neonates [0.09％ (203/225 712),x2=76.225,P＜0.01].Among nineteen CH twins,CH occurred in both twins in eight cases (four twins) and in one of the twins in eleven cases.The gestational age at birth in the eight CH twins were less than 37 weeks,with four males and four females;five were low birth weight infants;one twin were dichorionic,and three twins were monochorionic.In the eleven cases of CH occurring in one of the twins,the gestational age was less than 37 weeks in nine cases,eight were low birth weight infants,six were male and five female;seven were monochorionic and four were dichoronic twins.Five cases of temporary hypothyroidism were all low birth weight infants among the growth-discordant twins.CH cases in growth-discordant group had lower birth weight than their normal twins [M(P25-P75),2 100 (1 800-2 600) vs 2 770 (2 530-2 960) g,Z=4.369],and a higher TSH level [15.4 (11.8-18.5) vs 6.4 (4.8-7.9) mU/L,Z=6.339] (both P＜0.05).In normal twins with or without discordant growth,the neonates with a lower birth weight had a higher TSH level [3.6(2.5-4.7) vs 2.4(1.8-2.9) mU/L,Z=0.962] in weight consistent group,compared with 6.0(4.4-7.8) vs 3.4(1.9-4.1) mU/L in weight inconsistent group (Z=4.369),both P＜0.05.Conclusions In the growth-discordant twins,neonates with a lower birth weight have a higher TSH level and a higher risk of temporary hypothyroidism.

Objective To study whether there was significant difference between pregnant women , data and the results of prenatal screening of single intrauterine fetal death ( sIUFD) when twin pregnancy and singleton pregnancy for guiding the clinical prenatal screening and risk consulting .Methods By comparative study, 56 cases of sIUFD when twin pregnancy were recorded from 2011 to 2014 in Ningbo Prenatal Diagnosis Center , all were natural pregnancy , the sistens gestational weeks were less than 14 weeks , and 4 993 natural singleton pregnancy .The pregnant women , data and the results of serological prenatal screening between sIUFD and singleton pregnancy were analyzed by t-test and rank sum test .Separately , the 56 cases of prenatal screening , risk value was calculated according to the twins and singleton , then the difference were analyzed combined with the results of follow-up.Results Pregnant women , data of two groups were analyzed, there were no statistically significant difference between sIUFD and singleton pregnancy .The age of sIUFD and singleton was (27 ±3)year-old and (27 ±3)year-old respectively, t=2.56, P>0.05; the weight of sIUFD and singleton was (55.2 ±10.23 ) kg and (56 ±10.34) kg, t=4.268, P>0.05.The gestational weeks of sIUFD and singleton were (39.21 ±0.78)weeks and (39.1 ±0.91) weeks, t=1.3, P>0.05;the weight of newborn was (3.38 ±0.41) kg and (3.31 ±0.43) kg, t=1.9, P>0.05.The AFP multiple of median (AFPMOM) of sIUFD and singleton was 1.41(0.99,1.83) and 1.02(0.84,1.24), Z=5.337, P<0.05.Free human chorionic gonadotropin beta multiple of median of sIUFD was 1.04(0.62, 1.64) and 0.99(0.67,1.51), Z=0.275, P>0.05;unconjugated estriol multiple of median of sIUFD and singleton was 1(0.79,1.16) and 1.01(0.85,1.21), Z=1.334, P>0.05.Trisomy 21 risk of sIUFD and singleton was 7 750(2 200,28 000) and 5 300(2 000,12 000), Z=2.093, P<0.05, that had significant difference.The 56 cases of prenatal screening risk value was calculated according to the twins and singleton , among whom 42 cases had the same conclusion , 14 cases had the different conclusion .Among them, according to singleton calculation , 3 cases for high risk, according to the twin calculation of high risk for 17 cases,χ2 =12.1, P <0.05.According to follow-up, all newborns were normal.Conclusions For the natural pregnancy , sIUFD when twin pregnancy , if the sistens gestational weeks less than 14 weeks, the risk of prenatal screening results calculated according to singleton will be more reasonable , as for the prenatal screening for twin pregnancy , the method needs further exploration .