OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical characteristics and genetic basis of two brothers featuring X-linked alpha thalassemia mental retardation (ATR-X) syndrome. METHODS: An infant who had presented at the Qilu Children's Hospital in 2020 for unstable upright head and inability to roll over and his family were selected as the study subjects. The clinical features of the child and one of his brothers were summarized, and their genomic DNA was subjected to targeted capture and next generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: The brothers had presented with mental retardation and facial dysmorphisms. NGS revealed that they had both harbored a hemizygous c.5275C>A variant of the ATRX gene located on the X chromosome, which was inherited from their mother. CONCLUSION The siblings were diagnosed with ATR-X syndrome. The discovery of the c.5275C>A variant has enriched the mutational spectrum of the ATRX gene.
Humans ; Infant ; Male ; alpha-Thalassemia/diagnosis* ; Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins/genetics* ; East Asian People ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Mental Retardation, X-Linked/diagnosis* ; Pedigree ; X-linked Nuclear Protein/genetics*

Objective: To detect of gene expression and genotype of the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) from coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) , It is explored whether CWP is related to ATM gene. Methods: In October 2020, the relevant information of 264 subjects who received physical examination or medical treatment in the Department of occupational diseases of Guiyang public health treatment center from January 2019 to September 2020 was collected. Through the occupational health examination, 67 healthy people with no history of exposure to occupational hazards were selected as the healthy control group; The coal miners with more than 10 years of coal dust exposure history and small shadow in the lung but not up to the diagnostic criteria were the dust exposure control group, a total of 66 people; The patients with the same history of coal dust exposure and confirmed stage I were coal worker's pneumoconiosis stage I group, a total of 131 people. The expression of ATM was detected by QRT PCR. ATM rs189037 and rs1801516 were genotyped by massarray. Results: There was significant difference in the expression of ATM among the groups (P<0.05) ; Compared with the healthy control group, the expression of ATM in the dust exposed control group was significantly increased (P<0.05) . With the occurrence and development of CWP, the GG of rs189037 wild type decreased, the GA of mutant heterozygote and AA of homozygote increased, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05) ; Rs1801516 wild type GG and mutant heterozygote GA had no significant changes (P>0.05) . There were significant differences in age, neutrophils and basophils among rs189037 groups (all P<0.05) . There were no significant differences in blood pressure, eosinophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, smoking and drinking history among rs189037 groups (all P>0.05) . Compared with wild-type GG, the or of mutant heterozygotes and homozygotes increased, but the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05) . Conclusion: ATM gene may be one of the early activation genes of CWP and rs189037 may be the functional loci which affects gene expression. ATM gene is related to inflammatory response, Neutrophils and basophils have an impact on the development of CWP.
Anthracosis/genetics* ; Ataxia Telangiectasia ; Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins/genetics* ; China ; Coal ; Coal Mining ; Humans ; Miners ; Pneumoconiosis/epidemiology* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Embolization, Therapeutic ; Hepatic Encephalopathy/therapy* ; Humans ; Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic/therapy*

Hepatic Encephalopathy/etiology* ; Humans ; Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic/complications* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective: To observe the clinical effects of bevacizumab in the treatment of familial epistaxis caused by hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). Methods: The data of 27 patients with familial epistaxis caused by HHT who were treated with bevacizumab intravenously from Beijing Anzhen Hospital, the First Clinical Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital and Binzhou Central Hospital between December 2016 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 14 males and 13 females, aged (55.3±11.2) years. The dose of bevacizumab was calculated according to the body weight of 5 mg/kg. The curative effect was observed one month after the first treatment. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to compare patients' self-scores of systemic symptoms before and after treatment. Epistaxis severity score (ESS) was used to compare and analyze the six problems (including the frequency, duration, intensity, treatment demand, anemia and blood transfusion) of the patients before and after treatment. The changes of hemoglobin levels before and after treatment were compared. SPSS 20.0 statistical software was used to process the data. Results: Among the 27 patients at one month after the first bevacizumab treatment, 22 cases reported that the severity of epistaxis was improved significantly, and 5 cases reported that the treatment effect was not significant. The effective rate was 81.5% (22/27). The significant effect in 22 patients lasted for 5-24 months, with a median duration of 11.23 months. The VAS score of systemic symptoms decreased significantly compared with that before treatment (2.41±2.55 vs 8.19±1.47, t=9.708, P<0.01). The scores of six aspects and standardized scores of ESS were significantly decreased after treatment (epistaxis frequency: 1.78±1.22 vs 3.44±0.80, t=6.814, P<0.01; epistaxis duration: 0.85±0.91 vs 3.00±0.73, t=8.845, P<0.01; epistaxis intensity: 0.19±0.40 vs 1.00±0.00, t=10.696, P<0.01; treatment demand: 0.22 ± 0.42 vs 1.00±0.00, t=9.539, P<0.01; anemia: 0.41±0.50 vs 0.89±0.32, t=4.914, P<0.01; blood transfusion: 0.11±0.32 vs 0.41±0.50, t=3.309, P<0.01; ESS standardized score: 2.50±2.45 vs 7.60±1.30, t=9.344, P<0.01). The hemoglobin level after treatment was significantly higher than that before treatment ((105.48±24.31) g/L vs (73.07±23.71) g/L, t=6.864, P<0.01). Among the 27 patients, there were 8 cases of HHT1 (ENG gene) and 19 cases of HHT2 (ACVRL1 gene). The improvement duration of epistaxis in group HHT1 and group HHT2 was (4.76±5.12) months and (7.60±10.84) months, respectively, which was in group HHT2 longer than that of group HHT1, but there was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in ESS scores between the two groups before and after treatment (P>0.05). Two female patients had amenorrhea after the first medication. All patients had no other adverse reactions and complications. Conclusion: Intravenous bevacizumab is significantly effective and safe in the treatment of familial epistaxis caused by HHT.
Activin Receptors, Type II ; Adult ; Aged ; Bevacizumab/therapeutic use* ; Epistaxis/etiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic/drug therapy*

Objective: To explore the diagnostic significance of the combination of clinical and genetic detection of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) by analyzing the clinical and genetic diagnosis of a family with HHT. Methods: Medical history data of the probands and their family members were collected, and the sequence analyses of coding regions of ENG, ACVRL1, SMAD4 and GDF2 genes were performed by PCR-sequencing method, and a comprehensive diagnosis was made based on the clinical features and gene detection results. After the pathogenic gene variation was identified, 11 members of 3 generations of the family were tested for pathogenic gene mutation. Results: There was an ACVRL1 c.715_716delAG mutation in the proband and 9 other family members, which caused p.S239C. Based on the clinical and genetic findings, the 7 suspected were diagnosed and 2 asymptomatic patients were found to carry the mutation site. Conclusion: The combination of clinical features and gene detection can determine the etiology and classification of HHT, which is convenient for the early diagnosis and prevention of the disease.
Activin Receptors, Type II/genetics* ; Endoglin/genetics* ; Genetic Testing ; Humans ; Mutation ; Sequence Analysis ; Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: Two brothes with Seckel's syndrome 1(SCKL1) were reported and a literature review was carried to provide clinical and genetic information of this rare disease. METHODS: Clinical data of the two children were collected, and the peripheral blood was extracted for whole exome sequencing. Literature of the disease were reviewed. RESULTS: The two patients were 11 years and 9.5 years old when examined for short stature. They presented with intrauterine growth retardation, intellectual disability, microcephaly, birdhead-like face and coffee au lait spots. The bone age was more than 2 years behind the chronical age and the growth hormone levels were normal. Whole exome sequencing revealed novel compound heterozygous variants c.1A>G (p.M1?) and c.4853-18A>G of ART gene in both children. CONCLUSION Children with prenatal onset short stature, developmental delay, microcephaly and special facial featuresshould be considered for the possibility of Seckel's syndrome, whole exome sequencing could help to confirm the clinical diagnosis.
Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins/genetics* ; Child ; Dwarfism/genetics* ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Male ; Microcephaly/genetics* ; Siblings ; Whole Exome Sequencing

This article reports two children with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). Patient 1 was a boy aged 12 years and was admitted due to intermittent cough and wheezing for more than 10 years. This boy and his mother and grandmother had a history of epistaxis. The boy had a history of the rupture of cerebral arteriovenous malformations. Gene detection showed a heterozygous mutation, c.277C>T(p.Arg93*), in the ENG gene. Patient 2 was a girl aged 13 years and was admitted due to cyanosis of lips for more than 1 year. The girl had a history of recurrent epistaxis and the manifestations of severe decline in pulmonary diffuse function, pulmonary hypertension, dilation of blood vessels at the distal end of lungs, and small arteriovenous communications in both lungs. Children with HHT often lack typical respiratory symptoms, which may lead to missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis in the early stage. Pulmonary computed tomography or right cardiac acoustic contrast can help with the diagnosis of HHT, and gene detection can improve the early diagnostic rate of this disease.
Adolescent ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Mutation ; Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Adolescent ; Adult ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; surgery ; therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; surgery ; therapy ; Heparin ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Artery ; abnormalities ; surgery ; Pulmonary Veins ; abnormalities ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic ; surgery ; therapy ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), a rare genetic vascular disorder, has been rarely reported in South Korea. We investigated the current prevalence and presenting patterns of genetically confirmed HHT in South Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We defined HHT patients as those with proven mutations on known HHT-related genes (ENG, ACVRL1, SMAD4, and GDF2) or those fulfilling 3 or 4 of the Curaçao criteria. A computerized systematic search was performed in PubMed and KoreaMed using the following search term: (“hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia” AND “Korea”) OR (“Osler-Weber-Rendu” AND “Korea”). We also collected government health insurance data. HHT genetic testing results were collected from three tertiary hospitals in which the genetic tests were performed. We integrated patient data by analyzing each case to obtain the prevalence and presenting pattern of HHT in South Korea. RESULTS: We extracted 90 cases from 52 relevant articles from PubMed and KoreaMed. An additional 22 cases were identified from the three Korean tertiary hospitals after excluding seven cases that overlapped with those in the published articles. Finally, 112 HHT patients were identified (41 males and 71 females, aged 4–82 years [mean±standard deviation, 45.3±20.6 years]). The prevalence of HHT in South Korea is about 1 in 500,000, with an almost equal prevalence among men and women. Forty-nine patients underwent genetic testing, of whom 28 had HHT1 (ENG mutation) and 19 had HHT2 (ACVRL1 mutation); the other two patients were negative for ENG, ACVRL1, and SMAD4 mutations. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HHT is underestimated in Korea. The rate of phenotypic presentation seems to be similar to that found worldwide. Korean health insurance coverage is limited to representative genetic analysis to detect ENG and ACVRL1 mutations. Further genetic analyses to detect HHT3, HHT4, and other forms of HHT should be implemented.
Arteriovenous Fistula ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Diagnosis ; Epistaxis ; Female ; Genetic Testing ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Korea ; Male ; Prevalence ; Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic ; Tertiary Care Centers