Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a congenital cancer-predisposition syndrome associated with embryonal cancers, macroglossia, macrosomia, ear pits or ear creases, and midline abdominal-wall defects. The most common constitutional abnormalities in BWS are epigenetic, involving abnormal methylation of either H19 or LIT1, which encode untranslated RNAs on 11p15. We hypothesized that different epigenetic alterations would be associated with specific phenotypes in BWS. To test this hypothesis, we performed a case-cohort study, using the BWS Registry. The cohort consisted of 92 patients with BWS and molecular analysis of both H19 and LIT1, and these patients showed the same frequency of clinical phenotypes as those patients in the Registry from whom biological samples were not available. The frequency of altered DNA methylation of H19 in patients with cancer was significantly higher, 56% (9/16), than the frequency in patients without cancer, 17% (13/76; P=.002), and cancer was not associated with LIT1 alterations. Furthermore, the frequency of altered DNA methylation of LIT1 in patients with midline abdominal-wall defects and macrosomia was significantly higher, 65% (41/63) and 60% (46/77), respectively, than in patients without such defects, 34% (10/29) and 18% (2/11), respectively (P=.012 and P=.02, respectively). Additionally, paternal uniparental disomy (UPD) of 11p15 was associated with hemihypertrophy (P=.003), cancer (P=.03), and hypoglycemia (P=.05). These results define an epigenotype-phenotype relationship in BWS, in which aberrant methylation of H19 and LIT1 and UPD are strongly associated with cancer risk and specific birth defects.

Schritt für Schritt: Im „molekularen“ Ansatz zur Bildung von Graphen werden Vorstufenmoleküle zu zweidimensionalen Zwischenstufen vernetzt und diese anschließend zu Graphen pyrolysiert. Damit werden qualitativ hochwertige Graphenprodukte, wie sie für technische Anwendungen dringend benötigt werden, zugänglich.

Objective Infantile-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the most common genetic cause of infant mortality, typically resulting in death prior to age 2. Clinical trials in this population require an understanding of disease progression and identification of meaningful biomarkers to hasten therapeutic development and predict outcomes. Methods A longitudinal, multi-center, prospective natural history study enrolled 26 SMA infants, and 27 control infants less than six months of age. Recruitment occurred at 14 centers over 21 months within the NINDS-sponsored NeuroNEXT Network. Infant motor function scales (TIMPSI, CHOP-INTEND and AIMS) and putative physiologic and molecular biomarkers were assessed prior to 6 months of age and at 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24-months with progression, correlations between motor function and biomarkers and hazard ratios were analyzed. Results Motor function scores (MFS) and CMAP decreased rapidly in SMA infants, whereas MFS in all healthy infants rapidly increased. Correlations were identified between TIMPSI and CMAP in SMA infants. TIMPSI at first study visit was associated with risk of combined endpoint of death or permanent invasive ventilation in SMA infants. Post hoc analysis of survival to combined endpoint in SMA infants with 2 copies of SMN2 indicated a median age of 8 months at death (95%CI: 6,17). Interpretation These data of SMA and control outcome measures delineates meaningful change in clinical trials in infantile-onset SMA. The power and utility of NeuroNEXT to provide “real world”, prospective natural history data sets to accelerate public and private drug development programs for rare disease is demonstrated.

Survivors of childhood HD are at increased risk of stroke. Mantle radiation exposure is strongly associated with subsequent stroke. Potential mechanisms may include carotid artery disease or cardiac valvular disease.

ObjectiveThis study prospectively assessed putative promising biomarkers for use in assessing infants with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).MethodsThis prospective, multi‐center natural history study targeted the enrollment of SMA infants and healthy control infants less than 6 months of age. Recruitment occurred at 14 centers within the NINDS National Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials (NeuroNEXT) Network. Infant motor function scales and putative electrophysiological, protein and molecular biomarkers were assessed at baseline and subsequent visits.ResultsEnrollment began November, 2012 and ended September, 2014 with 26 SMA infants and 27 healthy infants enrolled. Baseline demographic characteristics of the SMA and control infant cohorts aligned well. Motor function as assessed by the Test for Infant Motor Performance Items (TIMPSI) and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Infant Test of Neuromuscular Disorders (CHOP‐INTEND) revealed significant differences between the SMA and control infants at baseline. Ulnar compound muscle action potential amplitude (CMAP) in SMA infants (1.4 ± 2.2 mV) was significantly reduced compared to controls (5.5 ± 2.0 mV). Electrical impedance myography (EIM) high‐frequency reactance slope (Ohms/MHz) was significantly higher in SMA infants than controls SMA infants had lower survival motor neuron (SMN) mRNA levels in blood than controls, and several serum protein analytes were altered between cohorts.InterpretationBy the time infants were recruited and presented for the baseline visit, SMA infants had reduced motor function compared to controls. Ulnar CMAP, EIM, blood SMN mRNA levels, and serum protein analytes were able to distinguish between cohorts at the enrollment visit.

We found M/PNET is increasing in incidence and more frequent among Whites. Given that medulloblastoma and PNET are histologically identical and have similar epidemiologic profiles, future studies should provide analyses that combine these entities.

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ALL incidence has increased over the examined 25-year period. The rate in US whites is higher than that of US Blacks, and the rates in the Hispanic subgroup are the highest of all. While the median survival period is now more than 10 years overall, the 5-year survival rate remains poor for Black males under 4 years of age. Socioeconomic factors do not account for this difference, which may relate to ALL subtype distribution.