Congenital heart defects (CHDs) affect 2%-3% of newborns and remain challenging clinically. There is an ongoing project to elucidate the causes of CHDs, focusing primarily on genetics as dictated by the epidemiology. In a paper published in this issue, Santos and colleagues describe studies of Cornelia de Lange syndrome-associated secundum atrial septal defects (ASDs) caused by NIPBL mutations,...

Juvenile recurrent parotitis is a common cause of inflammatory salivary gland swelling in children. A variety of aetiological factors has been proposed for the condition. Here we present a family where four members had juvenile recurrent parotitis and where two other family members may have had an atypical form of the condition. The segregation pattern in the family is consistent with autosomal...

To investigate the cytochrome P4501B1 (CYP1B1) mutations in a three-generation Chinese Han family with PCG, the 2 and 3 coding exons of CYP1B1 gene were amplified by PCR, and were directly sequenced using Sanger bidirectional sequencing reactions. The mutation c.517 G>A p.E173K was detected in all the affected individuals (which showed homozygous AA genotype) and not in all the unaffected ones ...

Two cases of ankyloblepharon filiforme adnatum in siblings are presented. One sib had associated cleft lip and palate, the other had bilateral syndactyly of the second and third toes. Father, paternal grandmother, and great-grandmother all had bilateral syndactyly of the second and third toes. Cases of ankyloblepharon filiforme adnatum reported in the ophthalmic literature are reviewed as are c...

The c.341G>T (p.G114V) variant of the prion protein gene (PRNP) has been reported in a Uruguayan and a Chinese family to cause an inheritable prion disease, albeit with incomplete penetrance. The condition is characterized by early-onset, relatively prolonged course, early neuropsychiatric symptoms, followed by pyramidal and extrapyramidal symptoms. We present a 20-year-old African American wom...

Patients with the Denys-Drash syndrome (Wilms' tumor, genital anomalies, and nephropathy) have been demonstrated to carry de novo constitutional mutations in WT1, the Wilms' tumor gene at chromosome 11p13. We report three new cases, two carrying a previously described WT1 exon 9 mutation and one with a novel WT1 exon 8 mutation. However, unlike patients in previous reports, one of our three pat...

Genetic imprinting in mice results in functional differences in the oocyte and spermatocyte genomes, as evidenced by both genetic and pronuclear transfer experiments. To gain insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in the imprinting process, researchers have studied methylation phenotypes and expression of hemizygous transgenes associated with parental origin. In this report, we describ...

In 1985, Strom et al described two families in which rheumatoid arthritis (RA) appeared in several members over three consecutive generations.' Although these pedigrees taken alone could implicate dominant inheritance, the overall picture with RA pedigrees indicates a complex mode of inheritance, with incomplete penetrance of predisposing genes and probably several genes being involved in the d...

We present a case of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) triggered by Shigella flexneri. Of the Shigella species, only S. dysenteriae type 1 is said to produce Shiga toxin and consequently cause HUS. Investigation of the complement system in this patient revealed a CD46 mutation. In individuals with mutations in complement genes incomplete penetrance of atypical HUS (aHUS) is seen, suggesting tha...

A large family (13 affected members in three generations) is reported in which isolated microcephaly occurred without any other dysmorphic or neurological abnormalities. The family pedigree confirms the autosomal dominant mode of inheritance with incomplete penetrance, including one example of male to male transmission and the occurrence of a non-manifesting heterozygote resulting in a 'skipped...