Genotype/phenotype correlation in 123 Chinese patients with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is a multisystemic neurocutaneous disorder with autosomal dominant inheritance. We performed mutation analyses on 123 Chinese patients with "definite TSC" according to the latest diagnostic criteria. Pathogenic / likely-pathogenic variants were identified in 72.2% of all index patients (70/97), in which 35.7% (25/70) had TSC1 variants and 64.3% (45/70) had TSC2 variants. 84.5% (82/97) cases were sporadic and 15.5% (15/97) cases were familial. 62 unique variants were reported, in which 41.9% (26/62) were novel. Male patients had significantly more subependymal nodules (p=0.029) than females, whereas renal angiomyolipoma (p=0.032) occurred predominantly in females. Sporadic cases also had more renal angiomyolipoma (p=0.004), cortical tubers (p=0.008), hypopigmented macules (p=0.018) and fibrous cephalic plaques (p=0.028) than cases with known inheritance. Patients with TSC2 pathogenic variants were more likely to have mental retardation (p<0.001), cardiac rhabdomyoma (p=0.004), renal angiomyolipoma (p=0.006) and facial angiofibromas (p=0.026) than those with TSC1 pathogenic variants, while mutation-negative cases showed a mixed phenotype between those with TSC1 and TSC2 variants. There were no significant phenotypic differences between patients with and without TSC1/TSC2 variants, but TSC2 missense and in-frame variants were associated with higher frequencies of mental retardation (P<0.001), renal angiomyolipoma (p=0.001), cardiac rhabdomyoma (p=0.012) and facial angiofibroma (p=0.021) than those with TSC1 frameshift and splice site variants. Furthermore, a higher frequency of mental retardation (p=0.013) was observed in patients with TSC2 missense and in-frame variants than those with frameshift and splice site variants. All 14 antenatal-onset patients had cardiac rhabdomyoma. They had fewer seizures (p=0.028) than patients with paediatric-onset, but were more likely to have mental retardation (p=0.035) than individuals with adult-onset disease. Generally, paediatric-onset patients had more neurological manifestations, while initial presentations of adult-onset TSC were more diverse.

Old and new perspectives on Neurofibromatosis type 1: Clinical and molecular characterization of 832 patients from a single centre over 16 years.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1; OMIM #162200) is the commonest multi-systemic neurocutaneous tumour-predisposition disorder. It has an age-related complete penetrance but a highly variable inter- and intra-familial expressivity. This article summarizes the clinical features and molecular characteristics of 832 clinically or molecularly confirmed NF1 patients from 697 unrelated families recruited from a single centre in Hong Kong diagnosed during the 16 years period from Jan 2005 to Jan 2021. In this study, we have estimated the incidences of clinical features, reported on the molecular findings and explored new genotype-phenotype correlations.

Familial patellar dislocation associated with t(15;20) (q24;q13.1).

Patellar instability is a common debilitating injury affecting young active individuals. It accounts for approximately 3% of all knee injuries. We report a family, of which five members across three generations, who suffered from autosomal dominant familial recurrent patellar dislocation as well as short stature. All of them have recurrent patellar dislocations before the age of 15. The affected patients in all three generations have been genetically screened. Genotypical evaluation revealed a balanced translocation of chromosomes 15 and 20.