Genetic counseling for congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG).

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs) are a genetically and clinically diverse group of disorders that arise as a result of defects within glycosylation synthetic pathways. CDGs are caused by pathogenic variants in many different genes in the glycosylation network. With over 160 different CDG types currently identified and a vast range of severity and presentations existing within and across those types, the road to a CDG diagnosis is often lengthy and complicated. The perils of this arduous CDG diagnostic odyssey are fraught with various genetic counseling uncertainties: (1) confusion about family planning, (2) queries about inheritance, (3) managing treatment, and (4) dealing with the uncertainty of rare diseases. Thus, the role of the genetic counselor is paramount in helping affected individuals and their families navigate these genetic counseling complexities. Case examples of common genetic counseling difficulties for CDGs are outlined, providing clinical applications of what CDG presentations, diagnostic processes, and common difficulties look like. Information on the nomenclature, incidence, prevalence, diagnostic testing, treatment, and management of CDGs are also discussed to provide a comprehensive summary of CDGs for genetic counselors, and subsequently to affected individuals and their families.

Geographic Distribution of Clinical Care for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth.

OBJECTIVES: Geographic barriers limit access to clinical care in the United States for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth. Some factors differentiating access to care are variability in state laws/policies, the number of available clinical care programs and mental health providers for TGD youth. METHODS: We aggregated data from the Human Rights Campaign for pediatric clinical care programs for TGD youth, the Movement Advancement Project for state-by-state assessment of gender identity laws and policies, and Psychology Today for mental health providers for TGD youth by state. Current prevalence rates for TGD youth were applied by state with 2020 Census data. Findings were summarized as a whole and per capita by state, region, and country overall. RESULTS: The South has the highest number of TGD youth per clinic (36 465-186 377), and the lowest average equality score in gender identity laws and policies (1.96). The Midwest has the highest number of TGD youth per mental health provider (278-1422). The Northeast has the lowest number of TGD youth per clinic (11 094-56 703), the highest average equality score in laws and policies per state (17.75), and the highest average number of TGD youth per mental health providers (87-444). CONCLUSIONS: Findings support there are barriers to TGD youth care throughout the United States, especially the South and Midwest. Increasing medical and mental health care for TGD youth is likely to improve their health and well-being. Enacting gender identity protective laws/policies would allow for equal treatment and access to care among TGD youth.

FAmily-CEntered (FACE) Advance Care Planning Among African-American and Non-African-American Adults Living With HIV in Washington, DC: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Increase Documentation and Health Equity.

CONTEXT: No prospective studies address disease-specific advance care planning (ACP) for adults living with HIV/AIDS. OBJECTIVE: To examine the efficacy of FAmily-CEntered (FACE) ACP in increasing ACP and advance directive documentation in the medical record. METHODS: Longitudinal, two-arm, randomized controlled trial with intent-to-treat design recruited from five hospital-based outpatient HIV clinics in Washington, DC. Adults living with HIV and their surrogate decision-makers (N = 233 dyads) were randomized to either an intensive facilitated two-session FACE ACP (Next Steps: Respecting Choices goals of care conversation and Five Wishes advance directive) or healthy living control (conversations about developmental/relationship history and nutrition). RESULTS: Patients (n = 223) mean age: 51 years, 56% male, 86% African-American. One hundred ninety-nine dyads participated in the intervention. At baseline, only 13% of patients had an advance directive. Three months after intervention, this increased to 59% for the FACE ACP group versus 17% in the control group (P < 0.0001). Controlling for race, the odds of having an advance directive in the medical record in the FACE ACP group was approximately seven times greater than controls (adjusted odds ratio = 6.58, 95% CI: 3.21-13.51, P < 0.0001). Among African-Americans randomized to FACE, 58% had completed/documented advance directives versus 20% of controls (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The FACE ACP intervention significantly improved ACP completion and advance directive documentation in the medical record among both African-American and non-African-American adults living with HIV in Washington, DC, providing health equity in ACP, which can inform best practices.

A Recurrent De Novo Heterozygous COG4 Substitution Leads to Saul-Wilson Syndrome, Disrupted Vesicular Trafficking, and Altered Proteoglycan Glycosylation.

The conserved oligomeric Golgi (COG) complex is involved in intracellular vesicular transport, and is composed of eight subunits distributed in two lobes, lobe A (COG1-4) and lobe B (COG5-8). We describe fourteen individuals with Saul-Wilson syndrome, a rare form of primordial dwarfism with characteristic facial and radiographic features. All affected subjects harbored heterozygous de novo variants in COG4, giving rise to the same recurrent amino acid substitution (p.Gly516Arg). Affected individuals' fibroblasts, whose COG4 mRNA and protein were not decreased, exhibited delayed anterograde vesicular trafficking from the ER to the Golgi and accelerated retrograde vesicular recycling from the Golgi to the ER. This altered steady-state equilibrium led to a decrease in Golgi volume, as well as morphologic abnormalities with collapse of the Golgi stacks. Despite these abnormalities of the Golgi apparatus, protein glycosylation in sera and fibroblasts from affected subjects was not notably altered, but decorin, a proteoglycan secreted into the extracellular matrix, showed altered Golgi-dependent glycosylation. In summary, we define a specific heterozygous COG4 substitution as the molecular basis of Saul-Wilson syndrome, a rare skeletal dysplasia distinct from biallelic COG4-CDG.