Clinical and genetic differences between bipolar disorder type 1 and 2 in multiplex families.

The two major subtypes of bipolar disorder (BD), BD-I and BD-II, are distinguished based on the presence of manic or hypomanic episodes. Historically, BD-II was perceived as a less severe form of BD-I. Recent research has challenged this concept of a severity continuum. Studies in large samples of unrelated patients have described clinical and genetic differences between the subtypes. Besides an increased schizophrenia polygenic risk load in BD-I, these studies also observed an increased depression risk load in BD-II patients. The present study assessed whether such clinical and genetic differences are also found in BD patients from multiplex families, which exhibit reduced genetic and environmental heterogeneity. Comparing 252 BD-I and 75 BD-II patients from the Andalusian Bipolar Family (ABiF) study, the clinical course, symptoms during depressive and manic episodes, and psychiatric comorbidities were analyzed. Furthermore, polygenic risk scores (PRS) for BD, schizophrenia, and depression were assessed. BD-I patients not only suffered from more severe symptoms during manic episodes but also more frequently showed incapacity during depressive episodes. A higher BD PRS was significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Moreover, BD-I cases exhibited lower depression PRS. In line with a severity continuum from BD-II to BD-I, our results link BD-I to a more pronounced clinical presentation in both mania and depression and indicate that the polygenic risk load of BD predisposes to more severe disorder characteristics. Nevertheless, our results suggest that the genetic risk burden for depression also shapes disorder presentation and increases the likelihood of BD-II subtype development.

Bipolar multiplex families have an increased burden of common risk variants for psychiatric disorders.

Multiplex families with a high prevalence of a psychiatric disorder are often examined to identify rare genetic variants with large effect sizes. In the present study, we analysed whether the risk for bipolar disorder (BD) in BD multiplex families is influenced by common genetic variants. Furthermore, we investigated whether this risk is conferred mainly by BD-specific risk variants or by variants also associated with the susceptibility to schizophrenia or major depression. In total, 395 individuals from 33 Andalusian BD multiplex families (166 BD, 78 major depressive disorder, 151 unaffected) as well as 438 subjects from an independent, BD case/control cohort (161 unrelated BD, 277 unrelated controls) were analysed. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) for BD, schizophrenia (SCZ), and major depression were calculated and compared between the cohorts. Both the familial BD cases and unaffected family members had higher PRS for all three psychiatric disorders than the independent controls, with BD and SCZ being significant after correction for multiple testing, suggesting a high baseline risk for several psychiatric disorders in the families. Moreover, familial BD cases showed significantly higher BD PRS than unaffected family members and unrelated BD cases. A plausible hypothesis is that, in multiplex families with a general increase in risk for psychiatric disease, BD development is attributable to a high burden of common variants that confer a specific risk for BD. The present analyses demonstrated that common genetic risk variants for psychiatric disorders are likely to contribute to the high incidence of affective psychiatric disorders in the multiplex families. However, the PRS explained only part of the observed phenotypic variance, and rare variants might have also contributed to disease development.

Whole-exome sequencing of 81 individuals from 27 multiply affected bipolar disorder families.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a highly heritable neuropsychiatric disease characterized by recurrent episodes of depression and mania. Research suggests that the cumulative impact of common alleles explains 25-38% of phenotypic variance, and that rare variants may contribute to BD susceptibility. To identify rare, high-penetrance susceptibility variants for BD, whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed in three affected individuals from each of 27 multiply affected families from Spain and Germany. WES identified 378 rare, non-synonymous, and potentially functional variants. These spanned 368 genes, and were carried by all three affected members in at least one family. Eight of the 368 genes harbored rare variants that were implicated in at least two independent families. In an extended segregation analysis involving additional family members, five of these eight genes harbored variants showing full or nearly full cosegregation with BD. These included the brain-expressed genes RGS12 and NCKAP5, which were considered the most promising BD candidates on the basis of independent evidence. Gene enrichment analysis for all 368 genes revealed significant enrichment for four pathways, including genes reported in de novo studies of autism (padj < 0.006) and schizophrenia (padj = 0.015). These results suggest a possible genetic overlap with BD for autism and schizophrenia at the rare-sequence-variant level. The present study implicates novel candidate genes for BD development, and may contribute to an improved understanding of the biological basis of this common and often devastating disease.

El estudio Andalusian Bipolar Family (ABiF): protocolo y descripción de la muestra / The Andalusian Bipolar Family (ABiF) Study: Protocol and sample description

Introducción: Se presenta la primera descripción del estudio denominado Andalusian Bipolar Family (ABiF). Se trata de una investigación longitudinal con familias procedentes de Andalucía (España), que comenzó en 1997, con el objetivo de dilucidar las causas geneticomoleculares del trastorno afectivo bipolar. Desde entonces, esta cohorte ha contribuido a una serie de hallazgos clave, que han sido publicados en revistas internacionales. Sin embargo, el conocimiento sobre las bases genéticas del trastorno en estas familias sigue siendo limitado. Método: El estudio consta de dos fases: en la fase inicial se reclutaron 100 familias con múltiples afectados de trastorno bipolar y otros trastornos del ánimo. La segunda fase del proyecto, actualmente en curso, comenzó en 2013 con el objetivo de realizar un seguimiento de la cohorte de familias reclutadas originalmente. Los objetivos del estudio de seguimiento son: I) recoger nuevos datos clínicos longitudinales; II) realizar una evaluación neuropsicológica detallada, y III) obtener una extensa colección de biomateriales para futuros estudios moleculares. Resultados: El estudio ABiF, por tanto, generará unos recursos valiosos para futuras investigaciones sobre la etiología del trastorno afectivo bipolar; particularmente con respecto a las causas de la alta carga genética del trastorno en las familias con múltiples afectados. Discusión: Se discute el valor de este enfoque en relación con las nuevas tecnologías para la identificación de factores genéticos de alta penetrancia. Estas nuevas tecnologías incluyen la secuenciación del exoma y del genoma completo, y el uso de células madre pluripotentes inducidas u organismos modelo para la determinación de consecuencias funcionales

Introduction: Here, we present the first description of the Andalusian Bipolar Family (ABiF) Study. This longitudinal investigation of families from Andalusia, Spain commenced in 1997 with the aim of elucidating the molecular genetic causes of bipolar affective disorder. The cohort has since contributed to a number of key genetic findings, as reported in international journals. However, insight into the genetic underpinnings of the disorder in these families remains limited. Method: In the initial 1997-2003 study phase, 100 multiplex bipolar disorder and other mood disorder families were recruited. The ongoing second phase of the project commenced in 2013, and involves follow-up of a subgroup of the originally recruited families. The aim of the follow-up investigation is to generate: I) longitudinal clinical data; II) results from detailed neuropsychological assessments; and III) a more extensive collection of biomaterials for future molecular biological studies. Results: The ABiF Study will thus generate a valuable resource for future investigations into the aetiology of bipolar affective disorder; in particular the causes of high disease loading within multiply affected families. Discussion: We discuss the value of this approach in terms of new technologies for the identification of high-penetrance genetic factors. These new technologies include exome and whole genome sequencing, and the use of induced pluripotent stem cells or model organisms to determine functional consequences

Exome sequencing in large, multiplex bipolar disorder families from Cuba.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a major psychiatric illness affecting around 1% of the global population. BD is characterized by recurrent manic and depressive episodes, and has an estimated heritability of around 70%. Research has identified the first BD susceptibility genes. However, the underlying pathways and regulatory networks remain largely unknown. Research suggests that the cumulative impact of common alleles with small effects explains only around 25-38% of the phenotypic variance for BD. A plausible hypothesis therefore is that rare, high penetrance variants may contribute to BD risk. The present study investigated the role of rare, nonsynonymous, and potentially functional variants via whole exome sequencing in 15 BD cases from two large, multiply affected families from Cuba. The high prevalence of BD in these pedigrees renders them promising in terms of the identification of genetic risk variants with large effect sizes. In addition, SNP array data were used to calculate polygenic risk scores for affected and unaffected family members. After correction for multiple testing, no significant increase in polygenic risk scores for common, BD-associated genetic variants was found in BD cases compared to healthy relatives. Exome sequencing identified a total of 17 rare and potentially damaging variants in 17 genes. The identified variants were shared by all investigated BD cases in the respective pedigree. The most promising variant was located in the gene SERPING1 (p.L349F), which has been reported previously as a genome-wide significant risk gene for schizophrenia. The present data suggest novel candidate genes for BD susceptibility, and may facilitate the discovery of disease-relevant pathways and regulatory networks.

The Andalusian Bipolar Family (ABiF) Study: Protocol and sample description. / El estudio Andalusian Bipolar Family (ABiF): protocolo y descripción de la muestra.

INTRODUCTION: Here, we present the first description of the Andalusian Bipolar Family (ABiF) Study. This longitudinal investigation of families from Andalusia, Spain commenced in 1997 with the aim of elucidating the molecular genetic causes of bipolar affective disorder. The cohort has since contributed to a number of key genetic findings, as reported in international journals. However, insight into the genetic underpinnings of the disorder in these families remains limited. METHOD: In the initial 1997-2003 study phase, 100 multiplex bipolar disorder and other mood disorder families were recruited. The ongoing second phase of the project commenced in 2013, and involves follow-up of a subgroup of the originally recruited families. The aim of the follow-up investigation is to generate: i) longitudinal clinical data; ii) results from detailed neuropsychological assessments; and iii) a more extensive collection of biomaterials for future molecular biological studies. RESULTS: The ABiF Study will thus generate a valuable resource for future investigations into the aetiology of bipolar affective disorder; in particular the causes of high disease loading within multiply affected families. DISCUSSION: We discuss the value of this approach in terms of new technologies for the identification of high-penetrance genetic factors. These new technologies include exome and whole genome sequencing, and the use of induced pluripotent stem cells or model organisms to determine functional consequences.

The first genomewide interaction and locus-heterogeneity linkage scan in bipolar affective disorder: strong evidence of epistatic effects between loci on chromosomes 2q and 6q.

We present the first genomewide interaction and locus-heterogeneity linkage scan in bipolar affective disorder (BPAD), using a large linkage data set (52 families of European descent; 448 participants and 259 affected individuals). Our results provide the strongest interaction evidence between BPAD genes on chromosomes 2q22-q24 and 6q23-q24, which was observed symmetrically in both directions (nonparametric LOD [NPL] scores of 7.55 on 2q and 7.63 on 6q; P<.0001 and P=.0001, respectively, after a genomewide permutation procedure). The second-best BPAD interaction evidence was observed between chromosomes 2q22-q24 and 15q26. Here, we also observed a symmetrical interaction (NPL scores of 6.26 on 2q and 4.59 on 15q; P=.0057 and .0022, respectively). We covered the implicated regions by genotyping additional marker sets and performed a detailed interaction linkage analysis, which narrowed the susceptibility intervals. Although the heterogeneity analysis produced less impressive results (highest NPL score of 3.32) and a less consistent picture, we achieved evidence of locus heterogeneity at chromosomes 2q, 6p, 11p, 13q, and 22q, which was supported by adjacent markers within each region and by previously reported BPAD linkage findings. Our results provide systematic insights in the framework of BPAD epistasis and locus heterogeneity, which should facilitate gene identification by the use of more-comprehensive cloning strategies.

Ataxia cerebelosa dominante, una enfermedad frecuente en la provincia Holguín

Se realizan los resultados del estudio de 692 pacientes con enfermedades del aparato neuromuscular, examinados en el período comprendido desde enero de 1984 hasta septiembre de 1988. Se presentan las enfermedaes más frecuentes dentro de este grupo y aquéllas que se encontraron con menor frecuencia. La ataxia cerebelosa hereditaria autosómica dominante resultó ser la más frecuente de esta serie con 259 enfermos para un 37,4 por ciento, expresión ésta de su alta incidencia en la provincia Holguín

Anestesia para la Timectomía en la Miastenia Gravis. Hospital Docente V.I.Lenin. Mayo 85 - Agosto 87

Presentamos nuestra experiencia en la anestesia de diez pacientes afectos de Miastenia Gravis, a los que se les realizó timectomía, en el Hospital Docente "V.I.Lenin" durante el período mayo 1985 - agosto 1987. De ellos 8 eran mujeres y sólo 2 hombres, todos resultaron ser menores de 33 años. La premedicación fue con thalamonal y atropina, la técnica anestésica más empleada fue la hipnoanalgesia, asociada a los relajantes musculares no despolarizantes y a la ventilación mecánica. Se hace la presentación de un caso complicado. Se concluye que la utilización de técnicas analgésicas asociadas a relejantes musculares no despolarizantes es una buena opción para estos pacientes siempre unida a una estricta vigilancia post operatoria en una Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos

Tumor de Células gigantes de la columna cervical

Se presenta un caso con un tumor de células gigantes de localización infrecuente, estudiado y operado en el Servicio de Neurocirugía, del Hospital Vladímir Ilich Lenin, su evolución ha sido satisfactoria con solo el tratamiento quirúrgico. Se reporta el primer caso en nuestro hospital con esta localización y con manifestaciones neurlógicas, se compara con la causuística del Instituto de Neurología, donde sólo hay reportado cuatro tumores de este tipo en la columna vertebral y al igual que nosotros, uno sólo en la cervical