A bibliometric overview of craniosynostosis research development.

This article reviews the development of research in the field of craniosynostosis from a bibliometric standpoint. Craniosynostosis is a malformation occurring during the early development of the skull, when one or more of the sutures close too early, causing problems with normal brain and skull growth. Research in this field has developed from early clinical case descriptions, to genetic discoveries responsible for the occurring malformations and onwards to developing sophisticated surgical treatment. In this article we describe these developments, zoom in on publication trends and characteristics and visualize developing networks and topic shifts in this research field.

An invincible memory: what surname analysis tells us about history, health and population medical genetics in the Brazilian Northeast.

Several studies have shown that the Brazilian Northeast is a region with high rates of inbreeding as well as a high incidence of autosomal recessive diseases. The elaboration of public health policies focused on the epidemiological surveillance of congenital anomalies and rare genetic diseases in this region is urgently needed. However, the vast territory, socio-demographic heterogeneity, economic difficulties and low number of professionals with expertise in medical genetics make strategic planning a challenging task. Surnames can be compared to a genetic system with multiple neutral alleles and allow some approximation of population structure. Here, surname analysis of more than 37 million people was combined with health and socio-demographic indicators covering all 1794 municipalities of the nine states of the region. The data distribution showed a heterogeneous spatial pattern (Global Moran Index, GMI = 0.58; p < 0.001), with higher isonymy rates in the east of the region and the highest rates in the Quilombo dos Palmares region - the largest conglomerate of escaped slaves in Latin America. A positive correlation was found between the isonymy index and the frequency of live births with congenital anomalies (r = 0.268; p < 0.001), and the two indicators were spatially correlated (GMI = 0.50; p < 0.001). With this approach, quantitative information on the genetic structure of the Brazilian Northeast population was obtained, which may represent an economical and useful tool for decision-making in the medical field.

Prediction of age at onset in Parkinson's disease using objective specific neuroimaging genetics based on a sparse canonical correlation analysis.

The age at onset (AAO) is an important determinant in Parkinson's disease (PD). Neuroimaging genetics is suitable for studying AAO in PD as it jointly analyzes imaging and genetics. We aimed to identify features associated with AAO in PD by applying the objective-specific neuroimaging genetics approach and constructing an AAO prediction model. Our objective-specific neuroimaging genetics extended the sparse canonical correlation analysis by an additional data type related to the target task to investigate possible associations of the imaging-genetic, genetic-target, and imaging-target pairs simultaneously. The identified imaging, genetic, and combined features were used to construct analytical models to predict the AAO in a nested five-fold cross-validation. We compared our approach with those from two feature selection approaches where only associations of imaging-target and genetic-target were explored. Using only imaging features, AAO prediction was accurate in all methods. Using only genetic features, the results from other methods were worse or unstable compared to our model. Using both imaging and genetic features, our proposed model predicted the AAO well (r = 0.5486). Our findings could have significant impacts on the characterization of prodromal PD and contribute to diagnosing PD early because genetic features could be measured accurately from birth.

Global research on Fabry's disease: Demands for a rare disease.

BACKGROUND: Fabry disease (FD), the second most prevalent lysosomal storage disorder, is classified as a rare disease. It often leads to significant quality of life impairments and premature death. Many cases remain undiagnosed due to the rarity and heterogeneity. Further, costs related to treatment often constitute a substantial financial burden for patients and health systems. While its epidemiology is still unclear, newborn screenings suggest that its actual prevalence rate is significantly higher than previously suspected. METHODS: Based on well-established methodologies, this study gives an overview about the background of the development of FD-related research and provides a critical view of future needs. RESULTS: On the grounds of benchmarking findings, an increasing research activity on FD can be observed. Most publishing countries are the USA, some European countries, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. In general, high-income countries publish comparably more on FD than low- or middle-income economies. The countries' financial and infrastructural background are unveiled as crucial factors for the FD research activity. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, there is a need to foster FD research infrastructure in developing and emerging countries with focus on cost-intensive genetic research that is independent from economic interests of big pharmaceutical companies.

Genetics and genomic medicine in Sri Lanka.

The completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 heralded in a new era marked by remarkable advances in biomedical research leading to the establishment of genomics-based translational medicine mainly in the developed world. However, the development of such advances has been hampered in most parts of the developing world due to scarcity of resources and trained personnel. Genetics and genomic medicine are currently in the process of being integrated into the Sri Lankan health care system. These developments have taken place mainly due to the heightened awareness and increasing demands made by the public for provision of genetic diagnostic and therapeutic services in clinical care. Due to the exorbitant costs incurred in the maintenance of these services and the dearth of adequately trained manpower, only a few centers in the country, mainly in Universities or private sector, are currently engaged in providing these services to the public. This article aims to provide an overview of the genetics and genomic medicine services in Sri Lanka from its early developments to the current state.

Regarding the rights and duties of Clinical Laboratory Geneticists in genetic healthcare systems; results of a survey in over 50 countries.

Specialists of human genetic diagnostics can be divided into four groups: Medical Geneticists (MDG), Genetic Nurses and/or Counsellors (GN/GC), Clinical Laboratory Geneticists (CLG) and Laboratory Genetics Technicians (LGT). While the first two groups are in direct patient contact, the work of the latter two, of equal importance for patient care, are often hidden as they work behind the scenes. Herein the first study on the rights and duties of CLGs is presented. We present the results of a survey performed in 35 European and 18 non-European countries with 100 participating specialists. A national CLG title is available in 60% of European countries, and in 77% of the surveyed European countries a CLG can be the main responsible head of the laboratory performing human genetic tests. However, in only 20% of European countries is a lab-report valid with only a CLGs' signature - even though the report is almost always formulated by the CLG, and an interpretation of the obtained results in a clinical context by the CLG is expected in nearly 90% of European countries. Interestingly, CLGs see patients in 30% of European countries, and are also regularly involved in student education. Overall, the CLG profession includes numerous duties, which are quite similar in all regions of the world. Strikingly, the CLG's rights and responsibilities of leading a lab, or signing a report are regulated differently according to country specific regulations. Overall, the CLG is a well-recognized profession worldwide and often working within a multidisciplinary team of human genetic diagnostics professionals.

Genetics and genomic medicine in Iran.

Attention has been focused on the field of genetics and genomics in Iran in recent years and some efforts have been enforced and implemented. However, they are totally not adequate, considering the advances in medical genetics and genomics in the past two decades around the world. Overall, considering the lack of medical genetics residency programs in the Iranian health education system, big demand due to high consanguinity and intraethnic marriages, there is a lag in genetic services and necessity to an immediate response to fill this big gap in Iran. As clarified in the National constitution fundamental law and re-emphasized in the 6th National Development Plan, the Iranian government authority is in charge of providing the standard level of health including genetic services to all Iranian individuals who are in need.

An International Summit in Human Genetics and Genomics: Empowering clinical practice and research in developing countries.

To help fill the knowledge gap in human genetics and genomics, an International Summit (IS) in Human Genetics and Genomics was conceived and organized by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a 5-year initiative, from 2016 to 2020. In its first 3 years, 71 professionals from 34 countries received training.

Genetics and genomics in Peru: Clinical and research perspective.

Peruvians currently preserve in their DNA the history of 2.5 million years of human evolution and 150,000 years of migration from Africa to Peru or the Americas. The development of Genetics and Genomics in the clinical and academic field is shown in this review.

Cancer genetics program: Follow-up on clinical genetics and genomic medicine in Qatar.

This article presents an overview of the cancer genetics program in Qatar. In addition to summarizing clinical, research, educational, and other aspects, data related to testing outcomes (over the course of approximately 5.5 years) are presented.

Genomic diagnostics within a medically underserved population: efficacy and implications.

PurposeWe integrated whole-exome sequencing (WES) and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) into a clinical workflow to serve an endogamous, uninsured, agrarian community.MethodsSeventy-nine probands (newborn to 49.8 years) who presented between 1998 and 2015 remained undiagnosed after biochemical and molecular investigations. We generated WES data for probands and family members and vetted variants through rephenotyping, segregation analyses, and population studies.ResultsThe most common presentation was neurological disease (64%). Seven (9%) probands were diagnosed by CMA. Family WES data were informative for 37 (51%) of the 72 remaining individuals, yielding a specific genetic diagnosis (n = 32) or revealing a novel molecular etiology (n = 5). For five (7%) additional subjects, negative WES decreased the likelihood of genetic disease. Compared to trio analysis, "family" WES (average seven exomes per proband) reduced filtered candidate variants from 22 ± 6 to 5 ± 3 per proband. Nineteen (51%) alleles were de novo and 17 (46%) inherited; the latter added to a population-based diagnostic panel. We found actionable secondary variants in 21 (4.2%) of 502 subjects, all of whom opted to be informed.ConclusionCMA and family-based WES streamline and economize diagnosis of rare genetic disorders, accelerate novel gene discovery, and create new opportunities for community-based screening and prevention in underserved populations.

The intriguing evolution of effect sizes in biomedical research over time: smaller but more often statistically significant.

Background: In medicine, effect sizes (ESs) allow the effects of independent variables (including risk/protective factors or treatment interventions) on dependent variables (e.g., health outcomes) to be quantified. Given that many public health decisions and health care policies are based on ES estimates, it is important to assess how ESs are used in the biomedical literature and to investigate potential trends in their reporting over time. Results: Through a big data approach, the text mining process automatically extracted 814 120 ESs from 13 322 754 PubMed abstracts. Eligible ESs were risk ratio, odds ratio, and hazard ratio, along with their confidence intervals. Here we show a remarkable decrease of ES values in PubMed abstracts between 1990 and 2015 while, concomitantly, results become more often statistically significant. Medians of ES values have decreased over time for both "risk" and "protective" values. This trend was found in nearly all fields of biomedical research, with the most marked downward tendency in genetics. Over the same period, the proportion of statistically significant ESs increased regularly: among the abstracts with at least 1 ES, 74% were statistically significant in 1990-1995, vs 85% in 2010-2015. Conclusions: whereas decreasing ESs could be an intrinsic evolution in biomedical research, the concomitant increase of statistically significant results is more intriguing. Although it is likely that growing sample sizes in biomedical research could explain these results, another explanation may lie in the "publish or perish" context of scientific research, with the probability of a growing orientation toward sensationalism in research reports. Important provisions must be made to improve the credibility of biomedical research and limit waste of resources.

Miopatias com padrão distal: descrição clínica de pacientes do Estado da Bahia / Distal myopathies: clinical description of patients from the State of Bahia

INTRODUÇÃO: As miopatias são doenças cuja etiologia decorre de alterações estruturais e/ou funcionais no músculo esquelético. As miopatias distais são doenças musculares primárias em que fraqueza e, frequentemente atrofia, tem início nas mãos, antebraços, pés e segmento distal das pernas. Apesar de terem sido divididas como um grupo restrito de doenças, outras miopatias podem se manifestar com um padrão distal, como a miopatia nemalínica e as distrofias musculares cintura-membros. Devido à escassez de trabalhos que descrevem clinicamente as miopatias distais, este trabalho visou contribuir com essa caracterização. METODOLOGIA: Os pacientes foram selecionados no ambulatório de doenças neuromusculares do Hospital Universitário Professor Edgar Santos, em seguida avaliados clinicamente, através de exame físico e também com exames complementares: eletroneuromiografia, exames laboratoriais, estudo molecular e histopatológico. RESULTADOS: Quinze pacientes com padrão distal foram analisados, sendo 40% do sexo feminino, média de idade de 29,8 anos, seis (40|%) pacientes naturais da capital, Salvador-Bahia. Quanto ao padrão de distribuição de fraqueza, sete apresentavam padrão distal, enquanto oito, padrão distal-proximal. Os pacientes foram agrupados de acordo com a idade de início dos sintomas, sendo 11 iniciados na infância e adolescência (T em homozigose), um com sarcoglicanopatia (mutação c.229C>T em homozigose) e um com miopatia nemalínica (histopatológico com presença de corpos nemalínicos). DISCUSSÃO: Os achados identificados nos pacientes com diagnósticos firmados foram compatíveis com o que é visto na literatura, como apresentação clínica e mutações identificadas previamente. Destaca-se o componente distal pronunciado da paciente com sarcoglicanopatia, considerado incomum. Além disso, a descrição da ressonância magnética realizada nos indivíduos demonstrou um padrão típico. Na maior parte dos pacientes não se chegou a um diagnóstico etiológico, a despeito da investigação realizada com os exames complementares e clínicos. CONCLUSÃO: O presente estudo caracterizou uma amostra de pacientes com miopatias distais, corroborando que essas doenças se manifestam clinicamente de forma heterogênea. A caracterização e divisão entre grupos visa tornar mais fácil a investigação, devendo ser feita com exames complementares, considerados imprescindíveis para se estabelecer o diagnóstico etiológico dessas doenças

INTRODUCTION: Myopathies are diseases which etiology results from structural and/or functional changes in skeletal muscle. Distal myopathies are a group of muscular pathologies in which weakness and atrophy begins and predominates in distal limbs, like hands and feet. Although it has been divided as a restrict group of diseases, other myopathies can manifest with that pattern of weakness, such nemaline myopathy and limb-girdle muscular dystrophies. Due to the scarcity of studies that described clinically the distal myopathies, this study focuses on clinical characterization of myopathies with distal pattern of weakness. METHODOLOGY: The patients were selected in the outpatient clinic for neuromuscular diseases at Professor Edgar Santos University Hospital. Those subjects were clinically evaluated through physical examination, laboratory tests, electroneuromyography, magnetic resonance (MRI) and histopathological study. RESULTS: Fifteen patients with distal pattern were analyzed, being 40% female, mean age 29.8 years, six (40 %) patients were born in the capital, Salvador-Bahia. As for the pattern of weakness distribution, seven had an exclusive distal pattern, while eight had a distal-proximal pattern. Patients were grouped according to the age of onset of symptoms, of which 11 were initiated in childhood and adolescence ( T in homozygous in exon 53 in another and one patient were diagnosed by biopsy), one with sarcoglicanopathy (mutation c.229C> T in homozygous) and one with nemaline myopathy (histopathological with the presence of nemalinic bodies). DISCUSSION: The findings identified in patients with established diagnoses were compatible with what is seen in the literature, such as clinical presentation and previously identified mutations. We highlight the pronounced distal component of the patient with sarcoglicanopathy, considered to be uncommon. In addition, the description of MRI performed in the individuals demonstrated a typical pattern. Most of the patients were not diagnosed, despite the research done with the complementary and clinical exams. CONCLUSION: The present study characterized a sample of patients with distal myopathies, corroborating that these diseases manifest themselves clinically heterogeneously. The characterization and division between groups aims to make the investigation easier, and should be done with complementary tests, considered essential to establish the etiological diagnosis of these diseases

The support of human genetic evidence for approved drug indications.

Over a quarter of drugs that enter clinical development fail because they are ineffective. Growing insight into genes that influence human disease may affect how drug targets and indications are selected. However, there is little guidance about how much weight should be given to genetic evidence in making these key decisions. To answer this question, we investigated how well the current archive of genetic evidence predicts drug mechanisms. We found that, among well-studied indications, the proportion of drug mechanisms with direct genetic support increases significantly across the drug development pipeline, from 2.0% at the preclinical stage to 8.2% among mechanisms for approved drugs, and varies dramatically among disease areas. We estimate that selecting genetically supported targets could double the success rate in clinical development. Therefore, using the growing wealth of human genetic data to select the best targets and indications should have a measurable impact on the successful development of new drugs.

Delivery of clinical genetic consultative services in the Veterans Health Administration.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the delivery of genetic consultative services for adults, we examined the prevalence and organizational determinants of genetic consult availability and the organization of these services in the Veterans Health Administration. METHODS: We conducted a Web-based survey of Veterans Health Administration clinical leaders. We summarized facility characteristics using descriptive statistics. Multivariate logistic regression assessed associations between organizational characteristics and consult availability. RESULTS: We received 353 survey responses from key informants representing 141 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. Clinicians could obtain genetic consults at 110 (78%) Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. Cancer genetic and neurogenetic consults were most common. Academic affiliation (odds ratio = 3.0; 95% confidence interval: 1.1-8.6) and provider education about genetics (odds ratio = 2.9; 95% confidence interval: 1.1-7.8) were significantly associated with consult availability. The traditional model of multidisciplinary specialty clinics or coordinated services between geneticists and other providers was most prevalent, although variability in the organization of these services was described, with consults available on-site, at another Veterans Affairs Medical Center, via telegenetics, or at non-Veterans Health Administration facilities. The emerging model of nongeneticists integrating genetics into their practices was also reported, with considerable variability by specialty. CONCLUSION: Both traditional and emerging models for genetic consultation are available in the Veterans Health Administration; however, there is variability in service organization that could influence quality of care.

La genética de poblaciones y el origen de la diversidad humana / Population Genetics and the Origin of Human Diversity

Antecedentes. La genética de poblaciones se encarga de dilucidar el origen de la variabilidad genética, la cual es responsable de las diferencias fenotípicas entre seres humanos y de la patología con componente genético. La variabilidad genética tiene su origen primario en las mutaciones, pero las frecuencias alélicas en un locus varían de una generación a otra debido a diversas fuerzas naturales tales como la selección natural, el efecto fundador, la deriva génica y las mezclas poblacionales. Fuentes. Se revisó bibliografía clásica sobre la teoría evolutiva y la moderna síntesis, así como artículos recientes sobre las técnicas matemáticas utilizadas en el estudio de la estructura y dinámica poblacional de las comunidades humanas y su relación con la adaptación y el proceso mórbido. Desarrollo. Esta disciplina ha permitido descubrir los orígenes de muchas variantes genéticas de crucial importancia para supervivencia del ser humano, tales como los genes responsables de la aclimatación en la población del Tibet o las múltiples copias del gen de la amilasa en las poblaciones con una alta ingesta de almidón. Esas mismas técnicas aplicadas a los genes, tanto humanos como de bacterias patógenas, han permitido conocer las rutas migratorias de los humanos antiguos. Conclusiones.Las herramientas y técnicas matemáticas de la genética de poblaciones se refinaron progresivamente a lo largo del siglo pasado hasta el presente, y continúan siendo parte importante de todo estudio genético o genómico...