[Clinical genealogical and molecular genetic study of patients with mental retardation].

The results of clinical, genealogical, cytogenetic and molecular genetic studies of 113 patients from 96 families with different forms of mental retardation from Ukraine are presented. This study was held as part of the CHERISH project of the 7-th Framework Program. The aim of the project is to improve diagnostics of mental retardation in children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia through detailed analysis of known chromosomal and gene's aberrations and to find the new gene-candidates that cause mental retardation. All patients have normal chromosome number (46XY or 46XX). The cases with fragile-X syndrome were eliminated using molecular genetic methods. Genome rearrangements were found among 28 patients using cytogenetic analysis, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA analysis) ofsubtelomeric regions and array-based comparative genomic hybridisation (array CGH screening). In 10 cases known pathogenic CNV's were identified, 11 cases are unknown aberrations; their pathogenicity is being determined. The rest cases are known nonpathogenic gene rearrangements. Obtained results show the strong genetic heterogeneity of hereditary forms of mental retardation. The further studies will allow to identificate genes candidates and certain mutations in these genes that may be associated with this pathology.

[The clinical and molecular genetic characteristics of phenylketonuria patients in the Republic of Crimea]. / Klinicheskaia i molekuliarno-geneticheskaia kharakteristika bol'nykh fenilketonuriei v Respublike Krym.

The clinical and genetical characteristics of patients with phenylketonuria in the Crimean population is done in the present work. The comparison of clinical peculiarities of 28 patients, revealed by means of neonatal screening and that of 24 patients, the treatment of which was started late is presented. The prenatal diagnostics of 4 families with high phenylketonuria risk is conducted.

[A molecular genetic analysis of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in families at high risk from different regions of Ukraine]. / Molekuliarno-geneticheskii analiz spinal'noi myshechnoi atrofii (SMA) v sem'iakh vysokogo riska iz raznykh regionov Ukrainy.

The results of DNA analysis of deletion in exons 7 and 8 of SMN gene, and exon 5 of NAIP gene in 24 SMA-families from Ukraine are presented. Deletions of SMN exons 7 and 8, or 7 were found in 46 (97.9%) of 47 SMA-chromosomes. A homozygous deletion of NAIP exon 5 was demonstrated in 4 (19%) of 21 SMA-families. The authors have demonstrated that in 2 SMA patients with homozygous deletion SMN exon 7 only, the remaining SMN exon 8 was a part of a chimeric CBCD41/SMN gene.