A novel scatterplot-based method to detect copy number variation (CNV).

Objective: Most methods to detect copy number variation (CNV) have high false positive rates, especially for small CNVs and in real-life samples from clinical studies. In this study, we explored a novel scatterplot-based method to detect CNVs in microarray samples. Methods: Illumina SNP microarray data from 13,254 individuals were analyzed with scatterplots and by PennCNV. The data were analyzed without the prior exclusion of low-quality samples. For CNV scatterplot visualization, the median signal intensity of all SNPs located within a CNV region was plotted against the median signal intensity of the flanking genomic region. Since CNV causes loss or gain of signal intensities, carriers of different CNV alleles pop up in clusters. Moreover, SNPs within a deletion are not heterozygous, whereas heterozygous SNPs within a duplication show typical 1:2 signal distribution between the alleles. Scatterplot-based CNV calls were compared with standard results of PennCNV analysis. All discordant calls as well as a random selection of 100 concordant calls were individually analyzed by visual inspection after noise-reduction. Results: An algorithm for the automated scatterplot visualization of CNVs was developed and used to analyze six known CNV regions. Use of scatterplots and PennCNV yielded 1019 concordant and 108 discordant CNV calls. All concordant calls were evaluated as true CNV-findings. Among the 108 discordant calls, 7 were false positive findings by the scatterplot method, 80 were PennCNV false positives, and 21 were true CNVs detected by the scatterplot method, but missed by PennCNV (i.e., false negative findings). Conclusion: CNV visualization by scatterplots allows for a reliable and rapid detection of CNVs in large studies. This novel method may thus be used both to confirm the results of genome-wide CNV detection software and to identify known CNVs in hitherto untyped samples.

Incidence of Aphasia in Ischemic Stroke.

INTRODUCTION: A decrease in ischemic stroke (IS) incidence has been observed in high income countries during the last decades. Whether this has influenced the occurrence of aphasia in IS is uncertain. We therefore examined the incidence rate and potentially related determinants of aphasia in IS. METHODS: We prospectively examined consecutive patients admitted to hospital with first-ever acute IS between March 1, 2017, and February 28, 2018, as part of the Lund Stroke Register (LSR) Study, comprising patients from the uptake area of Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden. Patients were assessed with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at stroke onset. Presence of aphasia was evaluated with NIHSS item 9 (language). We registered IS subtypes and risk factors. To investigate possible temporal changes in aphasia incidence, we made comparisons with corresponding LSR data from 2005 to 2006. Incidence rates were calculated and adjusted to the European Standard Population (ESP) and to the Swedish population. RESULTS: Among 308 included IS patients, 30% presented with aphasia (n = 91; 95% CI: 25-35), a proportion of aphasia in IS that was similar to 2005-2006. The incidence rate of aphasia was 31 per 100,000 person-years adjusted to the ESP (95% CI: 25-38 per 100,000 person-years) corresponding to a significant decrease of 30% between 2005-2006 and 2017-2018. The decrease was significantly more pronounced in men. The initial severity of aphasia remained unchanged, with the majority of patients having severe to global aphasia. No significant differences between vascular stroke risk factors were noted among stroke patients with or without aphasia. CONCLUSION: Even though the overall IS incidence rate has decreased during the first decades of the 21st century, the proportion of IS patients with aphasia at stroke onset remains stable at 30%. Aphasia continues to be an important symptom that needs to be considered in stroke care and rehabilitation.

The copy number variation and stroke (CaNVAS) risk and outcome study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The role of copy number variation (CNV) variation in stroke susceptibility and outcome has yet to be explored. The Copy Number Variation and Stroke (CaNVAS) Risk and Outcome study addresses this knowledge gap. METHODS: Over 24,500 well-phenotyped IS cases, including IS subtypes, and over 43,500 controls have been identified, all with readily available genotyping on GWAS and exome arrays, with case measures of stroke outcome. To evaluate CNV-associated stroke risk and stroke outcome it is planned to: 1) perform Risk Discovery using several analytic approaches to identify CNVs that are associated with the risk of IS and its subtypes, across the age-, sex- and ethnicity-spectrums; 2) perform Risk Replication and Extension to determine whether the identified stroke-associated CNVs replicate in other ethnically diverse datasets and use biomarker data (e.g. methylation, proteomic, RNA, miRNA, etc.) to evaluate how the identified CNVs exert their effects on stroke risk, and lastly; 3) perform outcome-based Replication and Extension analyses of recent findings demonstrating an inverse relationship between CNV burden and stroke outcome at 3 months (mRS), and then determine the key CNV drivers responsible for these associations using existing biomarker data. RESULTS: The results of an initial CNV evaluation of 50 samples from each participating dataset are presented demonstrating that the existing GWAS and exome chip data are excellent for the planned CNV analyses. Further, some samples will require additional considerations for analysis, however such samples can readily be identified, as demonstrated by a sample demonstrating clonal mosaicism. CONCLUSION: The CaNVAS study will cost-effectively leverage the numerous advantages of using existing case-control data sets, exploring the relationships between CNV and IS and its subtypes, and outcome at 3 months, in both men and women, in those of African and European-Caucasian descent, this, across the entire adult-age spectrum.

Genetic Imbalance Is Associated With Functional Outcome After Ischemic Stroke.

Background and Purpose- We sought to explore the effect of genetic imbalance on functional outcome after ischemic stroke (IS). Methods- Copy number variation was identified in high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism microarray data of IS patients from the CADISP (Cervical Artery Dissection and Ischemic Stroke Patients) and SiGN (Stroke Genetics Network)/GISCOME (Genetics of Ischaemic Stroke Functional Outcome) networks. Genetic imbalance, defined as total number of protein-coding genes affected by copy number variations in an individual, was compared between patients with favorable (modified Rankin Scale score of 0-2) and unfavorable (modified Rankin Scale score of ≥3) outcome after 3 months. Subgroup analyses were confined to patients with imbalance affecting ohnologs-a class of dose-sensitive genes, or to those with imbalance not affecting ohnologs. The association of imbalance with outcome was analyzed by logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, stroke subtype, stroke severity, and ancestry. Results- The study sample comprised 816 CADISP patients (age 44.2±10.3 years) and 2498 SiGN/GISCOME patients (age 67.7±14.2 years). Outcome was unfavorable in 122 CADISP and 889 SiGN/GISCOME patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that increased genetic imbalance was associated with less favorable outcome in both samples (CADISP: P=0.0007; odds ratio=0.89; 95% CI, 0.82-0.95 and SiGN/GISCOME: P=0.0036; odds ratio=0.94; 95% CI, 0.91-0.98). The association was independent of age, sex, stroke severity on admission, stroke subtype, and ancestry. On subgroup analysis, imbalance affecting ohnologs was associated with outcome (CADISP: odds ratio=0.88; 95% CI, 0.80-0.95 and SiGN/GISCOME: odds ratio=0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98) whereas imbalance without ohnologs lacked such an association. Conclusions- Increased genetic imbalance was associated with poorer functional outcome after IS in both study populations. Subgroup analysis revealed that this association was driven by presence of ohnologs in the respective copy number variations, suggesting a causal role of the deleterious effects of genetic imbalance.