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Finding the genetic cause of childhood epilepsy helps improve treatment and care

Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases, affecting more than 50 million people worldwide. Although it is believed that a large proportion of childhood-onset epilepsies are caused by genetic changes, it remains unknown precisely how many of these patients suffer from a genetic disorder and how often the treatment can be targeted to their specific genetic alteration.

31 Aug 2021

Molecular autopsy of dried blood spots can identify underlying cause of sudden cardiac death in a young person

The underlying cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in a young person is often difficult to identify. A genetic analysis could provide more information in many cases, but blood samples are not collected routinely at the time of death, and DNA extracted from the tissues collected at autopsy is damaged because of the way they are fixed in formalin and paraffin-embedded.

30 Aug 2021

Newly identified genetic mutation causes rare, early onset inflammatory bowel disease

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers, in collaboration with national and international researchers, have identified a genetic mutation in a small number of children with a rare type of inflammatory bowel disease.

30 Jul 2021

Comprehensive genomic sequencing essential to capitalize precision medicine for pediatric cancer care

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have demonstrated that comprehensive genomic sequencing of all pediatric cancer patients is feasible and essential to capitalize on the lifesaving potential of precision medicine.

26 Jul 2021

Study uncovers mutations in Polycomb group gene as underlying cause of novel neurological disorder

A multi-institutional study has discovered spontaneous mutations in RNF2 (RING2) gene as the underlying cause of a novel neurological disorder.

8 Jul 2021

New analysis links distinct patterns of genetic mutations with OCD

In the first analysis of its kind, researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and several other institutions have linked distinct patterns of genetic mutations with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in humans.

28 Jun 2021

Study provides treatment options for children with average risk medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is a rare but devastating childhood brain cancer. This cancer can spread through the spinal fluid and be deposited elsewhere in the brain or spine.

11 Jun 2021

Study: Lung squamous patients harboring druggable mutations have lower median overall survival

Oncotarget published "Molecular characterization of lung squamous cell carcinoma tumors reveals therapeutically relevant alterations" which reported that unlike lung adenocarcinoma patients, there is no FDA-approved targeted-therapy likely to benefit lung squamous cell carcinoma patients.

3 Jun 2021

Study reveals why intellectual disability risk for younger siblings is low

Intellectual disability is most often caused by changes to the genome that take place in early fetal development and are not found in the parents’ DNA.

19 Apr 2021

Japanese–European scientists detect novel genetic mitochondrial disorder

The list of known genetic mitochondrial disorders is ever-growing, and ongoing research continues to identify new disorders in this category.

15 Apr 2021

Rare genetic variant may explain severe COVID-19 in young healthy male patients

A recent study describes the association of rare alleles in a specific gene with severe COVID-19 in young male patients.

29 Mar 2021

Study uncovers mechanism that causes genetic movement disorder

A research team at the Greenwood Genetic Center (GGC) has identified the mechanism that causes movement disorders in patients with mutations in the NUS1 gene.

22 Mar 2021

Underrepresentation in genomic databases may affect therapy selection for minority patients

Low representation of minority groups in public genomic databases may affect therapy selection for Black patients with cancer, according to new Mayo Clinic research published in npj Precision Oncology.

19 Mar 2021

Study investigates how genetic variants contribute to increased risk of lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. for both men and women. While risk for this disease can be influenced by environmental and lifestyle factors like smoking, studies estimate that 18% of lung cancer cases are due to inherited genetic variants.

18 Mar 2021

Somatic gene mutations in brain cells could contribute to schizophrenia pathology

Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that disrupts brain activity producing hallucinations, delusions, and other cognitive disturbances. Researchers have long searched for genetic influences in the disease, but genetic mutations have been identified in only a small fraction--fewer than a quarter--of sequenced patients.

9 Mar 2021

Loss of functions in the PLD1 gene causes congenital heart disease

A team of researchers co-led by Michael Frohman, MD, PhD, of Stony Brook University, has identified an important cause of congenital heart disease.

2 Mar 2021

New results challenge the current understanding of medulloblastoma

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and their colleagues have published a detailed account of SJMB03, a clinical trial for pediatric patients with medulloblastoma.

28 Jan 2021

Mosaic mutations during embryonic development can cause autism spectrum disorder

Two studies in today's Nature Neuroscience, led by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), and Harvard Medical School (HMS), implicate mosaic mutations arising during embryonic development as a cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The findings open new areas for exploring the genetics of ASD and could eventually inform diagnostic testing.

11 Jan 2021

Researchers detect novel IRAK4 mutations in infant with encephalitis and HHV6 reactivation

An infant's odd case of rare encephalitis not typically found in children led researchers to discover never before seen genetic mutations and a more accurate technique to examine the IRAK4 gene responsible for innate immunity.

22 Dec 2020

Researchers discover more accurate technique to study gene responsible for innate immunity

20 Dec 2020