Pectus carinatum (PC) is one of the most common chest wall anomalies, which is characterized by the protrusion of the anterior chest wall including the sternum and adjacent costal cartilages. Mildly patients suffer from mental problems such as self-abasement, while severely suffering patients are disturbed by significant cardiopulmonary symptoms. The traditional Haller index, which is widely used clinically to evaluate the severity of PC, is deficient in diagnosis efficiency and classification. This paper presents an improved Haller index algorithm for PC: first, the contour of the patient chest in the axial computed tomography (CT) slice where the most convex thorax presents is extracted; and then a cubic B-spline curve is employed to fit the extracted contour followed by an eclipse fitting procedure; finally, the improved Haller index and the classification index are automatically calculated based on the analytic curves. The results of CT data analysis using 22 preoperative and postoperative patient CT datasets show that the proposed diagnostic index for PC can diagnose and classify PC patients correctly, which confirms the feasibility of the evaluation index. Furthermore, digital measurement techniques can be employed to improve the diagnostic efficiency of PC, achieving one small step towards the computer-aided intelligent diagnosis and treatment for pediatric chest wall malformations.
ObjectiveTo study the phenotype of children with KCNQ2 gene related epilepsy.MethodsForty epilepsy children who were detected with KCNQ2 gene variants were enrolled. Their genotype and phenotype were analyzed.ResultsThirty-six KCNQ2 variants were identified. Twenty variants were novel. Twelve patients had inherited variants, and 28 patients had de novo variants. The age of seizure onset was from one day to 9 months. 80.0% patients had their seizure onset in neonates (32/40). Multiple seizure types were observed. Focal seizure was observed in 38 patients (95.0%). Epileptic spasm was observed in 10 patients (25.0%). Myoclonic seizure was observed in 4 patients. Tonic spasm seizure was observed in 3 patients. In all patients, seizures manifested in clusters. In 28 patients with de novo KCNQ2 variants, 24 had development delay (85.7%), the other 4 patients had normal development. In 12 patients with inherited KCNQ2 variants, one had development delay, the other 11 patients had normal development (91.7%). The most common interictal EEG changes were local epilepsy discharges (31/40). The MRI of brain was abnormal in 14 patients with de novo KCNQ2 variants and developmental delay. The agenesis of corpus callosum was identified in 10 patient (25.0%). Enlargement of subarachnoid spaces in the frontal and temporal region was identified in 11 patients (27.5%). Cortial dysplasia in the bilateral frontal and temporal region was identified in 2 patients. Sulus deepening was identified in 4 patients. Enlargement of bilateral lateral ventricle was identified in 3 patients. In 40 patients with KCNQ2 variants, 3 were diagnosed as benign familial neonatal epilepsy (BFNE), 2 were diagnosed as benign familial neonatal-infantile epilepsy (BFNIE), 3 were benign familial infantile epilepsy (BFIE), 3 were benign infantile epilepsy (BIE), 5 were benign neonatal epilepsy (BNE), 3 wer Ohtahara syndrome (OS), 9 were West syndrome (WS), 12 were unclassified early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE), one was epilepsy with autism. Sodium channel blockers oxcarbazepine was the most effective among antiepileptic drugs, with a effective rate of 90.9%.ConclusionsMost KCNQ2 variants are missense variants. De novo variants are more common in patients with KCNQ2 variants. The clinical features of patients with KCNQ2 variants including that mainly with seizure onset in neonate, the main seizure type is focal seizures, seizures occur in clusters. Patients with de novo KCNQ2 variants often had developmental delay, and about half of them had frontal and temporal lobe dysplasia and agenesis of corpus callosum. Sodium channel blockers are effective agents for epilepsy patients with KCNQ2 variants.
ObjectiveTo explore the genotype and phenotype of PCDH19 gene related epilepsy.Methods41 probands, including 39 girls and 2 boys collected from pediatric department of the Peking University and Neurology Department of Wuhan Children's Hospital from February 2005 to April 2017, were diagnosed as PCDH19 gene related epilepsy. The clinical features of the probands and affected relatives were retrospectively analyzed. PCDH19 mutations were detected by Sanger sequencing or targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) and multiple ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA).Results40 in 41 probands with PCDH19 mutations were detected by sequencing and one was detected by MLPA.Two male epilepsy patients with mosaic PCDH19 mutations were detected by NGS with the mutant allele fraction of 85% and 33%. Among 39 female probands, 19 were with inherited mutations and 20 were de novo mutations. The penetrance of females with PCDH19 mutation was estimated as 90% (53/59). Twelve hemizygous fathers and one mosaic father were asymptomatic.The clinical phenotypes of female mutation carriers included epilepsy with mental retardation, Dravet syndrome, febrile seizures, or even asymptomatic. The phenotypic heterogeneity was noticed in females with identical mutations even in members from the same family. The median seizure onset age of 46 patients (including 41 probands and 5 affected relatives) were 11 months (range 4~42months).During the course, 87% (40/46) patients experienced generalized tonic clonic seizures (GTCSs) and 69.6% (32/46) experienced focal seizures. Other rare seizures types included myoclonic seizures (6/46), absence seizures (3/46) and atonic seizures (1/46). Seizures in clusters were observed in all patients, fever sensitivity in 80.4% (37/46), and status epilepticusin only three, cognitive impairment in 76% (35/46) and 7 with autistic features.ConclusionMutations in PCDH19 can be inherited or de novo. Most patients are females, rare mosaic males can be affected or asymptomatic. PCDH19 gene related epilepsy shows incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity.Seizures occurring in clusters and sensitive to fever are the major features.
ObjectiveBenign familial epilepsies that present themselves in the first year of life include benign familial neonatal epilepsy (BFNE), benign familial neonatal-infantile epilepsy (BFNIE) and benign familial infantile epilepsy (BFIE). We aim to investigate gene mutations and the relationship between genotypes and clinical phenotypes in benign familial epilepsies in the first year of life.MethodsWe recruited families with benign familial epilepsies in the first year of life at Peking University First Hospital from September 2006 to January 2018. Clinical information and blood samples were obtained from probands and their family members. For BFIE families, mutation screening of PRRT2 was performed by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing at first. The PRRT2 mutation negative probands of BFIE families were further screened for pathogenic mutations by targeted next-generation sequencing. The probands of BFNE and BFNIE families were screened for pathogenic mutations by targeted next-generation sequencing.ResultsA total of 89 families with benign familial epilepsies in the first year of life were collected. Of the 89 families, 4 were classified as BFNE, 7 as BFNIE, and 78 as BFIE. Genetic testing led to the identification of gene mutations in 68 families (76.4%), including 50 families had PRRT2 mutations (hotspot mutation c.649dupC was detected in 32 families; c.649delC was detected in 6 families), 9 families had KCNQ2 mutations, 8 families had SCN2A mutations, and one family had GABRA6 mutation. In the 4 BFNE families, causative mutations were only found in KCNQ2, which was identified as the causative gene in 3 families. The remaining one BFNE family was not detected with any pathogenic mutation. All 7 BFNIE families had identifiable gene mutations, KCNQ2 was found in 3 families, SCN2A in 3 families, and PRRT2 in one family. In the 78 BFIE families, gene mutations were identified in 58 families (74.4%), with PRRT2 mutations found in 49 families (62.8%), SCN2A mutations found in 5 families, KCNQ2 mutations found in 3 families, and a novol GABRA6 mutation found in one family. Twenty BFIE families were not identified with any gene mutations. In 78 BFIE families, 18 were subclassified as infantile convulsions with paroxysmal choreoathetosis syndrome(ICCA). 17 of 18 ICCA families were detected with PRRT2 mutations (17/18, 94.4%). The remaining ICCA family was not detected with any pathogenic mutation.ConclusionsOur results confirmed that mutations in KCNQ2, SCN2A, and PRRT2 are major genetic causes of benign familial epilepsy in the first year of life in the Chinese population. KCNQ2 is the major gene related to BFNE. PRRT2 is the main gene responsible for BFIE. KCNQ2 and SCN2A mutations are common in BFNIE families. GABRA6 mutation might be a new cause of BFIE. Identification of underlying gene mutation can be helpful for clinical diagnosis and judgement of the prognosis.