Microdeletion 22q11 and oesophageal atresia. (1/991)

Oesophageal atresia (OA) is a congenital defect associated with additional malformations in 30-70% of the cases. In particular, OA is a component of the VACTERL association. Since some major features of the VACTERL association, including conotruncal heart defect, radial aplasia, and anal atresia, have been found in patients with microdeletion 22q11.2 (del(22q11.2)), we have screened for del(22q11.2) by fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) in 15 syndromic patients with OA. Del(22q11.2) was detected in one of them, presenting with OA, tetralogy of Fallot, anal atresia, neonatal hypocalcaemia, and subtle facial anomalies resembling those of velocardiofacial syndrome. The occurrence of del(22q11.2) in our series of patients with OA is low (1/15), but this chromosomal anomaly should be included among causative factors of malformation complexes with OA. In addition, clinical variability of del(22q11.2) syndrome is further corroborated with inclusion of OA in the list of the findings associated with the deletion.  (+info)

Genetics of cortisone-induced cleft palate in the mouse-embryonic and maternal effects. (2/991)

Differences between mouse strains in frequency of embryonic, cortisone-induced cleft palate were examined. Probit analysis demonstrated a family of linear and parallel dose-response curves for different inbred and hybrid embryos. Since the differences between genotypes were not in the slopes of the response curves but rather in their location, it is proposed that the median effective dose (ED50) of cortisone required to induce cleft palate (or the tolerance) provides a more appropriate definition of the response trait and its difference that a frequency statement. The tolerance of C57BL/6J is dominant to that of A/J. A maternal effect of A/J relative to C57BL/6J dams caused a two-fold reduction in the embryonic tolerance of cortisone. Cortisone-induced cleft palate and mortality were separate response traits. In these and previous studies on cortisone- and other glucocorticoid-induced cleft palate in the mouse, the nature of the cleft-palate-response curve appeared to be the same for all glucocorticoids, and within-strain differences in tolerance could be used as measures of potency or bioassays for a particular effect of the glucocorticoids.  (+info)

Anesthetic considerations of two sisters with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. (3/991)

Anesthetic considerations of 21-mo-old and 4-yr-old sisters with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome during surgical repair of cleft palate and reduction of macroglossia are presented and discussed. This syndrome is characterized by exomphalos, macroglossia, gigantism, hypoglycemia in infancy, and many other clinical features. This syndrome is also known as exomphalos, macroglossia, and gigantism (EMG) syndrome. Principal problems associated with anesthetic management in this syndrome are hypoglycemia and macroglossia. Careful intraoperative plasma glucose monitoring is particularly important to prevent the neurologic sequelae of unrecognized hypoglycemia. It is expected that airway management would be complicated by the macroglossia, which might cause difficult bag/mask ventilation and endotracheal intubation following the induction of anesthesia and muscle paralysis, so preparations for airway difficulty (e.g., awake vocal cord inspection) should be considered before induction. A nasopharyngeal airway is useful in relieving postoperative airway obstruction.  (+info)

Developmental aspects of secondary palate formation. (4/991)

Research on development of the secondary palate has, in the past, dealt primarily with morphological aspects of shelf elevation and fusion. The many factors thought to be involved in palatal elevation, such as fetal neuromuscular activity and growth of the cranial base and mandible, as well as production of extracellular matrix and contractile elements in the palate, are mostly based on gross, light microscopic, morphometric or histochemical observations. Recently, more biochemical procedures have been utilized to described palatal shelf elevation. Although these studies strongly suggest that palatal extracellular matrix plays a major role in shelf movement, interpretation of these data remains difficult owing to the complexity of tissue interactions involved in craniofacial development. Shelf elevation does not appear to involve a single motive factor, but rather a coordinated interaction of all of the abovementioned developmental events. Further analysis of mechanisms of shelf elevation requires development of new, and refinement of existing, in vitro procedures. A system that enables one to examine shelf elevation in vitro would allow more meaningful analysis of the relative importance of the various components in shelf movement. Much more is known about fusion of the palatal shelves, owing in large part to in vitro studies. Fusion of the apposing shelves, both in vivo and in vitro, is dependent upon adhesion and cell dealth of the midline epithelial cells. Adhesion betweeen apposing epithelial surfaces appears to involve epithelial cell surface macromolecules. Further analysis of palatal epithelial adhesion should be directed towards characterization of those cell surface components responsible for this adhesive interaction. Midline epithelial cells cease DNA synthesis 24-36 h before shelf elevation and contact, become active in the synthesis of cell surface glycoproteins, and subsequently manifest morphological signs of necrosis. Death of the midline epithelial cells is thought to involve a programmed, lysosomal-mediated autolysis...  (+info)

A 3D computer-aided design system applied to diagnosis and treatment planning in orthodontics and orthognathic surgery. (5/991)

The purpose of this article is to describe a newly developed 3D computer-aided design (CAD) system for the diagnostic set-up of casts in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning, and its preliminary clinical applications. The system comprises a measuring unit which obtains 3D information from the dental model using laser scanning, and a personal computer to generate the 3D graphics. When measuring the 3D shape of the model, to minimize blind sectors, the model is scanned from two different directions with the slit-ray laser beam by rotating the mounting angle of the model on the measuring device. For computed simulation of tooth movement, the representative planes, defined by the anatomical reference points, are formed for each individual tooth and are arranged along a guideline descriptive of the individual arch form. Subsequently, the 3D shape is imparted to each of the teeth arranged on the representative plane to form an arrangement of the 3D profile. When necessary, orthognathic surgery can be simulated by moving the mandibular dental arch three-dimensionally to establish the optimum occlusal relationship. Compared with hand-made set-up models, the computed diagnostic cast has advantages such as high-speed processing and quantitative evaluation on the amount of 3D movement of the individual tooth relative to the craniofacial plane. Trial clinical applications demonstrated that the use of this system facilitated the otherwise complicated and time-consuming mock surgery for treatment planning in orthognathic surgery.  (+info)

A locus for isolated cleft palate, located on human chromosome 2q32. (6/991)

We present evidence for the existence of a novel chromosome 2q32 locus involved in the pathogenesis of isolated cleft palate. We have studied two unrelated patients with strikingly similar clinical features, in whom there are apparently balanced, de novo cytogenetic rearrangements involving the same region of chromosome 2q. Both children have cleft palate, facial dysmorphism, and mild learning disability. Their karyotypes were originally reported as 46, XX, t(2;7)(q33;p21) and 46, XX, t(2;11)(q33;p14). However, our molecular cytogenetic analyses localize both translocation breakpoints to a small region between markers D2S311 and D2S116. This suggests that the true location of these breakpoints is 2q32 rather than 2q33. To obtain independent support for the existence of a cleft-palate locus in 2q32, we performed a detailed statistical analysis for all cases in the human cytogenetics database of nonmosaic, single, contiguous autosomal deletions associated with orofacial clefting. This revealed 2q32 to be one of only three chromosomal regions in which haploinsufficiency is significantly associated with isolated cleft palate. In combination, our data provide strong evidence for the location at 2q32 of a gene that is critical to the development of the secondary palate. The close proximity of these two translocation breakpoints should also allow rapid progress toward the positional cloning of this cleft-palate gene.  (+info)

Linkage analysis in a large Brazilian family with van der Woude syndrome suggests the existence of a susceptibility locus for cleft palate at 17p11.2-11.1. (7/991)

van der Woude syndrome (VWS), which has been mapped to 1q32-41, is characterized by pits and/or sinuses of the lower lip, cleft lip/palate (CL/P), cleft palate (CP), bifid uvula, and hypodontia (H). The expression of VWS, which has incomplete penetrance, is highly variable. Both the occurrence of CL/P and CP within the same genealogy and a recurrence risk <40% for CP among descendants with VWS have suggested that the development of clefts in this syndrome is influenced by modifying genes at other loci. To test this hypothesis, we have conducted linkage analysis in a large Brazilian kindred with VWS, considering as affected the individuals with CP, regardless of whether it is associated with other clinical signs of VWS. Our results suggest that a gene at 17p11.2-11.1, together with the VWS gene at 1p32-41, enhances the probability of CP in an individual carrying the two at-risk genes. If this hypothesis is confirmed in other VWS pedigrees, it will represent one of the first examples of a gene, mapped through linkage analysis, which modifies the expression of a major gene. It will also have important implications for genetic counseling, particularly for more accurately predicting recurrence risks of clefts among the offspring of patients with VWS.  (+info)

The role of folic acid in oral clefting. (8/991)

The objective of this study is to describe the role of periconceptional folic acid supplementation and assess it's potential in the prevention of foetal abnormalities, and consists of a review of the literature undertaken using an electronic and hand search. This includes research trials and methodology associated with folic acid supplementation. It is recommended that all women planning to conceive should supplement their diet with folic acid in order to prevent abnormalities in neural tube development, particularly if there is a history of a previously affected pregnancy. There is increasing evidence that folic acid supplementation may, in addition, reduce the incidence of oral facial clefting. Further research with multi-disciplinary approaches in biochemistry, genetics, gene/environment interactions, and embryology are indicated.  (+info)

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