Genomics and epidemiology for gastric adenocarcinomas (GE4GAC): a Brazilian initiative to study gastric cancer

Abstract Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common type of cancer worldwide with high incidences in Asia, Central, and South American countries. This patchy distribution means that GC studies are neglected by large research centers from developed countries. The need for further understanding of this complex disease, including the local importance of epidemiological factors and the rich ancestral admixture found in Brazil, stimulated the implementation of the GE4GAC project. GE4GAC aims to embrace epidemiological, clinical, molecular and microbiological data from Brazilian controls and patients with malignant and pre-malignant gastric disease. In this letter, we summarize the main goals of the project, including subject and sample accrual and current findings

Genotype and phenotype landscape of MEN2 in 554 medullary thyroid cancer patients: the BrasMEN study

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) is an autosomal dominant genetic disease caused by RET gene germline mutations that is characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) associated with other endocrine tumors. Several reports have demonstrated that the RET mutation profile may vary according to the geographical area. In this study, we collected clinical and molecular data from 554 patients with surgically confirmed MTC from 176 families with MEN2 in 18 different Brazilian centers to compare the type and prevalence of RET mutations with those from other countries. The most frequent mutations, classified by the number of families affected, occur in codon 634, exon 11 (76 families), followed by codon 918, exon 16 (34 families: 26 with M918T and 8 with M918V) and codon 804, exon 14 (22 families: 15 with V804M and 7 with V804L). When compared with other major published series from Europe, there are several similarities and some differences. While the mutations in codons C618, C620, C630, E768 and S891 present a similar prevalence, some mutations have a lower prevalence in Brazil, and others are found mainly in Brazil (G533C and M918V). These results reflect the singular proportion of European, Amerindian and African ancestries in the Brazilian mosaic genome

Esclerose tuberosa: estudo multidisciplinar de 15 casos

São apresentados os resultados de estudo multidisciplinar de 15 pacientes com esclerose tuberosa, 8 do sexo masculino e 7 do sexo feminino, com idades entre 19 meses e 23 anos; 11 foram considerados como casos esporádicos e, em 4, não foi possível precisar os antecedentes familiares. Foram observadas as seguintes manifestações cutâneas: adenoma de Pringle em 9 casos; manchas acrômicas em 9 casos; fibroma periungueal em 3 casos. Dos 15 casos 13 apresentaram D.M., deficiência mental, enquanto os outros 2 tinham inteligência limítrofe. Com exceção de 2 pacientes, todos tinham crises epilépticas e os tipos de crises mais frequentemente observados foram as ausências atípicas e as crises tônicas. Espasmos infantis estavam presentes em 3 casos e em apenas um caso o eletrencefalograma apresentou aspecto hipsarrítmico. A tomografia axial computadorizada, realizada em 7 casos, revelou calcificações periventriculares em todos, mesmo naqueles que apresentaram RX simples de crânio normal (4 casos)

Síndrome de Landau-Kleffner e regressão autística: a importância do diagnóstico diferencial Landau-Kleffner and autistic regression: the importance of differential diagnosis

Algumas doenças neurológicas podem apresentar sinais e sintomas psiquiátricos, portanto a exploração do diagnóstico etiológico é crucial. O objetivo deste estudo é relatar o caso de um paciente com um distúrbio neurológico, diagnosticado durante internação psiquiátrica. Um menino com desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor normal até 3 anos, quando começou a apresentar crises epilépticas, seguidas por distúrbio de comportamento e deterioração da linguagem. Durante o acompanhamento neurológico, o paciente foi encaminhado ao Departamento de Psiquiatria com a suspeita de autismo, regressão autística (RA). Durante internação, o diagnóstico de síndrome de Landau-Kleffner (SLK) foi estabelecido em bases clínicas e eletrencefalográficas. A SLK é caracterizada por afasia adquirida, epilepsia, anormalidades eletrencefalográficas e distúrbios de comportamento, incluindo traços autísticos. A regressão da linguagem é observada na SLK e na RA. Enfatizamos as principais diferenças entre estas entidades, pois o diagnóstico errôneo adia a intervenção precoce e benefícios, como observado em nosso caso.<br>Some neurological disorders may present psychiatric signs and symptoms, therefore the search for an etiological diagnosis is crucial. The aim of this study is to report the case of a patient with a neurological disorder, diagnosed during a psychiatric admission. A boy with normal neuropsychomotor development until the age of 3 years, started presenting epileptic seizures, followed by behavioral disorder and language deterioration. During neurologic follow-up, the patient was referred to the Psychiatry Department with a diagnosis of autism, in this case an autistic regression (AR). During his admission, diagnosis of Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS) was established on clinical and EEG grounds. LKS is characterized by acquired aphasia, epilepsy, EEG abnormalities and behavioral changes, including autistic traits. Language regression is observed LKS and AR. We stress the main differences between these two entities because misdiagnosis may postpone early intervention and consequent benefits, as observed in our case