Clinical genetics and public policies: how should rare diseases be managed?

The implementation of a specific policy for rare diseases in the Brazilian Unified Health System presents challenges in terms of its rationale. Recognizing the importance of rarity in the context of public health means understanding genetics as one of the dimensions of disease and accepting thatBrazilis undergoing a period of transition in health indicators. Although most rare diseases lack pharmacological treatment and genetic counseling constitutes the best strategy for their prevention, the cost of “orphan drugs” and their consequent lack of cost-effectiveness are still claimed as hurdles to the implementation of public policies in this field. Epidemiological aspects should not be used as isolated criteria for prioritization in public policies

Revisión: exposición prenatal y pesticidas

Introdução: para uma proteção adequada da saúde humana, especialmente em populações de gestantes e crianças vulneráveis, é necessário estimar com precisão os riscos nos efeitos na saúde da exposição ao pesticida. Objetivo: identificar por meio de artigos selecionados em pesquisa eletrônica nas bases de dados PubMed y Science Directque relacionaram os efeitos dos pesticidas com problemas na saúde das mulheres gravidas e seus recém-nascidos. Método: Nesta revisão, foram caracterizados estudos epidemiológicos que avaliam os efeitos na saúde pelaexposição aos pesticidas, especialmente organofosforados (OPs) e organoclorados (OCs). Também analisasse estudos nos quais são realizadas avaliações de exposição em gestantes que moram em áreas agrícolas, homens com exposição ocupacional, crianças nascidas e residentes nas áreas onde são utilizados agrotóxicos; estudos associadosao uso de agrotóxicos com anormalidades citogenéticas em recém-nascidos, danos ao DNA e efeitos adversos ao nascer pela exposição aos pesticidas. Resultados: Os resultados dos estudos forneceram evidências para sustentar a hipótese de que a exposição a agrotóxicos está negativamente associada aos efeitos na qualidade de vida de crianças cujos pais estão expostos aos agrotóxicos, uma vez que as crianças estão expostas a diferentes níveis de agrotóxicos durante agravidez, nascimento e crescimento. Conclusão: A validade dos estudos revisados epidemiológicos y científicos éfortemente reforçada pela avaliação da exposição com base na quantificação dos biomarcadores moleculares.Introduction: For an adequate protection of human health, especially in populations of pregnant women and vulnerable children, it is necessary to accurately estimate the risks in the health effects of pesticide exposure. Objective: To identify articles selected from an electronic search of PubMed and Science Direct databases that have linked the effects of pesticides with health problems in pregnant women and their newborns. Introduction: For an adequate protection of human health, especially in populations of pregnant women and vulnerable children, it is necessary to accurately estimate the risks in the health effects of pesticide exposure. Objective: To identify articles selected from an electronic search of PubMed and Science Direct databases that have linked the effects of pesticides with health problems in pregnant women and their newborns. Methods: In this review, we characterized epidemiological studies that evaluate health effects from exposure to pesticides, especially organophosphates (OPs) and organochlorines (OCs). Also analyzed were studies in which exposure assessments are performed in pregnant women living in agricultural areas, men with occupational exposure, children born and residing in areas where pesticides are used, studies associated pesticide use with cytogenetic abnormalities in newborns, DNA damage, and adverse birth effects from pesticide exposure. Results: some results of the studies provided evidence to support the hypothesis that pesticide exposure is negatively associated with effects on the quality of life of children whose parents are exposed to pesticides, since children are exposed to different levels of pesticides during pregnancy, birth, and growth. Conclusion: The validity of the reviewed epidemiological and scientific studies is strongly enhanced by exposure assessment based on quantification of molecular biomarkers.Introducción: para una adecuada protección de la salud humana, especialmente en poblaciones de mujeres embarazadas y niños vulnerables, es necesario estimar con precisión los riesgos en los efectos de la exposición de los plaguicidas en la salud. Objetivo: identificar artículos seleccionados a través de una búsqueda electrónica en las bases de datos PubMed y Science Direct que relacionaban los efectos de los plaguicidas con problemas de salud en las mujeres embarazadas y sus recién nacidos. Métodos: Esta revisión caracterizó estudios epidemiológicos queevalúan los efectos sobre la salud de la exposición a los plaguicidas, especialmente los organofosforados (OP) y los organoclorados (OC). También se analizaron estudios en los que se evaluó la exposición en mujeres embarazadas que viven en zonas agrícolas, hombres con exposición ocupacional, niños nacidos y residentes en zonas donde se utilizan plaguicidas, estudios asociados al uso de plaguicidas con anomalías citogenéticas en los recién nacidos, daños en el ADN y efectos adversos al nacimiento por exposición a plaguicidas. Resultados: los resultados de los estudios aportaronpruebas que apoyan la hipótesis de que la exposición a los plaguicidas se asocia negativamente con los efectos enla calidad de vida de los niños cuyos padres están expuestos a los plaguicidas, ya que los niños están expuestos adiferentes niveles de plaguicidas durante el embarazo, el embarazo, el nacimiento y el crecimiento. Conclusión: la validez de los estudios epidemiológicos y científicos revisados se ve muy reforzada por la evaluación de la exposición basada en la cuantificación de biomarcadores moleculares.

Prevalence of congenital anomaly and its relationship with maternal education and age according to local development in the extreme south of Brazil

Congenital anomalies (CA) contribute to disabilities and health conditions throughout life. Furthermore, they can cause emotional distress to the mothers and children, who may also experience limitations in individual and social development. This study investigated the prevalence of CA and the relationship with maternal education and age according to local development in the extreme south of Brazil. This is a retrospective observational study with birth data from the Live Birth Information System from 2000 to 2017. The association between age and maternal education with the presence of CA was verified using multiple Poisson regression for robust variances in models adjusted for those variables with a preliminary significant association. A total of 5131 (1.5%) had some CA identified at birth between 2000 and 2017. Only advanced age (≥36 years) was associated with CA regardless of macro-region development (p ≤ 0.001). The highest risk was observed in regions with medium development (RR = 1.60; 95% CI 1.30–1.97). Maternal education (<8 years of study) was associated with CA only in mothers from macro-regions with very high development (RR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.03–1.54). These analyses confirmed that women of advanced age are at greater risk of having children with a CA regardless of maternal education and local development, but social characteristics can also have an influence, as regions with higher development had lower prevalence of CA

Clinical genetics and public policies: how should rare diseases be managed?

The implementation of a specific policy for rare diseases in the Brazilian Unified Health System presents challenges in terms of its rationale. Recognizing the importance of rarity in the context of public health means understanding genetics as one of the dimensions of disease and accepting thatBrazilis undergoing a period of transition in health indicators. Although most rare diseases lack pharmacological treatment and genetic counseling constitutes the best strategy for their prevention, the cost of “orphan drugs” and their consequent lack of cost-effectiveness are still claimed as hurdles to the implementation of public policies in this field. Epidemiological aspects should not be used as isolated criteria for prioritization in public policies

Clinical genetics and public policies : how should rare diseases be managed?

The implementation of a specific policy for rare diseases in the Brazilian Unified Health System presents challenges in terms of its rationale. Recognizing the importance of rarity in the context of public health means understanding genetics as one of the dimensions of disease and accepting that Brazil is undergoing a period of transition in health indicators. Although most rare diseases lack pharmacological treatment and genetic counseling constitutes the best strategy for their prevention, the cost of “orphan drugs” and their consequent lack of cost-effectiveness are still claimed as hurdles to the implementation of public policies in this field. Epidemiological aspects should not be used as isolated criteria for prioritization in public policies

Aprosopia/holoprosencephaly in a stillborn puppy: when the face predicts the brain

In a litter of three puppies, one was stillborn and had facial and brain defects. Fusion of the maxilla and mandible and absence of the face were observed. The forebrain (telencephalon and the diencephalon) was reduced in size and fused, and the telencephalic longitudinal fissure, olfactory bulbs, and optic nerves were absent (Figures 6 and 7). Lissencephaly was observed in the telencephalon and cerebellum. A diagnosis of aprosopia/holoprosencephaly was made

A DNA repair variant in POLQ (c.-1060A > G) is associated to hereditary breast cancer patients : a case-control study

Background: One of the hallmarks of cancer is the occurrence of high levels of chromosomal rearrangements as a result of inaccurate repair of double-strand breaks (DSB). Germline mutations in BRCA and RAD51 genes, involved in DSB repair, are strongly associated with hereditary breast cancer. Pol θ, a translesional DNA polymerase specialized in the replication of damaged DNA, has been also shown to contribute to DNA synthesis associated to DSB repair. It is noteworthy that POLQ is highly expressed in breast tumors and this expression is able to predict patient outcome. The objective of this study was to analyze genetic variants related to POLQ as new population biomarkers of risk in hereditary (HBC) and sporadic (SBC) breast cancer. Methods: We analyzed through case–control study nine SNPs of POLQ in hereditary (HBC) and sporadic (SBC) breast cancer patients using Taqman Real Time PCR assays. Polymorphisms were systematically identified through the NCBI database and are located within exons or promoter regions. We recruited 204 breast cancer patients (101 SBC and 103 HBC) and 212 unaffected controls residing in Southern Brazil. Results: The rs581553 SNP located in the promoter region was strongly associated with HBC (c.-1060A > G; HBC GG = 15, Control TT = 8; OR = 5.67, CI95% = 2.26-14.20; p < 0.0001). Interestingly, 11 of 15 homozygotes for this polymorphism fulfilled criteria for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) syndrome. Furthermore, 12 of them developed bilateral breast cancer and one had a familial history of bilateral breast cancer. This polymorphism was also associated with bilateral breast cancer in 67 patients (OR = 9.86, CI95% = 3.81-25.54). There was no statistically significant difference of age at breast cancer diagnosis between SNP carriers and non-carriers. Conclusions: Considering that Pol θ is involved in DBS repair, our results suggest that this polymorphism may contribute to the etiology of HBC, particularly in patients with bilateral breast cancer

Lack of association between genetic polymorphisms in IGF1 and IGFBP3 with twin births in a Brazilian population (Cândido Godói, Rio Grande do Sul)

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) is an important peptide hormone involved in the reproduction and fetal development of mammals, and it is suggested that it may influence the human twinning rate. This study aimed to test such possible association, investigating the genetic polymorphisms IGF1 (CA)n and IGFBP3 rs2854744 in the population from Candido Godoi (CG), a small city located in the South of Brazil that has a high prevalence of twin births. A case-control study was performed comprising a total of 39 cases (representing about 40% of the mothers of twins who were born in CG after 1995) and 214 controls (mothers of non-twin children), 97 of whom were living in CG while 117 were living in Porto Alegre. DNA was extracted from blood leucocytes and genotyping was performed. According to the statistical analyses, there was no significant difference in the frequencies of both studied genetic polymorphisms when comparing case group with control group. Thus, our results pointed to a lack of association between IGF1 (CA)n and IGFBP3 rs2854744 polymorphisms and twin births in CG, but further investigations in other populations with different characteristics must be performed to confirm the role of IGF-I in human twinning

Zika Brazilian Cohorts (ZBC) Consortium: protocol for an individual participant data meta-analysis of congenital Zika syndrome after maternal exposure during pregnancy

Despite great advances in our knowledge of the consequences of Zika virus to human health, many questions remain unanswered, and results are often inconsistent. The small sample size of individual studies has limited inference about the spectrum of congenital Zika manifestations and the prognosis of affected children. The Brazilian Zika Cohorts Consortium addresses these limitations by bringing together and harmonizing epidemiological data from a series of prospective cohort studies of pregnant women with rash and of children with microcephaly and/or other manifestations of congenital Zika. The objective is to estimate the absolute risk of congenital Zika manifestations and to characterize the full spectrum and natural history of the manifestations of congenital Zika in children with and without microcephaly. This protocol describes the assembly of the Consortium and protocol for the Individual Participant Data Meta-analyses (IPD Meta-analyses). The findings will address knowledge gaps and inform public policies related to Zika virus. The large harmonized dataset and joint analyses will facilitate more precise estimates of the absolute risk of congenital Zika manifestations among Zika virus-infected pregnancies and more complete descriptions of its full spectrum, including rare manifestations. It will enable sensitivity analyses using different definitions of exposure and outcomes, and the investigation of the sources of heterogeneity between studies and regions