GNAO1 and 13K genomes – rare disease sequencing on a national level

WGS. Whole-genome sequencing is increasingly used to understand the cause of rare diseases in a research and diagnostic context. However, while the usefulness of this technology has been shown in smaller studies, it remains unclear whether strategies to understand the cause of rare disorders through whole genome sequencing can be performed on a national level. A recent study in Nature reported the first results from a national sequencing campaign for rare disorders in the UK, including the analysis of more than 13,000 genomes. In this blog post, I would like to focus on the neurogenetics component of this enormous study, which identified disease-causing variants in GNAO1 as the most common cause within the study’s subgroup of neurological and developmental disorders. Continue reading

Common genetic risk factors for epilepsy in the Japanese population

GWAS. While our blog mainly deals with monogenic epilepsies, assessing common genetic risk factors through genome-wide association studies has been an established way of understanding potential genetic contributors to both common and rare disorders. More recently, polygenic risk scores have entered the stage, composite measures of many common variants which explain a significant proportion of the overall population risk for epilepsy. However, a major limitation of many genome-wide association studies has been the focus on populations of European ancestry. So far, very few studies have examined common genetic risk factors in the epilepsies in non-European populations. In a recent publication examining results from the BioBank Japan Project, 42 disorders were examined in more than 200,000 individuals, including the epilepsies. While no single epilepsy variant stood out, the study provides an interesting confirmation of a previously known common risk factors for the epilepsies. Continue reading

Understanding the genetics of FIRES

FIRES. Without a clear trigger, some children suddenly develop super-refractory status epilepticus, ongoing seizure activity that is difficult to control despite maximal therapy in the intensive care unit. In cases when the onset of seizures is preceded by a febrile illness, these rare conditions are referred to as FIRES (Febrile Infection-Related Epilepsy Syndrome). Understanding why children develop FIRES has been an ongoing quest, and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. FIRES shares many features with some of the known genetic developmental and epileptic encephalopathies. In a recent study, we tried to understand the genetic basis of FIRES using exome sequencing and HLA sequencing. We were unable to identify genetic causes for FIRES, but we found interesting candidate genes and demonstrated that the genetic architecture of FIRES is substantially different from what we see in other genetic epilepsies. Continue reading

Exome sequencing in the rolandic epilepsies

Beyond GRIN2A. The childhood epilepsies traditionally referred to as Benign Rolandic Epilepsy (BRE) or benign epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes (BECTS) have had various names in the past, which reflects somewhat the difficulties of fully putting this group of seizure disorders into clear categories. While most presentations are relatively mild and self-limited childhood epilepsies, a sizeable fraction of these non-lesional focal epilepsies have an atypical course. The genetics of the rolandic epilepsies and the related epilepsy-aphasia spectrum are tightly linked to GRIN2A, the most prominent gene in this group of conditions. However, are there other genes? A recent publication examined the genetic basis of self-limited focal epilepsies of childhood and found interesting new candidate genes in atypical presentations. Continue reading