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Clinical genetics news

Children with rare debilitating brain diseases suffer from mutations in a little-known protein complex

Thousands of times per year, a family's moment of joy turns to unexpected grief. A seemingly healthy infant stops smiling or making eye contact. Their limbs grow weak. The tiny child suffers seizures and breathing problems.

How a tiny cell structure may shape brain development and drive disease

A largely overlooked structure inside our cells may play a crucial role in how the brain forms, offering new insight into developmental disorders and potential therapies.

What lies behind hereditary heart rhythm disorders

Short QT syndrome is a genetic disease that leads to sudden cardiac death at a young age. Mutations in the SLC4A3 gene, which regulates bicarbonate-chloride exchange, were recently described as a potential cause. An international ...

Epilepsy gene implicated in severe migraine disorder

Investigators led by Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified mutations in a gene coding for a key ion channel in the brain as a new cause of a debilitating form of migraine, according to a study published in Brain. ...

Lab-grown mini-brains shed light on childhood epilepsy

Why does the same genetic mutation cause a severe brain malformation in some patients but not in others? Researchers from the MOSAIC team at the Paris Brain Institute have developed mosaic human cortical organoids carrying ...

Genetic atlas reveals how human liver cells divide their labor

If scientists could shrink themselves to microscopic size and take a journey through the human body—like the submarine crew in the 1966 science fiction classic "Fantastic Voyage"—one of their first stops would no doubt be ...