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Published on: December 18, 2019
Three Patient Kindred with a Novel Phenotype of Osteogenesis Imperfecta due to a COL1A1 Variant
Nidhi Gupta1,2, Seth W. Gregory3, David R. Deyle4
1Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Tennessee, USA
Insights
This study details a unique Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) presentation in a family, marked by early fractures that cease by age two. This rare OI phenotype offers new insights into bone fragility disorders.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Orthopedics
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is a group of genetic disorders characterized by bone fragility and fractures.
- Fracture incidence in OI typically peaks in childhood and adolescence, decreasing but not ceasing in adulthood.
Observation:
- A kindred of three (mother and two sons) presented with a distinct OI phenotype.
- Patients exhibited prenatal bone deformities and multiple nontraumatic fractures within the first two years of life.
- A notable absence of nontraumatic fractures occurred after this early period.
Findings:
- Two patients carried a COL1A1 gene variant (c.3548C>T; p.(Pro1183Leu)) of uncertain significance.
- This variant has been previously associated with osteopenia in only one other individual.
- The mother, without bisphosphonate therapy, ceased nontraumatic fractures by five months of age.
Implications:
- This unique OI phenotype, with fracture cessation after early childhood, expands the clinical spectrum of bone fragility disorders.
- Further research into the COL1A1 variant and its role in fracture patterns is warranted.
- Understanding this specific OI presentation may inform long-term management strategies for affected individuals.
Abstract:
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is characterized by fractures and progressive bone deformities. Fracture rates peak during the toddler and adolescent years and decline during adulthood but do not stop entirely. We describe a kindred, the affected members of which were the mother and two sons, who presented with an apparently unique phenotype of OI. Our patients demonstrated a pattern of prenatal bone deformities followed by multiple, nontraumatic long bone fractures within the first two years of life and then an absence of nontraumatic fractures thereafter. No extra-skeletal manifestations have been noted to date. The mother did not receive bisphosphonate therapy but had no nontraumatic fractures after the age of five months. Intravenous bisphosphonate therapy was started for both sons within two months of birth, with the most recent infusions at age 18 months and 28 months in Patients 2 and 3, respectively. Two patients harbored a variant of uncertain significance in the COL1A1 gene. This heterozygous variant, c.3548C>T; p.(Pro1183Leu), is listed in the OI Variant Database as affecting only one other individual with osteopenia. We describe three family members with a unique presenting phenotype of OI, characterized by cessation of nontraumatic fractures after the first two years of life.
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