Exome Sequencing Resolving a Complex Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Disorder After Inconclusive Prenatal Testing: A
Margarita Panova1, Hristo Ivanov2, Iglika Sotkova-Ivanova2
1Department of Pediatrics "Prof. Dr. Ivan Andreev", Medical University Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 27, 2026
Summary
Whole-exome sequencing (WES) is crucial for diagnosing monogenic neurodevelopmental disorders when standard prenatal tests fail. Early WES improves diagnosis, counseling, and clinical decisions for conditions like DDX3X-related disorder.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Genomic Medicine
Background:
- Prenatal diagnosis of fetal anomalies often involves chromosomal analysis, but chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) has limited utility for monogenic disorders.
- Whole-exome sequencing (WES) is increasingly recognized for identifying single-gene causes of complex neurodevelopmental phenotypes.


