Publication
Title
Solving the unsolved genetic epilepsies : current and future perspectives
Author
Abstract
Many patients with epilepsy undergo exome or genome sequencing as part of a diagnostic workup; however, many remain genetically unsolved. There are various factors that account for negative results in exome/genome sequencing for patients with epilepsy: (1) the underlying cause is not genetic; (2) there is a complex polygenic explanation; (3) the illness is monogenic but the causative gene remains to be linked to a human disorder; (4) family segregation with reduced penetrance; (5) somatic mosaicism or the complexity of, for example, a structural rearrangement; or (6) limited knowledge or diagnostic tools that hinder the proper classification of a variant, resulting in its designation as a variant of unknown significance. The objective of this review is to outline some of the diagnostic options that lie beyond the exome/genome, and that might become clinically relevant within the foreseeable future. These options include: (1) re-analysis of older exome/genome data as knowledge increases or symptoms change; (2) looking for somatic mosaicism or long-read sequencing to detect low-complexity repeat variants or specific structural variants missed by traditional exome/genome sequencing; (3) exploration of the non-coding genome including disruption of topologically associated domains, long range non-coding RNA, or other regulatory elements; and finally (4) transcriptomics, DNA methylation signatures, and metabolomics as complementary diagnostic methods that may be used in the assessment of variants of unknown significance. Some of these tools are currently not integrated into standard diagnostic workup. However, it is reasonable to expect that they will become increasingly available and improve current diagnostic capabilities, thereby enabling precision diagnosis in patients who are currently undiagnosed.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Epilepsia. - Boston, Mass.
Publication
Hoboken : Wiley , 2023
ISSN
0013-9580
DOI
10.1111/EPI.17780
Volume/pages
64 :12 (2023) , p. 3143-3154
ISI
001084384500001
Pubmed ID
37750451
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Allele-specific silencing of mutant KCNQ2 as a targeted treatment for KCNQ2 encephalopathy: an in vitro proof of concept study.
A multi-omics approach to the detection of pathologic genetic and epigenetic lesions in Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 04.12.2023
Last edited 10.03.2024
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