Pediatric Neurology and Genetics

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neurogenomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2026 | Viewed by 842

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, 56128 Pisa, Italy
Interests: neurodevelopmental disorders; dysmorphology; genetics; genotype–phenotype correlations

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Guest Editor
Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Pisa, Italy
Interests: human genetics; neurogenetics; medical genetics; autism spectrum disorders; neurology; neuroscience; ADHD

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Guest Editor
Epilepsy Unit, IRCCS E. Medea Scientific Institute, 31015 Conegliano, Italy
Interests: neurosciences; neurology genetics; heredity biochemistry; molecular biology science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The burden of rare diseases largely falls on children, impacting healthcare services and shaping their developmental trajectories. In children, neurological disorders comprise a substantial share of such diseases.

Both congenital and progressive or acquired neurological conditions (e.g., syndromic conditions, neurodegeneration, epilepsy, tumors) may have a genetic origin. Although diagnosis is often challenging, recent advances in genetic diagnostic techniques have significantly lowered the diagnostic threshold, facilitating better prediction of prognosis and treatment management. Furthermore, identifying a genetic etiology contributes to an expanded understanding of the biological pathomechanisms of diseases and facilitates the targeting of precise therapeutic strategies.

Integrating cytogenetic and sequencing techniques (e.g., standard karyotype, FISH, SNP/array-CGH, optical genome mapping, whole-exome sequencing, whole-genome sequencing) reveals structural, numerical, and genomic mutations, enabling a comprehensive genomic analysis. Regulatory elements also warrant attention, as they influence gene expression and modulation. Bioinformatic analysis can assist with the interpretation of the extensive data generated via the genetic analysis and predicting the ways in which genomic imbalances and mutations will affect the phenotype.

We are seeking submissions of original research or review articles related to "Pediatric Neurology and Genetics". All types of research related to the genetic landscape of neurological diseases in children will be considered. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Roberta Milone
Dr. Agatino Battaglia
Dr. Alberto Danieli
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • rare neurological diseases
  • genomics
  • next-generation sequencing
  • cytogenetics
  • child neurology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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10 pages, 936 KB  
Case Report
Chromothriptic Translocation t(1;18): A Paradigm of Genomic Complexity in a Child with Normal Intellectual Development and Pyridoxine-Dependent Epilepsy
by Raffaele Falsaperla, Eliana Salvo, Annamaria Sapuppo, Chiara Barberi, Vincenzo Sortino, Gaia Fusto, Roberta Rizzo, Xena Giada Pappalardo, Giovanni Corsello, Martino Ruggieri, Catia Romano, Lucia Saccuzzo, Marco Fichera and Maria Clara Bonaglia
Genes 2025, 16(11), 1334; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16111334 - 5 Nov 2025
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Abstract
Background: Pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE) is a rare disorder characterized by seizures resistant to conventional treatments but responsive to pyridoxine therapy. Typically caused by biallelic variants in ALDH7A1, PNPO, or PLPBP, a few patients present a similar clinical phenotype but without [...] Read more.
Background: Pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE) is a rare disorder characterized by seizures resistant to conventional treatments but responsive to pyridoxine therapy. Typically caused by biallelic variants in ALDH7A1, PNPO, or PLPBP, a few patients present a similar clinical phenotype but without confirmed molecular diagnoses. We report a child with a 13-year PDE diagnosis and normal intellectual development, whose seizures recurred after pyridoxine withdrawal but resolved with reintroduction, despite unremarkable whole-exome sequencing results. Methods: Following negative results from WES, optical genome mapping (OGM) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) were performed to highlight any potential structural variants involving known PDE-associated genes. Results: OGM and WGS revealed a recurrent 16p11.2 BP4-5 duplication, inherited from his healthy father, along with a de novo chromothripsis-type unbalanced t(1;18)(p22.3;q12.3), affecting several genes not currently associated with epilepsy (RIT2, PIK3C3, COL24A1, LRRC8D, DIPK1A, and DPYD), with RIT2 being a plausible candidate for the neurological phenotype due to its neuron-specific expression along with a likely reshuffling of topologically associating domains (TADs) involving SYT4, an epilepsy-candidate gene. Discussion: While the molecular data do not pinpoint a single gene or locus as the cause of seizures in this case, a key aspect of our patient’s phenotype is true pyridoxine dependence, rather than just pyridoxine responsiveness. We propose that the genomic complexity associated with the chromothriptic t(1;18) and the 16p11.2 BP4-5 duplication may create a unique metabolic environment in which pyridoxine-dependent pathways are disrupted through unconventional mechanisms. The preservation of cognitive function in our case has been observed in small groups of PDE patients, especially those diagnosed and treated early. This may indicate a distinct phenotypic subgroup that warrants further genetic investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pediatric Neurology and Genetics)
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