scholarly journals Etiology and Clinical Presentation of Disorders of Sex Development in Kenyan Children and Adolescents

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Prisca Amolo ◽  
Paul Laigong ◽  
Anjumanara Omar ◽  
Stenvert Drop

Objective. The purpose of this study was to describe baseline data on etiological, clinical, laboratory, and management strategies in Kenyan children and adolescents with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD). Methods. This retrospective study included patients diagnosed with DSD who presented at ages 0–19 years from January 2008 to December 2015 at the Kenyatta National (KNH) and Gertrude’s Children’s (GCH) Hospitals. After conducting a search in the data registry, a structured data collection sheet was used for collection of demographic and clinical data. Data analysis involved description of the frequency of occurrence of various variables, such as etiologic diagnoses and patient characteristics. Results. Data from the records of 71 children and adolescents were reviewed at KNH (n = 57, 80.3%) and GCH (n = 14, 19.7%). The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 2.7 years with a median of 3 months. Thirty-nine (54.9%) children had karyotype testing done. The median age (IQR) of children with reported karyotypes and those without was 3.3 years (1.3–8.9) and 8.3 years (3.6–12.1), respectively (p=0.021). Based on karyotype analysis, 19 (48.7%) of karyotyped children had 46,XY DSD and 18 (46.2%) had 46,XX DSD. There were two (5.1%) children with sex chromosome DSD. Among the 71 patients, the most common presumed causes of DSD were ovotesticular DSD (14.1%) and CAH (11.3%). Majority (95.7%) of the patients presented with symptoms of DSD at birth. The most common presenting symptom was ambiguous genitalia, which was present in 66 (93.0%) patients either in isolation or in association with other symptoms. An ambiguous genitalia was initially observed by the patient’s mother in 51.6% of 62 cases despite the high rate (84.7%) of delivery in hospital. Seventeen (23.9%) of the cases had a gender reassignment at final diagnosis. A psychologist/psychiatrist or counselor was involved in the management of 23.9% of the patients. Conclusion. The commonest presumed cause of DSD was ovotesticular DSD in contrast to western studies, which found CAH to be more common. Investigation of DSD cases is expensive and needs to be supported. We would have liked to do molecular genetic analysis outside the country but financial challenges made it impossible. A network for detailed diagnostics in resource-limited countries would be highly desirable. There is a need to train health care workers and medical students for early diagnosis. Psychological evaluation should be carried out for all patients at diagnosis and support given for families.

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Olaf Hiort

AbstractDisorders of sex development or “DSD” describe a heterogeneous group of abnormalities of sexual determination and differentiation. This may be caused by chromosomal as well as monogenic aberrations, which may lead either primarily or through endocrine mechanisms to abnormal sexual development. Laboratory investigations play an important role in the diagnostic process. However, special analytical methods have to be taken into account and the usual reference intervals do not apply. Therefore, laboratory results should be interpreted in a specialized center in context with clinical and imaging findings. Furthermore, molecular genetic analysis can be performed for several entities. In a majority of cases, however, a definitive diagnosis is not possible even today. Therefore, management by a highly specialized multidisciplinary team is necessary for stringent diagnosis, prognosis and overall therapeutic decision-making. The team must include physicians from different subspecialties as well as psychosocial experts to counsel patients and their families appropriately.


2020 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 181-192
Author(s):  
Anu Eapen ◽  
Anuradha Chandramohan ◽  
Betty Simon ◽  
Tharani Putta ◽  
Reetu John ◽  
...  

AbstractDisorders of sex development (DSD) refer to congenital conditions with a typical development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomic sex. In the revised classification of DSD, there are three categories based on karyotype: 46,XX DSD; 46,XY DSD; and sex chromosome DSD. Imaging, as part of a multidisciplinary approach to management of DSD, has a key role in gender assignment. The main role of imaging is to help in identifying the gonads and the Müllerian structures. Ultrasound is useful, especially in the neonate with ambiguous genitalia. Magnetic resonance imaging is a useful modality to locate and characterize the gonads in young girls with primary amenorrhea and also to identify streak gonads, which have a risk of malignancy.


Author(s):  
Irina L. Nikitina ◽  
Leyla R. Sarakaeva ◽  
Anna A. Kostareva ◽  
Elena K. Kudryashova

Background. Disorders of sex development (DSD) are a group of rare congenital conditions. Clinical management of patients with DSD is often difficult and requires multidisciplinary approach. Aim. Analysis of the frequency of establishing genetic causes in various forms of DSD by using an original targeted sequencing panel with subsequent establishment of associations of the identified genetic variants with the nature of clinical manifestations. Materials and methods. Conducted a clinical examination, karyotype analysis followed by the next generation sequencing (NGS) using MiSeq (Illumina) with the twenty-eight patients with different forms of 46, XY DSD were included. We designed HaloPlex (Agilent) gene panel that included coding regions of 80 candidate genes associated with DSD. All variants identified by NGS were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. We performed bioinformatics analysis using OMIM, 1000 genomes, ESP6500, Genome Aggregation Database projects. To assess the clinical significance of the identified variants we used ClinVar database and American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics criteria. Results. Out of 28 patients pathogenic, likely pathogenic, variants with unknown significance were identified in 11 patients (39%). In combination with clinical phenotype these variants were determined as causative for DSD. Nine patients (82%) had likely causative variants in one gene (of monogenic origin), while 18% had variants in two genes simultaneously (of oligogenic origin). 43% of the identified gene variants have not been previously reported. The variants in NR5A1 were associated with gonadal dysgenesis in two patients; the variants in MAP3K1 were also found in another two patients with gonadal dysgenesis, variants in AR in three patients with CAIS, variant in MAMLD1 was associated with proximal form of hypospadias, variant in CYP17A1 was associated with testosterone biosynthetic defect. Among the two patients with variants of oligogenic origin, one had variants in MAP3K1 and MAMLD1 genes and was clinically characterized by hypospadias; the second had variants in AR and SEMA3A and was diagnosed with PAIS. There were also two patients with variants in NR5A1 of familial inheritance. Conclusion. NGS-based targeted sequencing is a promising technique to improve the differential diagnosis, genetic counseling and management strategies for patients with DSD. Complex clinical examination followed by molecular genetic analysis improves the diagnosis, genetic counseling, and management strategies for patients with DSD including the assignment of sex of rearing.


2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-59
Author(s):  
Natalia Yur'evna Kalinchenko ◽  
Tatiana Aleksandrovna Anosova ◽  
Vitaliy Alekseevich Ioutsi ◽  
Anatoly Nikolaevich Tiulpakov

Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1/AdBP4/FTZF1, NR5A1) is a nuclear receptor transcription factor that plays a critical role in different processes of sex development. Homozygous mutations in SF1 result in adrenal failure and complete testicular disgenesis in 46,XY individuals. According to recent studies heterozygous mutations in SF1 are associated with milder phenotype: they are found in children with 46,XY disorders of sex development (DSD) but with apparently normal adrenal structure and function. Here we present for the first time in Russian literature a case of SF1 deficiency. Molecular genetic analysis of NR5A1 gene revealed a novel heterozygous mutation c.951delC p.H317QfsX17. This clinical case demonstrates the importance of molecular genetic studies in DSD 46,XY, especially severe forms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-69
Author(s):  
Natalia Yu. Kalinchenko ◽  
Anna A. Kolodkina ◽  
Nadezda Y. Raygorodskaya ◽  
Anatoly N. Tiulpakov

Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1, NR5A1) is a nuclear receptor that regulates multiple genes involved in adrenal and gonadal development, steroidogenesis, and the reproductive axis. Human mutations in SF1 were initially found in patients with severe gonadal dysgenesis and primary adrenal failure. However, more recent case reports have suggested that heterozygous mutations in SF1 may also be found in patients with 46,XY partial gonadal dysgenesis and underandrogenization but normal adrenal function. We have analyzed the gene encoding SF1 (NR5A1) in a cohort of 310 Russian patients with 46,XY disorders of sex development (DSD). Heterozygous SF1 variants were found in 36 out of 310 (11.6%) of cases, among them 15 were not previously described. We have not found any phenotype-genotype correlations and any clinical and laboratory markers that would allow to suspect this type of before conducting molecular genetic analysis.


Author(s):  
Kazuhisa Akiba ◽  
Keiko Aso ◽  
Yukihiro Hasegawa ◽  
Maki Fukami

Abstract Objectives 5α-reductase type 2 deficiency due to biallelic SRD5A2 variants is a common form of 46,XY disorders of sex development. Case presentation A Chinese neonate presented with ambiguous genitalia. He carried a homozygous likely_pathogenic SRD5A2 variant (c.650C>A, p.A217E). His apparently nonconsanguineous parents were heterozygotes for the variant. The variant has previously been identified in two Chinese patients. Our patient carried 14.2 Mb loss-of-heterogeneity regions distributed in the genome. The SRD5A2 variant in this family was invariably coupled with two polymorphisms in exon 1 and intron 1. In the patient, blood testosterone (T)/5α-dihydrotestosterone (5αDHT) ratios were elevated before and during mini puberty, and were higher when measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) than measured by conventional immune assays. Conclusions This study provides evidence for the founder effect of an SRD5A2 variant. Furthermore, our data indicate that there is a need to establish a new reference value for T/5αDHT ratios using LC-MS/MS.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Andrew Griffiths

The 2006 ‘Consensus statement on management of intersex disorders’ recommended moving to a new classification of intersex variations, framed in terms of ‘disorders of sex development’ or DSD. Part of the rationale for this change was to move away from associations with gender, and to increase clarity by grounding the classification system in genetics. While the medical community has largely accepted the move, some individuals from intersex activist communities have condemned it. In addition, people both inside and outside the medical community have disagreed about what should be covered by the classification system, in particular whether sex chromosome variations and the related diagnoses of Turner and Klinefelter’s syndromes should be included. This article explores initial descriptions of Turner and Klinefelter’s syndromes and their subsequent inclusion in intersex classifications, which were increasingly grounded in scientific understandings of sex chromosomes that emerged in the 1950s. The article questions the current drive to stabilize and ‘sort out’ intersex classifications through a grounding in genetics. Alternative social and historical definitions of intersex – such as those proposed by the intersex activists – have the potential to do more justice to the lived experience of those affected by such classifications and their consequences.


Author(s):  
David F.M. Thomas

The aetiology of disorders of sex development (DSD) is multifactorial and includes chromosomal defects, developmental abnormalities of the gonads, and defects of hormonal synthesis and expression. Infants born with ambiguous genitalia require urgent investigation because of the risk of hyponatraemia associated with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and to permit an informed decision on gender assignment. CAH is the commonest form of DSD, accounting for around 80% of all infants born with ambiguous genitalia. Despite controversy regarding timing and consent, feminizing genitoplasty in early childhood remains the accepted management for girls with significant clitoromegaly. Surgical reconstruction for 46XY DSD is guided by several factors, notably the size of the phallus and gonadal phenotype. The majority of individuals with disorders of sex development will require ongoing specialist care and long-term multidisciplinary follow-up and support.


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