Aberrations in region of chromosome 1q21.1 associated with broad range of disorders i...(pulation. In these 4737 controls from th...)

The authors explained that the genomic structure of 1q21.1 is extremely complex. There are still 15 assembly gaps, or 700 kb of missing sequence in 1q21.1, in the most recent map of the human genome.

These gaps, the researchers noted, might contain as yet unknown genes that contribute to the differences in the types of developmental abnormalities that occur in children with the deletion. Supposedly unaffected deletion carriers might in fact have more subtle disorders that could be found during further clinical evaluations. For example, an examination of one apparently unaffected carrier revealed mild cataracts and a heart defect that were previously undetected.

Studies by other groups of researchers have also found a connection between 1q21.1 deletions and schizophrenia in some people, and parts missing in the reproductive tract in other people. These results, the authors of the Sept. 11 New England Journal of Medicine article noted, confirm the association of 1q21.1 rearrangements with a broad spectrum of disorders, and also further dispel the notion that such rearrangements will necessarily follow the one-gene, one-disease model.

The authors recognize that the diversity of disorders and the lack of a distinct syndrome accompanying 1q21.1 rearrangements will complicate genetic diagnosing and counseling. They suggest that clinicians caring for patients who have unexplained developmental abnormalities consider the identification of a 1q21.1 rearrangement in a patient a significant clinical finding and probably an influential genetic factor contributing to the patient's disorder. Evaluating the patient's family members may reveal apparently unaffected or mildly affected relatives carrying the same rearrangem
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