Clinical Research Directory

Contribution of Optical Genome Mapping (OGM) in the Diagnosis of Multiple Congenital Malformations With or Without Intellectual Disability Without Genetic Abnormality

Congenital malformations result from an embryonic or foetal developmental disorder (DD) affecting one or more systems (cardiac, skeletal, nervous, etc.). These are referred to as multiple congenital anomalies (MCAs). They may be associated with an intellectual disability (ID)1. Chromosomal analysis on Chromosomal Microarray Analysis (CMA) and gene panels or exome sequencing are the respective gold standard methods for chromosomal and molecular diagnosis of DD respectively2. In cases where no diagnosis is established after these first-line tests, short-read whole genome sequencing (WGS), via the Plan France Medicine Genomic 2020-2025 (AURAGEN), may be considered. This approach allows for diagnosis in nearly 40% of patients with DD3,4. However, many patients remain in diagnostic deadlock, likely due to the technical limitations of these methods, which potentially be overcome by emerging methodologies such as optical genome mapping (OGM)5,6,7,8,9. The investigators propose to systematically perform OGM in 30 patients presenting with MCA+/-ID who have inconclusive WGS result10. The main objective is to assess the contribution of OGM in identifying structural variants not detected or poorly characterised by WGS in this clinical context. This work will also contribute to the ongoing of OGM in routine diagnostics and determine its role in the overall genetic diagnosis of MCA+/-ID. Additionally it may lead to the identification of new candidate genes and/or mechanisms of pathogenicity. If the results are promising, further clinical could expand this preliminary work into a larger-scale project. Improving the genetic diagnosis of DD should enhance the medical management of patients, currently in diagnostic deadlock, and their families.

Maternal Use of Antibiotics and the Risk of Congenital Malformations

Antibiotics are widely used during pregnancy to prevent or treat infections, yet concerns remain regarding their fetal safety. Drawing on data from spontaneous reporting databases and cohort studies, this study aims to explore potential associations between exposure to various antibiotic classes during pregnancy and congenital malformations. Data were collected from publicly available reports in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), the Canada Vigilance Adverse Reaction (CVAR) database, and a population-based retrospective cohort in Xiamen, China. By applying multiple signal detection methods, we identified potential risk signals linking different antibiotic classes to organ-system-specific congenital malformations. For antibiotics showing positive signals, we further utilized a pregnancy medication cohort in Xiamen and applied causal inference techniques to estimate the adjusted relative risk of congenital malformations associated with first-trimester exposure to these antibiotics. Several sensitivity analyses-including both negative- and positive-control analyses-will also be performed.