Patient and physician attitudes regarding clinical trials in neurofibromatosis 1.

Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is a multisystem genetic disorder that primarily affects the skin (freckling and café-au-lait macules), nervous system (neurofibromas, optic gliomas, and learning disabilities), and skeletal system (pseudoarthroses). The interest in pharmacological intervention for patients with NF1 has grown in recent years. However, little is known about the attitudes and priorities of patients, families, and physicians regarding participation in clinical trials. We surveyed 74 adult patients or parents of patients with NF1 and 69 care providers participating in a neurofibromatosis clinic to assess their willingness to participate in clinical trials and their opinions about which conditions they thought were most important to treat. Both patients and care providers are willing to participate in clinical trials for NF1 and both groups rate malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors as the most urgent for new treatments. There are concordant views among patients and physicians concerning clinical trials for NF1, and patients do not dismiss participation in placebo-controlled trials. Neuroscience nurses are poised to facilitate the research process from conception through implementation as they take the viewpoints of our study populations into consideration.

Unusually mild tuberous sclerosis phenotype is associated with TSC2 R905Q mutation.

OBJECTIVE: To report the clinical manifestations and functional aspects of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), resulting from Codon 905 mutations in TSC2 gene. METHODS: We performed a detailed study of the TSC phenotype and genotype in a large French-Canadian kindred (Family A). Subsequently, clinical and molecular data on 18 additional TSC families with missense mutations at the same codon of TSC2 were collected. Functional studies were performed on the different missense changes and related to the phenotype. RESULTS: A 2714G>A (R905Q) mutation was identified in Family A. The TSC phenotype in this family was unusually mild and characterized by hypomelanotic macules or focal seizures that remitted spontaneously or were easily controlled with medication. Diagnostic criteria were met in only a minority of mutation carriers. Other families with the R905Q mutation were found to have a similar mild phenotype. In contrast, patients with a 2713C>T (R905W) or a 2713C>G (R905G) mutation had more severe phenotypes. Although all three amino acid substitutions were pathogenic, the R905W and R905G substitutions affected tuberin function more severely than R905Q. INTERPRETATION: Codon 905 missense mutations in TSC2 are relatively common. The TSC2 R905Q mutation is associated with unusually mild disease, consistent with functional studies. Combined with previous reports, it is apparent that certain TSC2 missense mutations are associated with a mild form of tuberous sclerosis, which in many patients does not meet standard diagnostic criteria. These findings have implications for the large number of patients with limited clinical features of TSC and for genetic counseling in these families.