Monosomy 19pter and trisomy 19q13-qter in two siblings arising from a maternal pericentric inversion: clinical data and molecular characterization.

Pericentric inversions of chromosome 19 are very rare rearrangements. Only one case was shown to have resulted in duplication deficiency in the offspring. We report a familial case of pericentric inversion of chromosome 19 not detectable by standard karyotype and usual subtelomeric FISH probes. This inversion was transmitted in its balanced and in its recombinant form to the offspring. The two children carrying the recombinant chromosome 19 presented with growth and mental retardation, microcephaly, mild facial dysmorphism and clinodactyly. The recombinant chromosome 19 was characterized by FISH and array CGH. It consisted of a 400kb 19pter deletion and a 6.9Mb (19q13.33-qter) duplication. This observation supports the recombination risk of pericentric inversion of chromosome 19 and emphasizes the role of molecular cytogenetics techniques in the characterization of chromosome 19 rearrangements.

Simultaneous identification of the four human Plasmodium species and quantification of Plasmodium DNA load in human blood by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

The incidence of imported malaria cases in travellers returning from endemic areas has considerably increased over the last few years. The microscopical examination of stained blood films is the gold standard method to confirm clinical suspicion of malaria but diagnosis is difficult in the case of mixed infections, low-grade parasitaemia, or forms altered by uncompleted treatment. We have developed a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the simultaneous identification of the 4 human Plasmodium spp. and quantification of Plasmodium DNA in human blood. The rapid turnaround and reduction in the risk of PCR product carryover are major advantages compared with conventional PCR. In combination with conventional tests, this method could be a powerful tool for the diagnosis of malaria infections among travellers from endemic areas and during the follow-up of patients in reference centres involved in travel and tropical medicine. Quantitative real-time PCR could also be used for the follow-up of patients during drug resistance studies managed by national malaria programmes, the testing of new drugs, and vaccine trials.