Spela Stangler Herodez

Publications (3)5.22 Total impact

• Article: Is the JAK2 V617F mutation a hallmark for different forms of thrombosis?

  Katja Zerjavic, Boris Zagradisnik, Spela Stangler Herodez, Lidija Lokar, Marjana Glaser Krasevac, Nadja Kokalj Vokac
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The association between venous thrombosis outside the splanchnic area as well arterial thromboembolism and the JAK2 V617F mutation, an important marker for chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), is not completely clear. Four hundred forty-four patients with venous thrombosis of the lower/upper limbs and/or pulmonary embolism and 60 patients with ischemic stroke were screened for the JAK2 V617F mutation, factor V Leiden, and factor II G20210A. The JAK2 V617F mutation was detected in 1.4% of patients with venous thrombosis and in 3.3% of patients with ischemic stroke. Because 6 out of 2,430 control individuals with no medical history of venous thrombosis, stroke, or MPN were positive for the JAK2 V617F mutation, a significant association was observed (OR 5.53, CI 1.77-17.2, p = 0.0053 for venous thrombosis; OR 13.9, CI 2.75-70.5, p = 0.0145 for stroke). We provide evidence of the association between the JAK2 V617F mutation and different forms of thrombosis. This association is comparable with the association between inherited risk factors (factor V Leiden and factor II G20210A) and thrombotic events, but with a much lower prevalence of the mutation. Finally, the JAK2 V617F mutation is not absent from the general population despite being considered somatic and an acquired genetic variation.
  Acta Haematologica 01/2010; 124(1):49-56. · 1.35 Impact Factor
• Article: Subtelomeric chromosome rearrangements in children with idiopathic mental retardation: applicability of three molecular-cytogenetic methods.

  Alenka Erjavec-Skerget, Spela Stangler-Herodez, Andreja Zagorac, Boris Zagradisnik, Nadja Kokalj-Vokac
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To identify cryptic subtelomeric rearrangement, a possible cause of idiopathic mental retardation by means of multiprobe telomere fluorescent in situ hybridization (T-FISH). Hundred patients (median age 3.0 years) with mental retardation and dysmorphic features were screened using specific T-FISH probes. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and comparative genomic hybridization were used for the confirmation of results. Telomere fluorescent in situ hybridization revealed 11 subtelomeric abnormalities in 10 patients (10%; 95% CI, 5.0-17.5). Four of these had only a deletion of subtelomere 2q, which was apparently a normal variant. Among 6 true aberrations (6%; 95% CI, 2.5-12.5) we found 2 de novo subtelomeric deletions and 4 unbalanced subtelomeric rearrangements (one de novo). All clinically significant subtelomeric rearrangements were confirmed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Comparative genomic hybridization was used to investigate the whole genome of patients in whom a subtelomeric anomaly was found, confirming some, but not all subtelomeric rearrangements. Telomere fluorescent in situ hybridization and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification are both very useful and interchangeable methods for detection of unbalanced chromosome rearrangements, but T-FISH also detects balanced rearrangements. In our experiment the resolution power of comparative genomic hybridization was too low for subtelomeric screening compared with T-FISH and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification.
  Croatian Medical Journal 01/2007; 47(6):841-50. · 1.80 Impact Factor
• Article: Polymorphisms in four candidate genes in young patients with essential hypertension.

  Natasa Marcun Varda, Boris Zagradisnik, Spela Stangler Herodez, Nadja Kokalj Vokac, Alojz Gregoric
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: To determine whether four potential genetic factors (polymorphisms in genes for alpha-adducin, beta-adducin, the G-protein beta-3 subunit and nitric oxide synthase) are important for the development of essential hypertension (EH) in Slovenian children and young adults with EH. Both a nuclear families approach and case-control study have been performed. Genotyping of common polymorphisms in these genes using polymerase chain reaction was carried out in 104 nuclear families (an affected child, both parents) and in 200 control patients. Using the transmission disequilibrium test, no statistically significant differences were found between the frequencies of transmitted and non-transmitted alleles in nuclear families for all four investigated polymorphisms. In addition, the distributions of genotypes and alleles for the four polymorphisms did not differ significantly between our children and 200 healthy control patients. The allele frequencies of all polymorphisms were concordant with those observed in some other Caucasian populations. We found no association between the investigated gene variants and EH, so we conclude that they do not confer a significantly increased risk of the development of EH in the Slovenian population of hypertensive children.
  Acta Paediatrica 04/2006; 95(3):353-8. · 2.07 Impact Factor