Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:mutations in 50% of patients with CM-AVM. Herein we studied non-RASA1 patients to further elucidate the pathogenicity of CMs and AVMs. METHODS:We conducted a genome-wide linkage study on a CM-AVM family. Whole-exome sequencing was also performed on 9 unrelated CM-AVM families. We identified a candidate gene and screened it in a large series of patients. The influence of several missense variants on protein function was also studied in vitro. RESULTS:detected 47 distinct mutations in 54 index patients: 27 led to a premature stop codon or splice-site alteration, suggesting loss of function. The other 20 are nonsynonymous variants that result in amino acid substitutions. In vitro expression of several mutations confirmed loss of function of EPHB4. The clinical features included multifocal CMs, telangiectasias, and AVMs. CONCLUSIONS:-encoded p120RASGAP is a direct effector of EPHB4. Our data highlight the pathogenetic importance of this interaction and indicts EPHB4-RAS-ERK signaling pathway as a major cause for AVMs.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:Infantile hemangioma (IH) is the most frequent benign tumor of infancy resulting from vascular proliferation. Data regarding the burden on families of children with IHs are limited. This study aimed to characterize IHs and provide a comprehensive evaluation of the burden of IHs on parents of children requiring systemic treatment in the United States and Europe. METHODS:This noninterventional cross-sectional study included infants with newly diagnosed IH requiring systemic treatment. A parent or family member completed two questionnaires (Family Member questionnaire; Hemangioma Family Burden [HFB] questionnaire). RESULTS:A total of 693 individuals were evaluable in five countries. IHs were observed in more girls than boys (66%-83% female) and the mean age at inclusion was 0.44 to 1.4 years. Approximately half of patients had superficial IHs, approximately 70% of cases affected the head, and approximately 80% of cases were moderate or severe. Most patients received propranolol treatment. Their child's IH affected more than 70% of parents in each country, but fewer than 10% were offered psychological support. Approximately half of all parents reported that their child's IH affected their professional life. The global HFB score was significantly (p < 0.001) greater with greater IH severity. More than 90% of parents in each country were satisfied with the care of their child's disease. CONCLUSIONS:This international study using the validated HFB questionnaire provides further insight into the burden of IH and highlights potential areas for future focus in assisting families with affected children.

The term "congenital vascular anomalies" encompasses those vascular lesions present at birth. Many of these lesions may be detected in utero. This review serves to apprise the readership of newly identified diagnoses and updated classification schemes. Attention is focused on clinical features, patterns of presentation, clinical manifestations and behavior, diagnostic tools, and treatment modalities. It is an invigorating period for this field, with a surge in vascular anomalies-related basic and clinical research, genetics, pharmacology, clinical trials, and patient advocacy. A large number of professional conferences now include vascular anomalies in the agenda, and trainees in multiple specialties are gaining expertise in this discipline. We begin with a summary of classification schemes and introduce the updated classification adopted by the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies. Disease entities are described, with liberal use of photographs, as many diagnoses can be established based on a thorough history and visual appearance and it is thus essential to develop a familiarity with diagnosis-specific physical features. Peripheral (non-central nervous system) vascular anomalies are the focus of this review. We focus on those entities in which diagnostic radiology is routinely used and accentuate when histologic confirmation is essential. We also underscore some differences in approach to the pediatric vs adolescent or adult patient. A list of Internet-based resources is included, with hyperlinks to informative sites. References are limited to seminal discoveries and review articles. We hope that our enthusiasm in writing this review will be shared by those who read this review.

PHACE (posterior fossa brain malformation, hemangiomas, arterial anomalies, coarctation of the aorta and cardiac defects, and eye abnormalities) syndrome is a neurocutaneous disorder often involving the cerebral vasculature. PHACE patients appear to have early-onset and severe headaches more commonly than children without PHACE. The objective of this study was to characterize the clinical features and prevalence of headache by conducting a cross-sectional survey of families in 2 large PHACE registries. Sixty-six percent of eligible families completed the survey in which 62.7% of respondents reported headaches. Average age of headache onset was 48.8 months. Females were more likely to have headaches (68.6% vs 30.8%, P = .014). Families reported associated migrainous features including nausea (62.5%), vomiting (37.5%), photophobia (75%), and phonophobia (75%). Headaches occurred at least weekly in 29.4%, lasted >/=1 hour in 85.4%, and led to >/=1 hospital admission in 15.7%. Three respondents with headaches had at least 1 ischemic stroke. We demonstrated that headaches are common among PHACE patients, develop at an early age, and have migrainous features.

I was asked to provide a commentary for "Shouldn't Propranolol be Used to Treat All Hemangiomas?" by Moodley et al. (Aesth Plast Surg, 2015. doi: 10.1007/s00266-015-0557-x ). I commend the authors for implicitly recognizing that it is no longer appropriate to take the laissez faire approach to hemangiomas of infancy. Whilst hemangiomas will eventually improve, they will not necessarily "disappear," as parents are often erroneously counseled. In fact, the larger a hemangioma becomes, the less likely one will be pleased with the ultimate result, whether treated medically or not. The natural process of proliferation followed by involution often produces saggy anetoderma, which, in certain anatomic locations is obvious and draws negative attention. NO LEVEL ASSIGNED: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each submission to which Evidence-Based Medicine rankings are applicable. This excludes Review Articles, Book Reviews, and manuscripts that concern Basic Science, Animal Studies, Cadaver Studies, and Experimental Studies. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors http://www.springer.com/00266 .

Vascular anomalies represent a spectrum of disorders from a simple "birthmark" to life- threatening entities. Incorrect nomenclature and misdiagnoses are commonly experienced by patients with these anomalies. Accurate diagnosis is crucial for appropriate evaluation and management, often requiring multidisciplinary specialists. Classification schemes provide a consistent terminology and serve as a guide for pathologists, clinicians, and researchers. One of the goals of the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) is to achieve a uniform classification. The last classification (1997) stratified vascular lesions into vascular malformations and proliferative vascular lesions (tumors). However, additional disease entities have since been identified that are complex and less easily classified by generic headings, such as capillary malformation, venous malformation, lymphatic malformation, etc. We hereby present the updated official ISSVA classification of vascular anomalies. The general biological scheme of the classification is retained. The section on tumors has been expanded and lists the main recognized vascular tumors, classified as benign, locally aggressive or borderline, and malignant. A list of well-defined diseases is included under each generic heading in the "Simple Vascular Malformations" section. A short definition is added for eponyms. Two new sections were created: one dealing with the malformations of individually named vessels (previously referred to as "truncular" malformations); the second groups lesions of uncertain or debated nature (tumor versus malformation). The known genetic defects underlying vascular anomalies are included in an appendix. This classification is meant to be a framework, acknowledging that it will require modification as new scientific information becomes available.