title: Supravalvular aortic stenosis: elastin arteriopathy.
abstract: Supravalvular aortic stenosis is a systemic elastin (ELN) arteriopathy that disproportionately affects the supravalvular aorta. ELN arteriopathy may be present in a nonsyndromic condition or in syndromic conditions such as Williams-Beuren syndrome. The anatomic findings include congenital narrowing of the lumen of the aorta and other arteries, such as branches of pulmonary or coronary arteries. Given the systemic nature of the disease, accurate evaluation is recommended to establish the degree and extent of vascular involvement and to plan appropriate interventions, which are indicated whenever hemodynamically significant stenoses occur. ELN arteriopathy is genetically heterogeneous and occurs as a consequence of haploinsufficiency of the ELN gene on chromosome 7q11.23, owing to either microdeletion of the entire chromosomal region or ELN point mutations. Interestingly, there is a prevalence of premature termination mutations resulting in null alleles among ELN point mutations. The identification of the genetic defect in patients with supravalvular aortic stenosis is essential for a definitive diagnosis, prognosis, and genetic counseling.
authors.affiliation: Medical Genetics Unit, IRCCS Casa Sollievo Della Sofferenza Hospital, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. g.merla@operapadrepio.it
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Merla
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Brunetti-Pierri
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piccolo
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Micale
authors.forename: Maria Nicla
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Loviglio
mesh_terms: D001011:Aorta / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D021921:Aortic Stenosis, Supravalvular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004549:Elastin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D013577:Syndrome; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D004549:Elastin