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- Dulski, J., et al.
(author)
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Neuroacanthocytosis - Clinical variability (a report on six cases)
- 2014
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In: Movement Disorders. - : Wiley. - 0885-3185. ; 29:Suppl 1, s. 194-194
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To provide clinical clues to differential diagnosis in patients with chorea and other movement disorders with blood acanthocytes. Background: Neuroacanthocytosis (NA) is an umbrella term for neurological conditions associated with acanthocytosis. Core NA syndromes, with basal ganglia involvement and in which acanthocytosis is a frequent finding, include autosomal recessive choreaacanthocytosis (Ch-Ac) and X-linked McLeod syndrome (MLS). Due to the very low prevalence, scarcity of data and high clinical variability they may be underdiagnosed. Methods: Six male patients (pts), three diagnosed with Ch-Ac: 33-y.o.(no.1), 35-y.o.(no.2), 42-y.o.(no.3), two diagnosed with MLS: 52-y.o.(no.4), 60-y.o.(no.5) and one 62-y.o.(no.6), a brother of no.5, with clinical suspicion of MLS. The patients had an unremarkable family history and were asymptomatic until adulthood. Pts no.1,2,4,5,6 developed generalized chorea and patient no.3 had predominant bradykinesia. Pts no.1,2,3 had phonic and motor tics, additionally pts no.1 and 2 exhibited peculiar oromandibular dystonia with tongue thrusting. In pts no.2 and 3 dystonic supination of feet was observed, patient no.3 subsequently developed bilateral foot drop. Pts no. 2 and 4 had signs of muscle atrophy. Tendon reflexes were decreased or absent and electroneurography demonstrated sensorimotor neuropathy in patients no. 1,2,3,4,5, except no. 6. Generalized seizures were seen in patients no.2,3,5,6 and myoclonic jerks in patient no 1. Cognitive deterioration was reported in patients no.1,2,3,5,6. Serum creatine kinase levels were elevated in all six patients. Results: Peripheral blood smears revealed acanthocytosis in patients no.1,2,3,5,6, except no. 4. In patients no. 1 and 3 reduced expression of chorein was detected on Western blot. In patient no. 2 genetic testing showed mutations in VPS13A gene and in no.4 and 5 genetic analysis confirmed mutations in XK gene (MLS). The time from the onset of symptoms till establishing the diagnosis in patients no. 1,2,3,4,5 was 11,5,7,6,32 years respectively. Patient no.4 suddenly developed multiple organ failure and died of cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 52. Conclusions: We highlight the variability of clinical presentation of NA syndromes and the long time from the onset to diagnosis with the need to screen the blood smears in uncertain cases, however, as in one of our cases acanthocytes may even be not found.
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| 2. |
- Labbé, Catherine, et al.
(author)
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Role for the microtubule-associated protein tau variant p.A152T in risk of α-synucleinopathies.
- 2015
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In: Neurology. - 1526-632X. ; 85:19, s. 1680-1686
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective:To assess the importance of MAPT variant p.A152T in the risk of synucleinopathies. Methods:In this case-control study, we screened a large global series of patients and controls, and assessed associations between p.A152T and disease risk. We included 3,229 patients with clinical Parkinson disease (PD), 442 with clinical dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), 181 with multiple system atrophy (MSA), 832 with pathologically confirmed Lewy body disease (LBD), and 2,456 healthy controls. Results:The minor allele frequencies (MAF) in clinical PD cases (0.28%) and in controls (0.2%) were not found to be significantly different (odds ratio [OR] 1.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63-2.98, p = 0.42). However, a significant association was observed with clinical DLB (MAF 0.68%, OR 5.76, 95% CI 1.62-20.51, p = 0.007) and LBD (MAF 0.42%, OR 3.55, 95% CI 1.04-12.17, p = 0.04). Additionally, p.A152T was more common in patients with MSA compared to controls (MAF 0.55%, OR 4.68, 95% CI 0.85-25.72, p = 0.08) but this was not statistically significant and therefore should be interpreted with caution. Conclusions:Overall, our findings suggest that MAPT p.A152T is a rare low penetrance variant likely associated with DLB that may be influenced by coexisting LBD and AD pathology. Given the rare nature of the variant, further studies with greater sample size are warranted and will help to fully explain the role of p.A152T in the pathogenesis of the synucleinopathies
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| 5. |
- Vemula, Satya R, et al.
(author)
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GNAL mutations cause adult-onset primary dystonia
- 2013
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In: Neurology. - 0028-3878. ; 80:1
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Identification of the causal mutation in an African-American family with adult-onset primary dystonia. BACKGROUND: The vast majority of patients with dystonia are adults with primary focal or segmental anatomical distributions. Familial and sporadic dystonia appear to share the same genetic etiological background. Although approximately 10% of probands have at least one first- or second-degree relative with dystonia, large pedigrees suited for linkage analysis are uncommon. In previous work, we excluded THAP1 and TOR1A mutations in an African-American family with clinical phenotypes that included cervical, laryngeal and hand-forearm dystonia. DESIGN/METHODS: Linkage and haplotype analyses were combined with solution-based whole-exome capture and massively parallel sequencing in order to identify the causal mutation (GNAL, c.913G>T) in our African-American family with dystonia. High resolution melting and Sanger sequencing were used to screen 768 additional subjects with primary cervical or segmental dystonia for sequence variants in GNAL. RESULTS: The missense mutation in GNAL (c.913G>T, p.V305F) was found to co-segregate with dystonia in our African-American pedigree. GNAL encodes guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(olf), subunit alpha [Gα(olf)]. Gα(olf) is highly expressed in the olfactory bulb, striatum and cerebellar Purkinje cells. Gα(olf) plays a role in olfaction, coupling D1 and A2a receptors to adenylyl cyclase, and histone H3 phosphorylation. Screening identified two additional pedigrees with GNAL mutations (c.822-823insA [p.R275T∗13] and c.964C>T [p.R322∗]). None of these sequence variants were found in 760 controls. CONCLUSIONS: Mutations in GNAL are causally-associated with adult-onset primary cervical and segmental dystonia. The prominent expression of Gα(olf) in striatum and cerebellar Purkinje cells points to potential sites of functional pathology in primary dystonia.
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| 6. |
- Vemula, Satya R, et al.
(author)
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Role of Gα(olf) in Familial and Sporadic Adult-Onset Primary Dystonia.
- 2013
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In: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 22:12, s. 2510-2519
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The vast majority of patients with primary dystonia are adults with focal or segmental distribution of involuntary movements. Although approximately 10% of probands have at least one first- or second-degree relative with dystonia, large families suited for linkage analysis are exceptional. After excluding mutations in known primary dystonia genes (TOR1A, THAP1, and CIZ1), whole-exome sequencing identified a GNAL missense mutation (c.682G>T, p.V228F) in an African-American pedigree with clinical phenotypes that include cervical, laryngeal and hand-forearm dystonia. Screening of 760 subjects with familial and sporadic primary dystonia identified 3 Caucasian pedigrees with GNAL mutations (c.591dupA [p.R198Tfs*13]; c.733C>T [p.R245*]; and c.3G>A [p.M1?]). These mutations show incomplete penetrance. Our findings corroborate those of a recent study which used whole exome sequencing to identify missense and nonsense GNAL mutations in Caucasian pedigrees of mixed European ancestry with mainly adult-onset cervical and segmental dystonia. GNAL encodes guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(olf), subunit alpha [Gα(olf)]. Gα(olf) plays a role in olfaction, coupling D1 and A2a receptors to adenylyl cyclase, and histone H3 phosphorylation. African-American subjects harboring the p.V228F mutation exhibited microsmia. Lymphoblastoid cell lines from subjects with the p.V228F mutation showed up-regulation of genes involved in cell cycle control and development. Consistent with known sites of network pathology in dystonia, immunohistochemical studies indicated that Gα(olf) is highly expressed in the striatum and cerebellar Purkinje cells, and co-localized with corticotropin-releasing hormone receptors in the latter.
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