Background/objectives: Axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 (CMT2) accounts for 24% of Hereditary Motor/Sensory Peripheral Neuropathies. CMT2 type GG, due to four distinct heterozygous mutations in the Golgi brefeldin A resistant guanine nucleotide exchange factor 1 () gene (OMIM 606483), was described in seven cases from four unrelated families with autosomal dominant inheritance. It is characterized by slowly progressive distal muscle weakness and atrophy, primarily affecting the lower limbs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
December 2024
Mutations in the 43 kDa transactive-response (TAR)-DNA-binding protein () are associated with 2-5% of familial Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) cases. TAR DNA-Binding Protein 43 (TDP-43) is an RNA/DNA-binding protein involved in several cellular mechanisms (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpinocerebellar ataxia (SCA)19/22 is a channelopathy caused by mutations in the KCND3 gene encoding for the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv4.3. In the present work, we report an Italian family harboring a novel KCND3 missense mutation characterized by ataxia and mild parkinsonism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal dementia (FDT) are progressive neurodegenerative disorders that, in several cases, overlap in clinical presentation, and genetic and pathological disease mechanisms. About 10-15% of ALS cases and up to 40% of FTD are familial, usually with dominant traits. ALS and FTD, in several cases, share common gene mutations, such as in , , , , , , and .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: The ALS diagnosis requires an integrative approach, combining the clinical examination and supporting tests. Nevertheless, in several cases, the diagnosis proves to be suboptimal, and for this reason, new diagnostic methods and novel biomarkers are catching on. The F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG)-PET could be a helpful method, but it still requires additional research for sensitivity and specificity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
August 2022
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
July 2022
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of the upper and lower motor neurons (MNs). About 10% of patients have a family history (familial, fALS); however, most patients seem to develop the sporadic form of the disease (sALS). (Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase-1) is the first studied gene among the ones related to ALS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKnown multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility variants can only explain half of the disease's estimated heritability, whereas low-frequency and rare variants may partly account for the missing heritability. Thus, here we sought to determine the occurrence of rare functional variants in a large Italian MS multiplex family with five affected members. For this purpose, we combined linkage analysis and next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based whole exome and whole genome sequencing (WES and WGS, respectively).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive degeneration of the corticospinal motor neurons, which ultimately leads to death. The repeat expansion in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 () represents the most common genetic cause of ALS and it is also involved in the pathogenesis of other neurodegenerative disorders. To offer insights into -mediated pathogenesis, we quantitatively analyzed the proteome of patient-derived primary skin fibroblasts from ALS patients carrying the mutation compared with ALS patients who tested negative for it.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare form of ALS characterized by age of symptom onset less than 25 years and a variable presentation.
Objective: To identify the genetic variants associated with juvenile ALS.
Design, Setting, And Participants: In this multicenter family-based genetic study, trio whole-exome sequencing was performed to identify the disease-associated gene in a case series of unrelated patients diagnosed with juvenile ALS and severe growth retardation.
Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a neurological condition characterized by the presence of intracranial calcifications, mainly involving basal ganglia, thalamus, and dentate nuclei. So far, six genes have been linked to this condition: SLC20A2, PDGFRB, PDGFB, and XPR1 inherited as autosomal-dominant trait, while MYORG and JAM2 present a recessive pattern of inheritance. Patients mainly present with movement disorders, psychiatric disturbances, and cognitive decline or are completely asymptomatic and calcifications may represent an occasional finding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the motor system. The etiology is still unknown and the pathogenesis remains unclear. ALS is familial in the 10% of cases with a Mendelian pattern of inheritance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSHOX haploinsufficiency causes 70-90% of Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) and 2-10% of idiopathic short stature (ISS). Deletions removing the entire gene or enhancers and point mutations in the coding region represent a well-established cause of haploinsufficiency. During diagnostic genetic testing on ISS/LWD patients, in addition to classic SHOX defects, five 5'UTR variants (c.
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