Recessive ataxia with ocular apraxia: review of 22 Portuguese patients.

Background: The recessive ataxias are a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by cerebellar ataxia associated with a number of different neurologic, ophthalmologic, or general signs. They are often difficult to classify in clinical terms, except for Friedreich ataxia, ataxia-telangiectasia, and a relatively small group of rare conditions for which the molecular basis has already been defined.

Objectives: To study the clinical presentation and to define diagnostic criteria in a group of Portuguese patients with ataxia and ocular apraxia, an autosomal recessive form without the essential clinical and laboratory features of ataxia-telangiectasia.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed 22 patients in 11 kindreds, identified through a systematic survey of hereditary ataxias being conducted in Portugal.

Results: Age at onset ranged from 1 to 15 years, with a mean of 4.7 years. The duration of symptoms at the time of last examination varied from 5 to 58 years. All patients presented with progressive cerebellar ataxia, the characteristic ocular apraxia, and a peripheral neuropathy. Associated neurologic signs included dystonia, scoliosis, and pes cavus. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 16 patients, all of whom showed cerebellar atrophy.

Conclusions: Ataxia with ocular apraxia may be more frequent than postulated before, and may be identified clinically using the following criteria: (1) autosomal recessive transmission; (2) early onset (for most patients in early childhood); (3) combination of cerebellar ataxia, ocular apraxia, and early areflexia, with later appearance of the full picture of peripheral neuropathy; (4) absence of mental retardation, telangiectasia, and immunodeficiency; and (5) the possibility of a long survival, although with severe motor handicap.