Первое описание семейного случая спиноцеребеллярной атаксии 14-го типа в России

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 14 (SCA14) is a rare neurodegenerative disease with a predominant cerebellar affection and autosomal dominant inheritance. A characteristic clinical presentation is slowly progressive cerebellar ataxia, hyperreflexia, cognitive impairment and movement disorders (dystonia and myoclonus). Clinical and genetic characteristics of the first familial case of SCA14 in Russia (a 77‑year‑old female patient) caused by heterozygous pathogenic mutation c.155G>C (p.Cys52Ser) in exon 1 in PRKCG gene (NM_002739.1) are presented. The total duration of the disease was 47 years, and the follow‑up period was 32 years. The disease phenotype corresponded to isolated ataxia with a slow rate of progression; brain MRI revealed atrophy of the cerebellar vermis and hemispheres, symmetrical hyperintensity of the dentate nucleus on T2‑weighted images. The features of the SCA14 clinical presentation and the effect of mutations in the regulatory and kinase domains of protein kinase C gamma on the formation of pure and complex phenotypes are discussed.Спиноцеребеллярная атаксия 14‑го типа (СЦА14) – редкое нейродегенеративное заболевание с преимущественным поражением мозжечка и аутосомно‑доминантным типом наследования. Характерная клиническая картина включает медленно прогрессирующую мозжечковую атаксию, гиперрефлексию, когнитивные и двигательные нарушения (дистония, миоклонус). Представлены клинико‑генетические характеристики первого семейного случая СЦА14 в России (пробанд – пациентка 77 лет), обусловленного патогенной гетерозиготной мутацией c.155G>C (p.Cys52Ser) в экзоне 1 гена PRKCG (NM_002739.1). Общая продолжительность заболевания составила 47 лет, катамнез наблюдения – 32 года. Фенотип заболевания соответствовал изолированной атаксии с медленным темпом прогрессирования, при проведении магнитно‑резонансной томографии головного мозга выявлены признаки атрофии червя и полушарий мозжечка, симметричный гиперинтенсивный сигнал от зубчатых ядер в режиме Т2. Обсуждаются особенности клинической картины СЦА14 и влияние мутаций в регуляторном и киназном доменах протеинкиназы С‑гамма на формирование изолированного и комплексного фенотипов

Manifestation of Huntington's disease pathology in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons

© 2016 Nekrasov et al.Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is an incurable hereditary neurodegenerative disorder, which manifests itself as a loss of GABAergic medium spiny (GABA MS) neurons in the striatum and caused by an expansion of the CAG repeat in exon 1 of the huntingtin gene. There is no cure for HD, existing pharmaceutical can only relieve its symptoms. Results: Here, induced pluripotent stem cells were established from patients with low CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, and were then efficiently differentiated into GABA MS-like neurons (GMSLNs) under defined culture conditions. The generated HD GMSLNs recapitulated disease pathology in vitro, as evidenced by mutant huntingtin protein aggregation, increased number of lysosomes/autophagosomes, nuclear indentations, and enhanced neuronal death during cell aging. Moreover, store-operated channel (SOC) currents were detected in the differentiated neurons, and enhanced calcium entry was reproducibly demonstrated in all HD GMSLNs genotypes. Additionally, the quinazoline derivative, EVP4593, reduced the number of lysosomes/autophagosomes and SOC currents in HD GMSLNs and exerted neuroprotective effects during cell aging. Conclusions: Our data is the first to demonstrate the direct link of nuclear morphology and SOC calcium deregulation to mutant huntingtin protein expression in iPSCs-derived neurons with disease-mimetic hallmarks, providing a valuable tool for identification of candidate anti-HD drugs. Our experiments demonstrated that EVP4593 may be a promising anti-HD drug

A 30-year history of MPAN case from Russia

We present a patient with progressive spastic ataxia, with dystonia and anarthria undiagnosed until detailed genetic analysis revealed an MPAN mutation. Highlighting the worldwide MPAN distribution, a 30 year history of absent diagnosis and the impact and cost saving of an early but detailed genetic analysis in complex progressive movement disorders, particularly the anarthric NBIA group

Sakharnyy diabet pri ataksii Fridreykha

Сочетание сахарного диабета (СД) с различными наследственными заболеваниями и синдромами считается одним из доказательств его генетической гетерогенности. В этиологической классификации СД выделены 2 основных синдрома, включающих СД 1 типа: синдром Вольфрама (DIDMOAD) и атаксия Фридрейха (АФ). Частота СД при АФ по разным данным не превышает 5% ? 10%. Активно изучаются молекулярно-генетические механизмы связи фратаксина с СД. Фратаксин ? белок, состоящий из 210 аминокислот и находящийся на внутренней мембране митохондрий. Взгляд на АФ как на митохондриальную болезнь может открыть новые подходы к терапии этого заболевания. Дальнейшие исследования должны пролить свет на роль фратаксина в патогенезе СД

Mental disorders in Huntington’s disease

untington’s disease (HD) is one of the most severe and fatal hereditary diseases of the nervous system. The paper outlines the history of studies of the disease, its key features and development mechanisms in terms of recent advances in molecular biology. The neuropsychiatric manifestations of HD, which are a major disabling factor, are characterized. Mental and emotional-volitional disorders are systematized; possible methods for correction of the clinical manifestations of HD are presented. A special emphasis is made on the fact that cooperation between different specialists and with a patient’s relatives is of importance in achieving the best treatment results. The authors present their experience in studying the psychopathological manifestations of HD at the Neurology Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, and the results of an integrated study of cognitive and neuropsychological characteristics of at-risk asymptomatic HD gene carriers, by using a battery of psychological tests and the newest methods of electroneurophysiology and neuroimaging, and conclude that there is a preclinical disease stage. The authors’ experience with pharmacotherapy for neuropsychiatric manifestations and cognitive deficit in HD patients is described

Genetic Variant in <i>GRM1</i> Underlies Congenital Cerebellar Ataxia with No Obvious Intellectual Disability

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) plays a crucial role in slow excitatory postsynaptic conductance, synapse formation, synaptic plasticity, and motor control. The GRM1 gene is expressed mainly in the brain, with the highest expression in the cerebellum. Mutations in the GRM1 gene have previously been known to cause autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxias. In this study, whole-exome sequencing of a patient from a family of Azerbaijani origin with a diagnosis of congenital cerebellar ataxia was performed, and a new homozygous missense mutation in the GRM1 gene was identified. The mutation leads to the homozygous amino acid substitution of p.Thr824Arg in an evolutionarily highly conserved region encoding the transmembrane domain 7, which is critical for ligand binding and modulating of receptor activity. This is the first report in which a mutation has been identified in the last transmembrane domain of the mGluR1, causing a congenital autosomal recessive form of cerebellar ataxia with no obvious intellectual disability. Additionally, we summarized all known presumable pathogenic genetic variants in the GRM1 gene to date. We demonstrated that multiple rare variants in the GRM1 underlie a broad diversity of clinical neurological and behavioral phenotypes depending on the nature and protein topology of the mutation