|
|
||||||||
From the Service de Génétique (Drs. Lesca, AttiaSobol, and Plauchu), Hôtel-Dieu, Lyon, and INSERM UMR 384 (Dr. BoespflugTanguy, E. EymardPierre), Faculté de Médecine, ClermontFerrand, France; Unit of Molecular Medicine (Drs. Santorelli, Cusmai, Di Capua, and Bertini), Bambino Gesù Childrens Hospital, C.S.S. Mendel Institute for Medical Genetics (Dr. Valente), and Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry (Dr. Leuzzi), University of Rome "La Sapienza," and Department of Pediatrics (Dr. Ponzone), University of Turin, Italy.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Enrico Bertini, Unit of Molecular Medicine, Bambino Gesù Childrens Hospital, Piazza San Onofrio, 4, I-00165 Rome, Italy; e-mail: ebertini{at}tin.it
Objective: To report clinical, neuroradiologic, neurophysiologic, and genetic findings on 16 patients from 11 unrelated families with a remarkable uniform phenotype characterized by infantile ascending hereditary spastic paralysis (IAHSP).
Methods: Sixteen patients from 11 families, originating from North Africa and Europe, who presented severe spastic paralysis and ascending progression were studied.
Results: Spastic paraplegia started in the first 2 years of life in most patients and extended to the upper limbs by the end of the first decade. The disease progressed to tetraplegia, anarthria, dysphagia, and slow eye movements in the second decade. The clinical course showed a long survival and preservation of intellectual skills. Clinical, neuroradiologic, and neurophysiologic findings were consistent with a relatively selective early involvement of the corticospinal and corticobulbar pathways. No signs of lower motor neuron involvement were observed, whereas motor evoked potentials demonstrated predominant involvement of the upper motor neurons. MRI was normal in young patients but showed brain cortical atrophy in the oldest, predominant in the motor areas, and T2-weighted bilateral hyperintense signals in the posterior arm of the internal capsule. The ALS2 gene, recently found mutated in consanguineous Arabic families with either an ALS2 phenotype or a juvenile-onset primary lateral sclerosis, was analyzed. Alsin mutations were found in only 4 of the 10 families, whereas haplotype analysis excluded the ALS2 locus in one family.
Conclusions: The syndrome of IAHSP is genetically heterogeneous, and no clinical sign can help to distinguish patients with and without Alsin mutations.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
A. Jacquier, S. Bellouze, S. Blanchard, D. Bohl, and G. Haase Astrocytic protection of spinal motor neurons but not cortical neurons against loss of Als2/alsin function Hum. Mol. Genet., June 15, 2009; 18(12): 2127 - 2139. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Hourani, T. El-Hajj, W.H. Barada, M. Hourani, and B.I. Yamout MR Imaging Findings in Autosomal Recessive Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., May 1, 2009; 30(5): 936 - 940. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. Mintchev, E. Zamba-Papanicolaou, K. A. Kleopa, and K. Christodoulou A novel ALS2 splice-site mutation in a Cypriot juvenile-onset primary lateral sclerosis family Neurology, January 6, 2009; 72(1): 28 - 32. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
F. Gros-Louis, J. Kriz, E. Kabashi, J. McDearmid, S. Millecamps, M. Urushitani, L. Lin, P. Dion, Q. Zhu, P. Drapeau, et al. Als2 mRNA splicing variants detected in KO mice rescue severe motor dysfunction phenotype in Als2 knock-down zebrafish Hum. Mol. Genet., September 1, 2008; 17(17): 2691 - 2702. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Kunita, A. Otomo, H. Mizumura, K. Suzuki-Utsunomiya, S. Hadano, and J.-E Ikeda The Rab5 Activator ALS2/alsin Acts as a Novel Rac1 Effector through Rac1-activated Endocytosis J. Biol. Chem., June 1, 2007; 282(22): 16599 - 16611. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
I. Thiffault, M. F. Rioux, M. Tetreault, J. Jarry, L. Loiselle, J. Poirier, F. Gros-Louis, J. Mathieu, M. Vanasse, G. A. Rouleau, et al. A new autosomal recessive spastic ataxia associated with frequent white matter changes maps to 2q33-34 Brain, September 1, 2006; 129(9): 2332 - 2340. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Hadano, S. C. Benn, S. Kakuta, A. Otomo, K. Sudo, R. Kunita, K. Suzuki-Utsunomiya, H. Mizumura, J. M. Shefner, G. A. Cox, et al. Mice deficient in the Rab5 guanine nucleotide exchange factor ALS2/alsin exhibit age-dependent neurological deficits and altered endosome trafficking Hum. Mol. Genet., January 15, 2006; 15(2): 233 - 250. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. Kanekura, Y. Hashimoto, Y. Kita, J. Sasabe, S. Aiso, I. Nishimoto, and M. Matsuoka A Rac1/Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/Akt3 Anti-apoptotic Pathway, Triggered by AlsinLF, the Product of the ALS2 Gene, Antagonizes Cu/Zn-superoxide Dismutase (SOD1) Mutant-induced Motoneuronal Cell Death J. Biol. Chem., February 11, 2005; 280(6): 4532 - 4543. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Kunita, A. Otomo, H. Mizumura, K. Suzuki, J. Showguchi-Miyata, Y. Yanagisawa, S. Hadano, and J.-E Ikeda Homo-oligomerization of ALS2 through Its Unique Carboxyl-terminal Regions Is Essential for the ALS2-associated Rab5 Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Activity and Its Regulatory Function on Endosome Trafficking J. Biol. Chem., September 10, 2004; 279(37): 38626 - 38635. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. Yamanaka, C. Vande Velde, E. Eymard-Pierre, E. Bertini, O. Boespflug-Tanguy, and D. W. Cleveland Unstable mutants in the peripheral endosomal membrane component ALS2 cause early-onset motor neuron disease PNAS, December 23, 2003; 100(26): 16041 - 16046. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Otomo, S. Hadano, T. Okada, H. Mizumura, R. Kunita, H. Nishijima, J. Showguchi-Miyata, Y. Yanagisawa, E. Kohiki, E. Suga, et al. ALS2, a novel guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small GTPase Rab5, is implicated in endosomal dynamics Hum. Mol. Genet., July 15, 2003; 12(14): 1671 - 1687. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |