MedGen

GTP cyclohydrolase 1-deficient dopa-responsive dystonia (GTPCH1-deficient DRD) is characterized by childhood-onset dystonia and a dramatic and sustained response to low doses of oral administration of levodopa. This disorder typically presents with gait disturbance caused by foot dystonia, later development of parkinsonism, and diurnal fluctuation of symptoms (aggravation of symptoms toward the evening and alleviation of symptoms in the morning after sleep). Initial symptoms are often gait difficulties attributable to flexion-inversion (equinovarus posture) of the foot. Occasionally, initial symptoms are arm dystonia, postural tremor of the hand, or slowness of movements. Brisk deep-tendon reflexes in the legs, ankle clonus, and/or the striatal toe (dystonic extension of the big toe) are present in many affected individuals. In general, gradual progression to generalized dystonia is observed. Intellectual, cerebellar, sensory, and autonomic disturbances generally do not occur. [from GeneReviews]

DYT1 early-onset isolated dystonia typically presents in childhood or adolescence and only on occasion in adulthood. Dystonic muscle contractions causing posturing or irregular tremor of a leg or arm are the most common presenting findings. Dystonia is usually first apparent with specific actions such as writing or walking. Over time, the contractions frequently (but not invariably) become evident with less specific actions and spread to other body regions. No other neurologic abnormalities are present. Disease severity varies considerably even within the same family. Isolated writer's cramp may be the only sign. [from GeneReviews]

Kufor-Rakeb syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive form of juvenile-onset atypical Parkinson disease (PARK9) associated with supranuclear gaze palsy, spasticity, and dementia. Some patients have neuroradiologic evidence of iron deposition in the basal ganglia, indicating that the pathogenesis of PARK9 can be considered among the syndromes of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA; see 234200) (summary by Bruggemann et al., 2010). For a phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of Parkinson disease (PD), see 168600. Biallelic mutation in the ATP13A2 gene also causes autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia-78 (SPG78; 617225), an adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder with overlapping features. Patients with SPG78 have later onset and prominent spasticity, but rarely parkinsonism. Loss of ATP13A2 function results in a multidimensional spectrum of neurologic features reflecting various regions of the brain and nervous system, including cortical, pyramidal, extrapyramidal, brainstem, cerebellar, and peripheral (summary by Estrada-Cuzcano et al., 2017). [from OMIM]

Aceruloplasminemia is characterized by iron accumulation in the brain and viscera. The clinical triad of retinal degeneration, diabetes mellitus (DM), and neurologic disease is seen in individuals ranging from age 30 years to older than 70 years. The neurologic findings of movement disorder (blepharospasm, grimacing, facial and neck dystonia, tremors, chorea) and ataxia (gait ataxia, dysarthria) correspond to regions of iron deposition in the brain. Individuals with aceruloplasminemia often present with anemia prior to onset of DM or obvious neurologic problems. Cognitive dysfunction including apathy and forgetfulness occurs in more than half of individuals with this condition. [from GeneReviews]

SGCE myoclonus-dystonia (SGCE-M-D) is a movement disorder characterized by a combination of rapid, brief muscle contractions (myoclonus) and/or sustained twisting and repetitive movements that result in abnormal postures (dystonia). The myoclonic jerks typical of SGCE-M-D most often affect the neck, trunk, and upper limbs with less common involvement of the legs. Approximately 50% of affected individuals have additional focal or segmental dystonia, presenting as cervical dystonia and/or writer's cramp. Non-motor features may include alcohol abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety disorders. Symptom onset is usually in the first decade of life and almost always by age 20 years, but ranges from age six months to 80 years. Most affected adults report a dramatic reduction in myoclonus in response to alcohol ingestion. SGCE-M-D is compatible with an active life of normal span. [from GeneReviews]

Collagen VI-related dystrophies (COL6-RDs) represent a continuum of overlapping clinical phenotypes with Bethlem muscular dystrophy at the milder end, Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD) at the more severe end, and a phenotype in between UCMD and Bethlem muscular dystrophy, referred to as intermediate COL6-RD. Bethlem muscular dystrophy is characterized by a combination of proximal muscle weakness and joint contractures. Hypotonia and delayed motor milestones occur in early childhood; mild hypotonia and weakness may be present congenitally. By adulthood, there is evidence of proximal weakness and contractures of the elbows, Achilles tendons, and long finger flexors. The progression of weakness is slow, and more than two thirds of affected individuals older than age 50 years remain independently ambulatory indoors, while relying on supportive means for mobility outdoors. Respiratory involvement is not a consistent feature. UCMD is characterized by congenital weakness, hypotonia, proximal joint contractures, and striking hyperlaxity of distal joints. Decreased fetal movements are frequently reported. Some affected children acquire the ability to walk independently; however, progression of the disease results in a loss of ambulation by age ten to eleven years. Early and severe respiratory insufficiency occurs in all individuals, resulting in the need for nocturnal noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in the form of bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) by age 11 years. Intermediate COL6-RD is characterized by independent ambulation past age 11 years and respiratory insufficiency that is later in onset than in UCMD and results in the need for NIV in the form of BiPAP by the late teens to early 20s. In contrast to individuals with Bethlem muscular dystrophy, those with intermediate COL6-RD typically do not achieve the ability to run, jump, or climb stairs without use of a railing. [from GeneReviews]

ATP1A3-related disorder consists of heterogenous overlapping clinical findings that pertain to the four most common historically defined phenotypes: alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC); cerebellar ataxia, areflexia, pes cavus, optic atrophy, sensorineural hearing loss (CAPOS) syndrome; relapsing encephalopathy with cerebellar ataxia (RECA) / fever-induced paroxysmal weakness and encephalopathy (FIPWE); and rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism (RDP). These phenotypes exist on a spectrum and should be regarded as classifications of convenience. AHC is characterized by onset prior to age 18 months of paroxysmal hemiplegic episodes, predominately involving the limbs and/or the whole body, lasting from minutes to hours to days (and sometimes weeks) with remission only during sleep, only to resume after awakening. Although paroxysmal episodic neurologic dysfunction predominates early in the disease course, with age increasingly persistent neurologic dysfunction predominates, including oculomotor apraxia and strabismus, dysarthria, speech and language delay, developmental delay, and impairment in social skills. Other system involvement may include cardiovascular (cardiac conduction abnormalities) and gastrointestinal (constipation, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain) manifestations. CAPOS syndrome presents in infancy or childhood (usually ages 6 months to 5 years) with cerebellar ataxia during or after a fever. The acute febrile encephalopathy may include hypotonia, flaccidity, nystagmus, strabismus, dysarthria/anarthria, lethargy, loss of consciousness, and even coma. Usually, considerable recovery occurs within days to weeks; however, persistence of some degree of ataxia and other manifestations is typical. RECA/FIPWE primarily presents with fever-induced episodes (infancy to age 5 years); however, first episodes can occur occasionally in young adults during illnesses such as mononucleosis. Recurrent fever-induced episodes may be ataxia-dominated RECA-like motor manifestations or FIPWE-like non-motor manifestations (encephalopathy) and can vary among affected individuals. Notably, RECA-like and FIPWE-like manifestations can occur in the same individual in different episodes. In some individuals episodes seem to decrease in frequency and severity over time, whereas others might experience worsening of manifestations. RDP presents in individuals ages 18 months to 60 years and older with dystonia that is typically of abrupt onset over hours to several weeks, though some individuals report gradual onset over the course of months. A stress-related trigger is identifiable in up to 75% of individuals. Dystonia rarely improves significantly after onset; some individuals report mild improvement over time, whereas others can experience subsequent episodes of abrupt worsening months to years after onset. Limbs are usually the first to be affected, although by the time of diagnosis – typically many years after onset – individuals most commonly display a bulbar-predominant generalized dystonia. Exceptions are common and a rostrocaudal gradient is rare rather than typical. Migraines and seizures are also observed. [from GeneReviews]

Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is characterized by vascular findings (cerebral, thoracic, and abdominal arterial aneurysms and/or dissections), skeletal manifestations (pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum, scoliosis, joint laxity, arachnodactyly, talipes equinovarus, and cervical spine malformation and/or instability), craniofacial features (hypertelorism, strabismus, bifid uvula / cleft palate, and craniosynostosis that can involve any sutures), and cutaneous findings (velvety and translucent skin, easy bruising, and dystrophic scars). Individuals with LDS are predisposed to widespread and aggressive arterial aneurysms and pregnancy-related complications including uterine rupture and death. Individuals with LDS can show a strong predisposition for allergic/inflammatory disease including asthma, eczema, and reactions to food or environmental allergens. There is also an increased incidence of gastrointestinal inflammation including eosinophilic esophagitis and gastritis or inflammatory bowel disease. Wide variation in the distribution and severity of clinical features can be seen in individuals with LDS, even among affected individuals within a family who have the same pathogenic variant. [from GeneReviews]

Individuals with aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency typically have complex symptoms, including motor, behavioral, cognitive, and autonomic findings. Symptom onset is in early infancy, typically within the first six months of life. The most common initial symptoms are often nonspecific, and include feeding difficulties, hypotonia, and developmental delay. More specific symptoms include oculogyric crises (which occur in the vast majority of affected individuals, typically starting in infancy), movement disorders (especially dystonia), and autonomic dysfunction (excessive sweating, temperature instability, ptosis, nasal congestion, hypoglycemic episodes). Sleep disturbance is present in a majority of affected individuals and can include insomnia, hypersomnia, or both. Mood disturbance, including irritability and anxiety, are also common. Brain MRI is typically either normal or may demonstrate nonspecific abnormalities, such as mild diffuse cerebral atrophy or delayed myelination. Seizures are an uncommon finding, occurring in fewer than 5% of affected individuals. [from GeneReviews]

Torticollis is a twisted neck as a result of shortening of sternocleidomastoid muscle. This short and fibrotic muscle pulls the head laterally and rotates the chin and face to the opposite end. Facial asymmetry may be a manifestation (summary by Engin et al., 1997). [from OMIM]

Familial paroxysmal nonkinesigenic dyskinesia (PNKD) is characterized by unilateral or bilateral involuntary movements. Attacks are typically precipitated by coffee, tea, or alcohol; they can also be triggered by excitement, stress, or fatigue, or can be spontaneous. Attacks involve dystonic posturing with choreic and ballistic movements, may be accompanied by a preceding aura, occur while the individual is awake, and are not associated with seizures. Attacks last minutes to hours and rarely occur more than once per day. Attack frequency, duration, severity, and combinations of symptoms vary within and among families. Age of onset is typically in childhood or early teens but can be as late as age 50 years. [from GeneReviews]

PCWH syndrome is a complex neurocristopathy that includes features of 4 distinct syndromes: peripheral demyelinating neuropathy (see 118200), central dysmyelination, Waardenburg syndrome, and Hirschsprung disease (see 142623) (Inoue et al., 2004). Inoue et al. (2004) proposed the acronym PCWH for this disorder. [from OMIM]

SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability (SYNGAP1-ID) is characterized by developmental delay (DD) or intellectual disability (ID) (100% of affected individuals), generalized epilepsy (~84%), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other behavioral abnormalities (=50%). To date more than 50 individuals with SYNGAP1-ID have been reported. In the majority DD/ID was moderate to severe; in some it was mild. The epilepsy is generalized; a subset of individuals with epilepsy have myoclonic astatic epilepsy (Doose syndrome) or epilepsy with myoclonic absences. Behavioral abnormalities can include stereotypic behaviors (e.g., hand flapping, obsessions with certain objects) as well as poor social development. Feeding difficulties can be significant in some. [from GeneReviews]

Torsion dystonia-6 (DYT6) is an autosomal dominant movement disorder characterized by early involvement of craniofacial muscles with secondary generalization often involving the arms, and laryngeal dystonia that causes speech difficulties (review by Djarmati et al., 2009). Blanchard et al. (2011) provided a review of dystonia-6 and the THAP1 gene. [from OMIM]

The autosomal dominant TRPV4 disorders (previously considered to be clinically distinct phenotypes before their molecular basis was discovered) are now grouped into neuromuscular disorders and skeletal dysplasias; however, the overlap within each group is considerable. Affected individuals typically have either neuromuscular or skeletal manifestations alone, and in only rare instances an overlap syndrome has been reported. The three autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorders (mildest to most severe) are: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C. Scapuloperoneal spinal muscular atrophy. Congenital distal spinal muscular atrophy. The autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorders are characterized by a congenital-onset, static, or later-onset progressive peripheral neuropathy with variable combinations of laryngeal dysfunction (i.e., vocal fold paresis), respiratory dysfunction, and joint contractures. The six autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasias (mildest to most severe) are: Familial digital arthropathy-brachydactyly. Autosomal dominant brachyolmia. Spondylometaphyseal dysplasia, Kozlowski type. Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, Maroteaux type. Parastremmatic dysplasia. Metatropic dysplasia. The skeletal dysplasia is characterized by brachydactyly (in all 6); the five that are more severe have short stature that varies from mild to severe with progressive spinal deformity and involvement of the long bones and pelvis. In the mildest of the autosomal dominant TRPV4 disorders life span is normal; in the most severe it is shortened. Bilateral progressive sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) can occur with both autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorders and skeletal dysplasias. [from GeneReviews]

A rare genetic congenital muscular dystrophy due to extracellular matrix protein anomaly. The disease has characteristics of early motor development delay and muscle weakness with mild elevation of serum creatine kinase that may be followed by progressive disease course with predominantly proximal muscle weakness and atrophy, motor development regress, scoliosis and respiratory insufficiency. There is evidence this disease is caused by compound heterozygous mutation in the ITGA7 gene on chromosome 12q13. [from SNOMEDCT_US]

Ogden syndrome (OGDNS) is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by postnatal growth failure, severely delayed psychomotor development, variable dysmorphic features, and hypotonia. Many patients also have cardiac malformations or arrhythmias (summary by Popp et al., 2015). [from OMIM]

KMT2B-related disorders include KMT2B-related dystonia (DYT-KMT2B), reported in 93% families, and KMT2B-related neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) that is non-dystonic, reported in 7% of families. DYT-KMT2B is a complex childhood-onset progressive movement disorder (median age of onset: 6 years; range: 0-43 years) typically evolving from lower-limb focal dystonia into generalized dystonia with prominent cervical, cranial, and laryngeal involvement. Communication difficulties secondary to articulation difficulties (dysarthria) and low speech volume (hypophonia) are common. Bulbar dysfunction can lead to impaired swallowing with an increased risk of aspiration and need for gastrostomy tube placement in some. Most individuals have additional neurologic or systemic manifestations including intellectual disability (ID) / developmental delay (DD), other movement disorders (myoclonus, spasticity, tremor, ataxia, eye movement abnormalities), and neurobehavioral/psychiatric manifestations (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.) Life expectancy is not known; however, individuals in the seventh decade of life have been reported. KMT2B-related NDD, sometimes described in family members of individuals with DYT-KMT2B, is characterized by DD and ID ranging from mild to severe. Additional findings can include bulbar dysfunction and neurobehavioral/psychiatric manifestations. Life expectancy is not known; to date, too few individuals have been reported. [from GeneReviews]

Spinocerebellar ataxia-35 (SCA35) is an autosomal dominant adult-onset neurologic disorder characterized by difficulty walking due to cerebellar ataxia. The age at onset ranges from teenage years to late adulthood, and the disorder is slowly progressive. Additional features may include hand tremor, dysarthria, hyperreflexia, and saccadic eye movements (summary by Guo et al., 2014). For a general discussion of autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxia, see SCA1 (164400). [from OMIM]

Leukoencephalopathy-dystonia-motor neuropathy syndrome is a peroxisomal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by spasmodic torticollis, dystonic head tremor, intention tremor, nystagmus, hyposmia, and hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism with azoospermia. Slight cerebellar signs (left-sided intention tremor, balance and gait impairment) are also noted. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows bilateral hyperintense signals in the thalamus, butterfly-like lesions in the pons, and lesions in the occipital region, whereas nerve conduction studies of the lower extremities shows a predominantly motor and slight sensory neuropathy. [from ORDO]