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Query: UMLS:C0004134 (ataxia)
 15,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We reported siblings with spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA 1), diagnosed by detection of the expansion of CAG repeat in SCA 1 gene on chromosome 6. They were a 55-year-old woman (patient 1) and a 51-year-old woman (patient 2). There were eleven patients among the four generations in their family. They were from Obanazawa City in Yamagata Prefecture, located in the north-west region of Japan. The mode of inheritance was autosomal dominant. We confirmed the expansions of CAG repeat in SCA 1 gene in both patients. Clinically, they showed cerebellar ataxia and pyramidal signs especially in the lower extremities. The Patient 1 showed progressive external ophthalmoplegia without nystagmus, generalized amyotrophy and choreic movement of the fingers in advanced stage. On X-ray CT scan or MRI, the brainstem and cerebellum of the patient 1 were mildly atrophic, while those of the patient 2 showed normal appearances. Olivopontocerebellar atrophy is essential histopathological feature of SCA 1. However, some cases exhibit normal appearances of the brainstem on radiological imagings, because the brainstem involvement is often mild in SCA 1 patients.
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PMID:[Siblings with spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA 1)--diagnosis by detecting the expansion of CAG repeat on chromosome 6p]. 792 69

Over the past few years, molecular neurogenetics has developed into one of the most promising and active research fields. The new discipline applies modern molecular genetic techniques to the investigation of classical neurological disorders. In the following article, a definition of neurogenetic disease is introduced, the molecular basis of four groups of neurogenetic disorders is described and recent diagnostic developments are presented. The first group of diseases is caused by trinucleotide expansions. "Expanding" trinucleotide repeats were not known to occur in any species until about three years ago. Today, disorders such as Huntington's disease, spinocerebellar ataxia type 1, fragile X mental retardation, spinobulbar muscular atrophy and myotonic dystrophy are all known to be caused by the expansion of trinucleotides. The second group is characterized by chromosomal deletions or uniparental disomies. Lissencephaly and the Miller-Dieker syndrome, Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes and Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies belong to this category. The third group includes those neurogenetic disorders that are mainly caused by point mutations such as the X-linked leukodystrophies, including Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease and adrenoleukodystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome type 1, familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, several types of craniosynostoses and some CNS tumor syndromes. Finally, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease are discussed as representatives of group four, i.e. genetically heterogeneous neurological disorders.
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PMID:Molecular basis and diagnosis of neurogenetic disorders. 796 63

Huntington's disease (HD) has recently been found to be caused by expansion of a trinucleotide (CAG) repeat within the putative coding region of a gene with an unknown function. We report here an analysis of HD mutation and the characteristics of its transmission in 36 HD families. CAG repeats on HD chromosomes were unstable when transmitted from parent to offspring. Instability appeared more frequent and stronger upon transmission from a male than from a female, with a clear tendency towards increased size. We have also found a significant inverse correlation (p = 0.0001) between the age of onset and the CAG repeat length. The observed scatter would, however, not allow an accurate individual prediction of age of onset. Three juvenile onset cases analysed had an HD mutation of paternal origin. In at least two of these cases a large expansion of the HD allele upon paternal transmission may explain the major anticipation observed. Our results suggest that several features of the expansion mutation in HD are similar to those previously observed for mutations of similar size in spinobulbar muscular atrophy and in myotonic dystrophy, and to those observed more recently in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 and in dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy, four diseases also caused by expansion of CAG repeats.
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PMID:Instability of CAG repeats in Huntington's disease: relation to parental transmission and age of onset. 806 15

We present two siblings with hereditary cortical cerebellar atrophy (CCA), who showed peculiar clinical features. Their unaffected parents are cousins. The mode of inheritance in this family was autosomal recessive. Both patients developed involuntary movement and ataxia during the fourth decade. The proband (patient 1) was the elder sister. She developed choreoathetoid involuntary movement and cerebellar ataxia at the age of 32. At the age of 39, she showed mental deterioration and marked gait disturbance due to severe ataxia and amyotrophy. At the age of 40, she took medication for hypertension. At the age of 42, she was bedridden and had generalized convulsions and dysautonomia. Involuntary movement continued until her death at age 44. She had amenorrhea since the age of 25 years. Neuropathological findings. The brain weighed 1,010 g. We found marked degeneration in the cerebellar cortex including the molecular, Purkinje cells, and granular cell layers, and in the inferior olivary nuclei. In the basal ganglia, the putamen and caudate nuclei were moderately affected, but the substantia nigra and globus pallidus were spared. The cerebral cortex was spared, but the cerebral white matter showed diffuse myelin pallor without fibrillary gliosis. In the pons, the volume of the tegmentum was moderately decreased, but the base was spared. The spinal cord was normal. The findings of the patient differed from those of the case originally reported by Gordon Holmes in 1907. Holmes autopsied a case showing severe degeneration in both the cerebellar cortex including all three layers and the inferior olivary nucleus as in our patient. However, the striatum of his case spared and the patient did not develop involuntary movement as did other patients. The patients presented here should be distinguished from Holmes' original case clinicopathologically.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Autosomal recessive hereditary cortical cerebellar atrophy with striatal degeneration--two siblings showing choreoathetoid movement, ataxia, dementia, and amenorrhea]. 806 39

To study gene loci and disease phenotypes, 18 families with dominant OPCA were subjected for linkage analysis to SCA1- or SCA2-linked microsatellites. Total individuals consisted of 190. Among them, 77 were affected. Consequently, 10 families were 6p-linked, 7 were 12q-linked, and one was type-undetermined. These results indicate that the majority of dominant OPCA in Japan are composed with these two genotypes. Clinically, these two disorders show progressive ataxia, Babinski reflexes, and terminal amyotrophy. Other common features in SCA1 were hyperreflexia, spasticity, mild nystagmus at early stage, slow saccade, and external ophthalmoparesis (EOP) at advanced stage. In contrast SCA2 showed progressive hyporeflexia and slow saccade from early stage. Moreover, choreiform movement, tremor, and rhythmic myoclonus were more frequent in the latter. Neuropathologically, dentate nucleus, brainstem motor nuclei, spinocerebellar tract were involved more severely in SCA1 than SCA2. Degeneration of substantia nigra is more marked in SCA2 than SCA1. These observations strongly indicate that there are correlations between genotypes and phenotypes in dominant OPCAs. Conversely, it is possible to diagnose these two genetic disorders from the clinico-pathological findings.
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PMID:[Linkage study of hereditary spinocerebellar ataxia, and probable correlation for the loci to the disease phenotypes]. 817 26

Three neurodegenerative diseases, Huntington's disease (HD), Kennedy's disease (hereditary spinobulbar muscular atrophy, SBMA), and type 1 spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA-1) have been found to share a common genetic defect: an unstable region of repeated CAG trinucleotides which are thought to be translated into a polyglutamine moiety. The unstable repeat regions occur near the N-termini of the predicted proteins for HD and SBMA, but the location of the CAG repeat region is not known for SCA-1. Each disease is notable for a relatively circumscribed region of central nervous system pathology, and the lack of predicted similarity of the abnormal proteins makes a common mechanism related to the function of each protein unlikely. In order to reconcile the similar genetic abnormalities with the disparities in phenotypes, we suggest a common thread with regard to the pathogenesis of neuronal death. We hypothesize that the mechanism of neurotoxicity in these diseases occurs not through the production of abnormal proteins, but by the generation of abnormal posttranslational cleavage products. These products, in part consisting of abnormally large polyglutamine moieties, act to disturb the cellular and mitochondrial milieu such that energy metabolism is impaired, rendering specific regions of the nervous system vulnerable, and resulting in the clinical phenotypes of HD, SBMA, and SCA-1. We offer this interpretation of recent genetic findings from a neurobiologic perspective, in addition to suggesting testable hypotheses concerning potential disease mechanisms.
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PMID:Trinucleotide repeats in neurologic diseases: an hypothesis concerning the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease, Kennedy's disease, and spinocerebellar ataxia type I. 819 20

The authors present the clinico-pathological findings in a member of a family residing in Akita Prefecture located in the north-eastern region of Japan. Four members in three generations of the family developed ataxia. The autopsied patient was a 42-year-old woman, who, at the age of 25, had developed progressive cerebellar ataxia with pyramidal spasticity and increased deep tendon reflexes predominant in the lower extremities. However, she retained fine movement of the hands and fingers and showed no dysarthria until the age of 35. She could no longer walk unassisted at 38 years old. She showed cerebellar ataxia in both hands and legs, dysarthria, bulging eyes, progressive extraoculomotor palsy with nystagmus, bradykinesia, sensory disturbance, and dystonia in the face, upper extremities, and fingers. Deep tendon reflexes were decreased, especially in the lower extremities. Subacute generalized muscular atrophy developed at the age of 39. She became bedridden and died of pneumonia. The clinical diagnosis was Type-2 of the entity known in Japan as Machado-Joseph disease. At neuropathological examination, the brain weight was 1,250 g. The spinocerebellar system including Clarke's column and the spinocerebellar tracts were degenerated, but the cerebellar cortex and inferior olivary nucleus were spared. Slight-to-moderate degeneration was observed in the pontocerebellar system. In the dentate nucleus, most of the neurons showed what is known in Japan as "grumose degeneration", but there was no neuronal loss or gliosis. The hilus of the dentate nucleus and the superior cerebellar peduncle were intact.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[An autopsied case of type 2 Machado-Joseph's disease or spino-pontine degeneration]. 821 97

Genetic considerations in movement disorders are described. 1) Familial parkinsonisms are heterogeneous; genes for two of them, 'Lubag' and Waisman syndrome have been mapped to X chromosome, though genes for others do not have been mapped. 2) The responsible gene for Huntington's disease has been cloned recently and named huntingtin. A (CAG)n repeat longer than the normal range was observed in huntingtin gene. The (CAG)n repeat appears to be located within the coding sequence of a predicted approximately 348 kD protein that is widely expressed but unrelated to any known gene. The expansion of an unstable trinucleotide CAG repeat are also the causes of hereditary neurodegenerative diseases such as X-linked bular and spinal muscular atrophy and spinocerebellar ataxia type 1. 3) There are various forms in hereditary dystonia. Although the responsible gene for idiopathic torsion dystonia, inherited as an autosomal dominant pattern, has been mapped to 9q 32-34, genes for others do not have been mapped. 4) The Gilles des la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is a hereditary, neuropsychiatric-neurobehavioral disorder with childhood onset that is characterized by motor and vocal tics. About 80% of the human genome could be excluded as possible site for the GTS gene by studies with over 600 DNA markers in an international collaborative effort, but actual localization has not yet been accomplished.
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PMID:[Genetics in movement disorders]. 827 74

We report a patient whose clinicopathological findings are compatible with those of the case reported by Menzel in 1891. This case was briefly reported by Kinoshita et al in 1967 as hereditary ataxia of Menzel type. But the concept of this disease has been confused, especially in the early investigations for the hereditary olivo-ponto-cerebellar atrophy (OPCA) in Japan. The Kinoshita's patient should be considered as the first Japanese case whose findings are identical with Menzel's report. This report represents a precise study of the case reported by Kinoshita et al. The patient was a 42-year-old Japanese woman. Her mother and one of her brothers suffered from the same disease. She began to experience progressive ataxia at the age of 30. At age 42, she was admitted to another hospital because of inability to walk and mental deterioration. Neurological examination revealed cerebellar ataxia in the extremities and trunk, childish personality change, dementia, diminished deep tendon reflexes with extensor plantar response bilaterally, slowness and hypokinesia in the movement, generalized muscular atrophy, and sensory disturbance prominent in deep sensory. She had no involuntary movement and dysautonomia. She had no retinal degeneration, nystagmus, nor progressive nuclear oculomotor palsy. She died of pneumonia. Neuropathological findings revealed brain weight of 850g.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[An autopsied Japanese case of hereditary olivo-ponto-cerebellar atrophy compatible with the original one of Menzel's report (1891)]. 833 24

Acrylamide (2-propenamide) monomer produces central-peripheral distal axonopathy in humans and some animal species. Its neurotoxicity is characterized by abnormal sensation, decreased motor strength, and ataxia. Acrylamide forms adducts with glutathione, proteins, and DNA. Recent studies demonstrated that acrylamide is metabolized to its epoxide, glycidamide (2,3-epoxy-1-propanamide). We studied the neurotoxicity potential of glycidamide in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals (groups of 6) were injected ip daily with either aqueous acrylamide or glycidamide at an acrylamide-equivalent dose of 50 mg/kg (0.70 mmol/kg). Both treatments resulted initially in the rats circling, which was followed by the onset of ataxia at 7-9 d and hindlimb paralysis at 12-14 d. Treated animals showed muscle wasting. At termination, acrylamide- and glycidamide-treated rats weighed 105% and 86% of initial weight, respectively, compared to 145% for controls. Animals were anesthetized and perfused with 10% neutral phosphate-buffered formalin 12 or 14 d after beginning of treatment. Both treatment groups exhibited similar neuropathologic changes in the central and peripheral nervous systems. More severe lesions were produced by glycidamide. A marked increase in the number of affected Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, which exhibited changes ranging from pyknosis to cell death, were present. The brainstem exhibited axonal degeneration with chromatolytic necrosis in midbrain medial and lateral reticular nuclei. The spinal cord was characterized by spongy form changes with vacuoles of different sizes in various levels. These results suggest that glycidamide is an active neurotoxic metabolite of acrylamide.
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PMID:Neurotoxicity of glycidamide, an acrylamide metabolite, following intraperitoneal injections in rats. 834 32


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