Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0016719 (Friedreich's ataxia)
 2,098 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Fine structural alterations of Schmidt-Lanterman incisures (SLI) were investigated in a series of 242 unselected sural nerve biopsies that had been examined for diagnostic purposes. The series included cases with Friedreich's ataxia, HSAN I, HMSN I-III, HMSN VI, tomaculous neuropathy, metachromatic leukodystrophy, ceroidlipofuscinosis, dysproteinemic neuropathies, and myotonic dystrophy, in addition to several neuropathies less-specifically classified as either of a predominantly demyelinating, axonal, or neuronal type. The following classification of SLI alterations is proposed: (A) abnormal inclusions; (B) changes in shape and dimension; and (C) modes of disintegration. Abnormal inclusions comprised membranous whorls, uniform and pleomorphous lysosome-like bodies, and accumulation of granular substances at the site of the major dense line, or granular deposits at the site of the intraperiod line of the myelin sheath. Variations of incisural shape and dimension included folding, dilatation, and pocket formation (compartmentalization). Disintegration at incisures comprised a fine, vesicular and a gross, vacuolar type. Various combinations of these changes were observed. The most frequent change consisted of membranous whorls, detected in SLI of 89 biopsies. They were most prominent in chloroquine neuropathy where they occurred in SLI as well as in the adaxonal and abaxonal cytoplasm of Schwann cells. Compartmentalization of the myelin sheath at incisures associated with formation of myelin loops was a frequent feature in myotonic dystrophy. It is concluded, that changes of incisural ultrastructure are sensitive indicators of human neuropathies offering clues to the type of the underlying pathomechanism.
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PMID:Fine structural evaluation of altered Schmidt-Lanterman incisures in human sural nerve biopsies. 155 44

Since the early days of mitochondrial medicine, it has been clear that optic atrophy is a very common and sometimes the singular pathological feature in mitochondrial disorders. The first point mutation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) associated with the maternally inherited blinding disorder, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), was recognized in 1988. In 2000, the other blinding disorder, dominant optic atrophy (DOA) Kjer type, was found associated with mutations in the nuclear gene OPA1 that encodes a mitochondrial protein. Besides these two non-syndromic optic neuropathies, optic atrophy is a prominent feature in many other neurodegenerative diseases that are now recognized as due to primary mitochondrial dysfunction. We will consider mtDNA based syndromes such as LHON/dystonia/Mitochondrial Encephalomyopahty Lactic Acidosis Stroke-like (MELAS)/Leigh overlapping syndrome, or nuclear based diseases such as Friedreich ataxia (mutations in FXN gene), deafness-dystonia-optic atrophy (Mohr-Tranebjerg) syndrome (mutations in TIMM8A), complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia (mutations in SPG7), DOA "plus" syndromes (mutations in OPA1), Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2A (CMT2A) with optic atrophy or hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy type VI (HMSN VI) (mutations in MFN2), and Costeff syndrome and DOA with cataract (mutations in OPA3). Thus, genetic errors in both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes often lead to retinal ganglion cell death, a specific target for mitochondrial mediated neurodegeneration. Many mechanisms have been studied and proposed as the bases for the pathogenesis of mitochondrial optic neuropathies including bioenergetic failure, oxidative stress, glutamate toxicity, abnormal mitochondrial dynamics and axonal transport, and susceptibility to apoptosis.
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PMID:Retinal ganglion cell neurodegeneration in mitochondrial inherited disorders. 1926 52

Hereditary optic neuropathies comprise a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders. Two subgroups can be formed: isolated hereditary optic atrophies and optic neuropathy as part of complex disorders. In group 1 of hereditary optic neuropathies, optic nerve dysfunction is typically the only manifestation of the disease. This group comprises autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive and X-linked recessive optic atrophy and the maternally inherited Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. Among the autosomal-dominant forms of optic atrophy, Kjer's disease is most frequently observed. In the second group of complex disorders, various neurologic and other systemic abnormalities are regularly observed. Most frequent in this group are mtDNA mutations, inherited peripheral neuropathies, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorders (CMT2A2, CMTX5), hereditary sensory neuropathy type 3 (HSAN3), Friedreich's ataxia, leukodystrophies, sphingolipidoses, ceroid-lipofuscinoses and neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation. We review current knowledge about the underlying genetic predispositions, the most urgent open questions and how this may affect our management of this heterogeneous group of disorders in the future.
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PMID:Genetic and phenotypic variability of optic neuropathies. 2354 52