Severe brain calcification and migraine headache caused by SLC20A2 and PDGFRB heterozygous mutations in a five-year-old Chinese girl.

BACKGROUND: Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a rare inheritable neurodegenerative disease characterized by bilateral calcification in different brain regions and by a range of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Six causative genes of PFBC (SLC20A2, PDGFRB, PDGFB, XPR1, MYORG, and JAM2) have been identified. METHODS: Sanger sequencing was used to identify the causative genes associated with PFBC in this study. RESULTS: We describe the first PFBC case with both SLC20A2 and PDGFRB heterozygous mutations. Notably, this patient with the digenic mutation (who was only 5 years old) showed severe brain calcification and migraine, whereas the patient's parents, who each carried a heterozygous mutation in SLC20A2 or PDGFRB, exhibited varying degrees of brain calcification but were clinically asymptomatic. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the digenic influences on the characteristics of PFBC patients.