Retinal Thinning as a Marker of Disease Severity in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

Objective@#Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) involves a variety of visual symptoms that are thought to be partially caused by structural abnormalities of the retina. However, the relationship between retinal structural changes, disease severity, and intracranial alterations remains unknown. We investigated distinct retinal thinning patterns and their relationship with clinical severity and intracranial alterations in a PSP cohort. @*Methods@#We enrolled 19 patients with PSP (38 eyes) and 20 age-matched healthy controls (40 eyes). All of the participants underwent peripapillary and macular optical coherence tomography. Brain 11C-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-fluorophenyl) tropane (11C-CFT) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography imaging were also performed in patients with PSP. We investigated the association between retinal thickness changes and clinical features, striatal dopamine transporter availability, and cerebral glucose metabolism. @*Results@#The peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and macula were significantly thinner in patients with PSP than in controls. The thickness of the superior sector of the pRNFL demonstrated a significant negative relationship with the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III and Hoehn and Yahr staging scale scores. A significant negative correlation was found between outer inferior macular thickness and disease duration. Outer temporal macular thickness was positively correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores. In PSP, lower outer temporal macular thickness was also positively correlated with decreased dopamine transporter binding in the caudate. @*Conclusion@#The pRNFL and macular thinning may be candidate markers for monitoring disease severity. Additionally, macular thinning may be an in vivo indicator of nigrostriatal dopaminergic cell degeneration in PSP patients.

Genetic analysis of a pedigree affected with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the genetic basis for a pedigree affected with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy presenting as spastic paraplegia of the lower limbs.@*METHODS@#Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the patient and his mother. Potential variant was detected with a panel for genes associated with spastic paraplegia. Candidate variant was verified by PCR and Sanger sequencing.@*RESULTS@#Both the proband and his mother presented with walking difficulty. A previously known variant, c.623T to A (p.V208E), was identified in the ABCD1 gene mapped on chromosome X in both.@*CONCLUSION@#X-link adrenoleukodystrophy should be taken into account as a possible diagnosis for this pedigree.

Analysis of a patient with early-onset Parkinson's disease and PARK7 gene variation / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the genetic basis of a patient with early-onset Parkinson disease from a consanguineous family.@*METHODS@#Homozygosity mapping and Sanger sequencing of cDNA were used to identify the causative mutation.@*RESULTS@#A homozygous missense variation (c.56C>G, p.Thr19Arg) in the PARK7 gene was identified in the patient. In silico analysis suggested the c.56C>G variation to be pathogenic.@*CONCLUSION@#Homozygous c.56C>G variation of the PARK7 gene was the disease-causing variation in this family.

A Novel Homozygous CAPN1 Pathogenic Variant in a Chinese Patient with Pure Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia

No abstract available.

Genetic analysis of a pedigree affected with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy / 中华医学遗传学杂志

Objective@#To explore the genetic basis for a pedigree affected with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy presenting as spastic paraplegia of the lower limbs.@*Methods@#Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the patient and his mother. Potential variant was detected with a panel for genes associated with spastic paraplegia. Candidate variant was verified by PCR and Sanger sequencing.@*Results@#Both the proband and his mother presented with walking difficulty. A previously known variant, c. 623T>A (p.V208E), was identified in the ABCD1 gene mapped on chromosome X in both.@*Conclusion@#X-link adrenoleukodystrophy should be taken into account as a possible diagnosis for this pedigree.

Analysis of a patient with early-onset Parkinson’s disease and PARK7 gene variation / 中华医学遗传学杂志

Objective@#To explore the genetic basis of a patient with early-onset Parkinson disease from a consanguineous family.@*Methods@#Homozygosity mapping and Sanger sequencing of cDNA were used to identify the causative mutation.@*Results@#A homozygous missense variation (c.56C>G, p. Thr19Arg) in the PARK7 gene was identified in the patient. In silico analysis suggested the c. 56C>G variation to be pathogenic.@*Conclusion@#Homozygous c. 56C>G variation of the PARK7 gene was the disease-causing variation in this family.

Genetic study of a Parkinson's disease pedigree caused by compound heterozygous mutations in PARK2 gene / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the genetic basis for a Chinese pedigree where three siblings were affected with Parkinson's disease.@*METHODS@#Multiple ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) were employed to detect the causative mutation. Sanger sequencing of cDNA was also used for verify the effect of mutation on the transcription of RNA.@*RESULTS@#Heterozygous deletion of exon 3 of the PARK2 gene was detected by MLPA, while a heterozygous splice site variant c.619-3G>C was detected by NGS. Both mutations were shown to result in aberrant transcripts of the PARK2 gene (loss of exons 3 and 6, respectively) by Sanger sequencing of cDNA. Both mutations have co-segregated with the disease in the pedigree.@*CONCLUSION@#Compound heterozygous mutations of the PARK2 gene probably underlie the disease in this pedigree. Identification of the splice site variant c.619-3G>C has expanded the mutation spectrum of the PARK2 gene.

Relationship between sialorrhea and dysphagia in Chinese patients with Parkinson′s disease / 中华神经科杂志

Objective To explore the prevalence of sialorrhea and its clinical correlation with dysphagia in Chinese patients with Parkinson′s disease ( PD ).Methods One hundred and sixteen consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of PD were selected.Demographic data included sex , age, years of education, age at onset of PD, clinical genotype, disease duration, treatment, Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage.Sialorrhea was assessed using the Unified Parkinson′s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Ⅱitem number 6.All patients were studied with videofluoroscopic study of swallowing ( VFSS).Results The prevalence rate of sialorrhea in PD was 59.5% (69/116, 95% CI 50.6%-68.4%).Males were more likely to develop sialorrhea than females (47/70 vs 22/46,χ2 =4.298, P=0.038).PD patients′sialorrhea correlated with oral dysphagia:with food leaking from the mouth ( liquid r=0.229, P=0.014; juice r=0.197, P=0.034;pudding viscosities r=0.231, P=0.013;solid food r=0.255, P=0.006), with more than 1 ml of oral food residues (liquid r=0.319, P<0.01;solid food r=0.185, P=0.047), with delay in food transfer to the root of the tongue (liquid r=0.279, P=0.002; juice r=0.209, P=0.024), and delayed swallow transfer ( pudding viscosities r=0.257, P=0.005).Sialorrhea score was not related to H&Y stage, clinical course and levodopa equivalent doses (LED).The prevalence rate of dysphagia in PD was 87.1%(95% CI 81.0% -93.2%).Liquid was more likely to cause pharyngeal dysphagia ( P=0.03).With the increase in H&Y stage , so did the oral and pharyngeal stages of dysphagia.Late and mid-course was more likely to develop oral and pharyngeal dysphagia than those with early clinical course .Conclusions Sialorrhea and dysphagia are common non-motor symptoms in PD patients.Sialorrhea is more prevalent in males and correlates with oral phase of dysphagia.Liquid is more likely to cause pharyngeal dysphagia.With increase in H&Y stage , so did oral and pharyngeal dysphagia.Even though late clinical course is more likely to develop oral and pharyngeal dysphagia than early clinical course , the comparison between late and intermediate clinical courses does not reach statistical significance .

Genetic and clinical analysis in a Parkinson's disease family caused by expansion of SCA2 / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the clinical and genetic features of a family with Parkinson's disease caused by expansion of CAG triplet repeat in the ATXN2 gene.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The CAG/CAA repeat in the ATXN2 gene was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Molecular testing has documented a pathological heterozygous expansion of the CAG repeat from 33 to 35 in 6 patients and other 8 family members. Two patients had pure CAG triplet repeat expansion in their ATXN2 gene, while others had CAA interruption.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Expanded CAG/CAA repeat in the ATXN2 gene is the causative mutation of the disease in this family.The 8 members with expanded CAG/CAA repeat may be asymptomatic patients. It is supposed that the number and configuration of the ATXN2 CAG/CAA repeat expansion may play an important role in the phenotypic variability of Parkinson's disease.</p>