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Biomedical subjects

Andoni Echaniz-Laguna

Publications and source records attributed to Andoni Echaniz-Laguna.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

NDRG1-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT4D) with central nervous system involvement.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4D (CMT4D) is an autosomal recessive demyelinating polyneuropathy, associated with deafness exclusively found in Gypsies and resulting from a homozygous R148X mutation in the N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1). We report the detailed phenotypic study of a family without Gypsy ancestry, who presented with severe demyelinating polyneuropathy, deafness, subcortical white matter abnormalities on brain magnetic resonance imaging studies, and the R148X mutation in NDRG1. For the first time, central nervous system white matter lesions are demonstrated in CMT4D. This report extends the clinical knowledge of CMT4D and indicates that the role of the R148X mutation in NDRG1 in the central nervous system should be further studied.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Novel Lamp-2 gene mutation and successful treatment with heart transplantation in a large family with Danon disease.

Lysosome-associated membrane protein-2 deficiency (LAMP-2 deficiency), or Danon disease, is a rare X-linked lysosomal disease characterized by cardiomyopathy, vacuolar myopathy, and mental retardation. Less than 20 families with mutations of the Lamp-2 gene have been reported. We describe a family from Sardinia with eight affected patients (4 females and 4 males) and a novel mutation in exon 2 of the Lamp-2 gene (c.102_103delAG). Females developed isolated cardiomyopathy in adulthood, whereas males presented with cardiomyopathy, myopathy, and mental retardation before the age of 20 years. Cardiomyopathy was lethal in three females in their 40s and in three males before the age 20 years. One patient was successfully treated by heart transplantation with more than 5-year follow-up. This study demonstrates that Danon disease is a frequently fatal condition that is potentially treatable with heart transplantation.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

A study of three patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and a polyneuropathy resembling CIDP.

We report three patients with a syndrome that fulfilled clinical and laboratory criteria for definite chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) who failed immunosuppressive treatment and eventually developed progressive amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Mean disease duration was 23 months (13-38) before death. Two patients had a family history of ALS without mutations of the SOD1 gene. Postmortem examination in one patient showed an endoneurial infiltration of mononuclear cells in lumbar roots and distal and proximal peripheral nerves, mainly around myelinated fibers, with demyelination and axonal loss, consistent with CIDP. The spinal cord revealed severe neuronal loss in the anterior horn, axonal loss in the corticospinal tract, and large numbers of phagocytes in the anterior and lateral tracts, indicative of ALS. Whether demyelinating polyneuropathy was coincident with ALS or was a cause or consequence of motor neuron degeneration in these patients remains to be elucidated. This unusual combination may provide an important clue in elucidating the pathogenesis of ALS in some patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Muscular mitochondrial function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is progressively altered as the disease develops: a temporal study in man.

We performed repeated analysis of mitochondrial respiratory function in skeletal muscle (SM) of patients with early-stage sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS) to determine whether mitochondrial function was altered as the disease advanced. SM biopsies were obtained from 7 patients with newly diagnosed SALS, the same 7 patients 3 months later, and 7 sedentary controls. Muscle fibers were permeabilized with saponin, then skinned and placed in an oxygraphic chamber to measure basal and maximal adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-stimulated respiration rates and to assess mitochondrial regulation by ADP. We found that the maximal oxidative phosphorylation capacity of muscular mitochondria significantly increased, and muscular mitochondrial respiratory complex IV activity significantly decreased as the disease advanced. This temporal study demonstrates for the first time that mitochondrial function in SM in human SALS is progressively altered as the disease develops.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Nogo expression in muscle correlates with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis severity.

Nogo, a protein inhibiting axonal regeneration, exhibits a characteristic isoform-specific pattern of expression in skeletal muscle of transgenic mice and patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Here, the increased levels of Nogo-A or Nogo-B in muscle biopsies of 15 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients significantly correlated with the severity of clinical disability and with the degree of muscle fiber atrophy. Nogo-A immunoreactivity was observed selectively in atrophic slow-twitch type I fibers. These results suggest that Nogo expression in muscle is a marker of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis severity.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy in patients with liver transplantation.

We report two patients with orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) who developed a syndrome that fulfilled criteria for definite chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). One patient had OLT because of alcoholic cirrhosis and one following hepatitis C-induced hepatic failure. Both had immunosuppressive therapy, with cyclosporine and prednisolone in one case and tacrolimus in the other case. Treatment with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) significantly improved the neuropathy in both patients. In patients with OLT developing disabling sensorimotor neuropathies, CIDP should be considered as should the use of potentially beneficial immunosuppressive treatment.

Electrodiagnosis↗
PubMed2002

Mitochondrial respiratory chain function in skeletal muscle of ALS patients.

Evidence implicating mitochondrial dysfunction in the central nervous system of patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS) has recently been accumulating. In contrast, data on mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle in SALS are scarce and controversial. We investigated the in situ properties of muscle mitochondria in patients with early-stage SALS and sedentary (SED) controls using the skinned fiber technique to determine whether respiration of muscle tissue is altered in early-stage SALS in comparison with SED. Musculus vastus lateralis biopsies were obtained from 7 SED group members and 14 patients with early-stage SALS (mean disease duration, 9 months). Muscle fibers were permeabilized with saponine and then skinned and placed in an oxygraphic chamber to measure basal (V(0)) and maximal (V(max)) adenosine diphosphate-stimulated respiration rates and to assess mitochondrial regulation by adenosine diphosphate. Muscle oxidative capacity, evaluated with V(max), was identical in patients in the SALS and SED groups (V(0): SALS, 1.1 +/- 0.1; SED, 0.8 +/- 0.1, micromol 0(2). min(-1). gm(-1)dw and V(max): SALS, 3.1 +/- 0.3; SED, 2.5 +/- 0.3, micromol 0(2). min(-1). gm(-1)dw). This study shows an absence of large mitochondrial damage in skeletal muscle of patients with early-stage SALS, suggesting that mitochondrial dysfunction in the earlier stages of SALS is almost certainly not systemic.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed2002

Homozygous exon 7 deletion of the SMN centromeric gene (SMN2): a potential susceptibility factor for adult-onset lower motor neuron disease.

Mutations in the telomeric copy of the SMN gene (SMN1) are responsible for almost all infantile motor neuron disease (MND). In contrast, the role of the centromeric copy of the SMN gene (SMN2) in MND remains unclear. We searched for deletions of SMN1 and SMN2 in a group of 11 patients with sporadic adult-onset lower motor neuron disease (also referred to as "progressive muscular atrophy") and found an excess of patients carrying homozygous deletions of SMN2 exon 7 (36% versus 5% in the normal population). This result suggests that SMN2 deletions could act as a susceptibility factor for sporadic lower motor neuron disease in adults.

Adolescent↗