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Natural history in proximal spinal muscular atrophy. Clinical analysis of 445 patients and suggestions for a modification of existing classifications.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the natural history in all types of proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and to propose a modified classification scheme that takes the long-term course of SMA into account. DESIGN: Patients with proximal SMA were studied prospectively and retrospectively in a genetic study that was based on clinical and family data. PATIENTS: Four hundred forty-five patients with SMA were ascertained since 1985 through various departments of neurology and neuropediatrics, institutes of human genetics, and the German muscular dystrophy association (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Muskelkranke, Freiburg, Germany). RESULTS: The study group was subdivided into patients with four types of SMA (ie, SMA types I, II, III, and IV) on the basis of achieved motor development and age at onset. Survival probabilities at 2, 4, 10, and 20 years of age were 32%, 18%, 8%, and 0%, respectively, in patients with SMA type I (those who were never able to sit) and 100%, 100%, 98%, and 77%, respectively, in patients with SMA type II (those who were able to sit but were unable to walk). Nineteen of 104 patients with SMA type II lost the ability to sit; this inability to sit was not of prognostic relevance. Patients with SMA type III (those who were able to walk [age at onset, younger than 30 years]) were subdivided into those with an age at onset before (SMA type IIIa) and after (SMA type IIIb) 3 years. The probabilities of being ambulatory at 10, 20, and 40 years after onset were 73%, 44%, and 34%, respectively, in patients with SMA type IIIa, and they were 97%, 89%, and 67%, respectively, in patients with SMA type IIIb. CONCLUSIONS: The definition of long-term characteristics of SMA is helpful in providing medical care to families with members who have SMA and also in providing important information for future genotype-phenotype studies and therapeutic trials of patients with SMA. Our data indicate that the widely used classification schemes did not consider the broad spectrum of SMA so a practical modification was suggested.

Child↗

Chronic spinal muscular atrophy of facioscapulohumeral type.

Chronic spinal muscular atrophy of FSH type affecting a mother and her son and daughter is reported. The relevant literature is reviewed and the relation between this conditon and Kugelberg-Welander (K-W) disease is discussed. Chronic spinal muscular atrophy of FSH type is considered to be a different entity from the eponymous K-W disease. Each type of muscular dystrophy, e.g. limb-girdle, FSH, distal, ocular, or oculopharyngeal type, has its counterpart of nuclear origin. A classification of the chronic spinal muscular atrophies is suggested following the classification of muscular dystrophy.

Action Potentials↗

Spinal muscular atrophy. Incidence in Iceland.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is among the commonest degenerative disorders of the nervous system in childhood. This is an inherited autosomal recessive disease which results in premature death of anterior horn cells of the spinal cord and is manifested by progressive weakness and atrophy of skeletal muscles. Few studies have looked at the frequency of the disease in a defined population. We identified all patients diagnosed with SMA in Iceland during a 15-year period. The diagnosis is based on typical symptoms and supported by results of electromyography/nerve conduction studies and muscle biopsy. The average annual incidence was 13.7 per 100,000 live births for all types of SMA, which is similar to that reported in other population-based studies.

Adolescent↗

Gastrointestinal radiologic manifestations of proximal spinal muscular atrophy (Kugelberg-Welander syndrome).

Proximal spinal muscular atrophy (Kugelberg-Welander syndrome) is a degenerating disease of the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord with atrophy of the proximal muscles resembling muscular dystrophy. The patient in this report exhibits radiographic features in the gastrointestinal tract similar to those seen in the muscular dystrophies, including myotonic dystrophy.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

Correlation between deletion patterns of SMN and NAIP genes and the clinical features of spinal muscular atrophy in Indian patients.

BACKGROUND: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder involving degeneration of anterior horn cells of spinal cord resulting in progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. AIMS: The molecular analysis of two marker genes for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) i.e, the survival motor neuron gene (SMN) and the neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein gene (NAIP) was conducted in 39 Indian patients with clinical symptoms of SMA. Out of these, 28 showed homozygous deletions and the phenotypic features of these SMA patients were compared with the corresponding genotypes. SETTINGS: A tertiary care teaching Hospital. DESIGN: This is a prospective hospital based study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was used to detect the deletion of exon 7 and exon 8 of SMN1 gene, as well as multiplex PCR for exon 5 and 13 of NAIP gene. RESULTS: Exons 7 and 8 of SMN and NAIP (exon 5) were homozygously deleted in 73% of SMA I and 27% of SMA II patients. SMN exon 7 and 8 deletions without NAIP deletions were seen in 27% of type I SMA and 46% of SMA type II patients. Two patients of type III SMA showed single deletion of SMN exon 7 along with 27% of SMA type II patients. CONCLUSION: With the advent of molecular biology techniques, SMN gene deletion studies have become the first line of investigation for confirmation of a clinical diagnosis of SMA. The findings of homozygous deletions of exons 7 and/or 8 of SMN1 gene confirms the diagnosis of SMA, even in patients with atypical clinical features. Deletions of NAIP gene were mainly seen in severely affected patients, hence is useful for predicting the prognosis.

Adolescent↗

[Clinical study of 83 cases with spinal muscular atrophy in children].

OBJECTIVE: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a common autosomal recessive disorder and represents one of the most common genetic causes of death in childhood. The last 10 years have seen major advances in the field of SMA, but no curative treatment is available so far. This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of SMA, improve the clinical diagnosis of SMA, and explore the importance of gene diagnosis and prenatal diagnosis of SMA by gene deletion analysis. METHODS: Totally 83 cases with SMA including 55 males and 28 females were enrolled in this study. The age was between 1 day and 14 years (average 23.7 months). The clinical characteristics and changes of electromyography were assessed in all cases. The muscular biopsy was performed in 2 of 83 cases. The deletion of survival of motor neuron gene (SMN) was detected by PCR and restriction endonuclease spectrum analysis in 13 of 83 cases. RESULTS: The 83 cases were subdivided into three clinical groups based on age of onset of symptom, age at death and achievement of certain motor milestone, 60 cases with type I, 19 cases with type II and 4 cases with type III. They were all characterized by symmetric muscle weakness (more proximal than distal) associated with atrophy, absence or marked decrease of deep tendon reflexes. Electromyographic studies showed a pattern of denervation with neither sensory involvement nor marked decrease of motor nerve conduction velocities in all cases. Muscle biopsy provided evidence of skeletal muscle denervation with groups of atrophy in 2 cases. The SMN detection revealed deletion of exon 7 and exon 8 in 11 of 13 cases, only lacking exon 7 in 1 of 13 cases and lacking exon 8 in 1 of 13 cases. CONCLUSION: SMA is characterized by degeneration of lower motor neuron associated with muscle paralysis and atrophy. The definite diagnosis of SMA will rely on the typical clinical characteristics, changes of electromyogram and muscle biopsy and gene deletion analysis. Gene diagnosis of SMA can provide a basis for prenatal diagnosis which is of great importance in preventing SMA.

Adolescent↗

Alterations in neurofilament mRNA in hereditary canine spinal muscular atrophy.

BACKGROUND: Hereditary canine spinal muscular atrophy (HCSMA) is a dominantly inherited motor neuron disease in which distal axonal caliber is reduced in lower motor neurons. Because several animal models show that neurofilament protein gene expression is a major determinant of axonal caliber, we began an examination of neurofilament gene expression in HCSMA early in the clinical disease to determine whether this family of proteins was selectively affected and could thus possibly contribute to the morphologic and functional alterations characteristic of the disease. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We used quantitative in situ hybridization to compare levels of mRNA encoding neurofilament protein subunits in lateral ventral horn neurons from the cervical spinal cord enlargement (C7-C8) in 10-week-old homozygous HCSMA and control dogs. Each slide contained a spinal cord section from a control and an HCSMA dog in order to make within-slide comparisons. The mean number of grains/neuron and the mean neuronal grain density for the HCSMA section were divided by that value for the control section on each slide. The means of these ratios for each mRNA species (i.e., neurofilament subunits and total polyadenylated mRNA (poly-A+) were then compared statistically. RESULTS: The levels of mRNA encoding the low molecular weight neurofilament protein subunit were significantly different from levels of mRNA encoding the high molecular weight neurofilament protein subunit and poly-A+ mRNA in dogs with HCSMA compared with control dogs. The neuronal levels of poly-A+ mRNA were comparable in dogs with HCSMA and controls. CONCLUSIONS: If neurofilament protein subunit levels are found to follow the mRNA levels in this animal model, our results would suggest that decreased expression of the low molecular weight neurofilament gene is sufficient to inhibit neurofilament function, i.e., maintenance of axonal caliber, probably by disrupting normal neurofilament assembly.

Animals↗

Finger cold-induced vasodilatation, sympathetic skin response, and R-R interval variation in patients with progressive spinal muscular atrophy.

To elucidate autonomic function in spinal muscular atrophy, we evaluated finger cold-induced vasodilatation, sympathetic skin response, and R-R interval variation in 10 patients with spinal muscular atrophy: 7 of type 1, 2 of type 2, and 1 of type 3. Results of finger cold-induced vasodilatation, sympathetic skin response, and R-R interval variation were compared with those of healthy children. Finger cold-induced vasodilatation was abnormal in 6 of 10 patients with spinal muscular atrophy; it was normal in the healthy children. The mean sympathetic skin response latency and amplitude did not differ significantly from those of the healthy children. Amplitudes of sympathetic skin response to sound stimulation were absent or low in all six patients with spinal muscular atrophy. No significant difference was found in the mean R-R interval variation of patients with spinal muscular atrophy and healthy children. Results show that some patients with spinal muscular atrophy have autonomic dysfunction, especially sympathetic nerve hyperactivity, that resembles dysfunction observed in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Adolescent↗

Two novel microsatellite markers for prenatal prediction of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Autosomal recessive spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has been mapped to a 6-cM interval on chromosome 5q12-13.3, flanked proximally by locus D5S6 and distally by locus D5S112. In this study we describe the isolation of two new microsatellite markers (EF1/2a and EF13/14) near locus D5S125, which lies 2 cM distal to D5S6. We show by linkage analysis and the study of the recombinants in 55 SMA pedigrees that the disease lies in the 4-cM interval between EF1/2a and D5S112. Fluorescence in situ analysis of cosmids from D5S6, EF1/2 and D5S112 confirms the genetic order and relative distance of markers. The microsatellites EF1/2a and EF13/14 are the first highly polymorphic PCR-based proximal markers in SMA to be described, and will be of value in prenatal prediction of the disorder.

Base Sequence↗

Molecular genetic analyses of five Vietnamese patients with spinal muscular atrophy.

Most patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have been reported to show homozygous deletion of the gene responsible for SMA, SMN1. However, whether SMA patients homozygous for the SMN1 deletion exist in Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, remains to be determined, because molecular genetic analyses of SMA patients from these countries have not been reported. In this preliminary study, we analyzed five Vietnamese SMA patients and found that SMN1 gene exons 7 and 8 were completely absent in one of them, a 6-month-old girl with hypotonic muscles. Thus, SMN1 deletion can be a cause of SMA in Vietnam, although other genetic abnormalities should be considered as etiological factors in many cases. In conclusion, we identified a homozygous deletion of the SMN1 gene in a Vietnamese SMA patient. Since the number of the patients analyzed in this study was very limited, it is too early to determine whether SMN1 deletion is not a main cause of SMA in Vietnam.

Adolescent↗

Deletion of SMN and NAIP genes in Korean patients with spinal muscular atrophy.

Childhood-onset proximal spinal muscular atrophies (SMAs) are an autosomal recessive, clinically heterogeneous group of neuronopathies characterized by selective degeneration of anterior horn cells. The causative genes to be reported are survival motor neuron (SMN) and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) genes. The deletion of telomeric copy of SMN (SMN(T)) gene was observed in over 95% of SMAs. The deletion rate of NAIP gene is 20-50% according to disease severity. The objective of this article is to genetically characterize the childhood-onset spinal muscular atrophy in Koreans. Five Korean families (14 constituents containing 5 probands) with SMA were included in this study. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were used for the deletion analysis of SMN(T). Multiplex PCR method was used for NAIP analysis. Four probands showed deletion of SMNT gene. Deletion of SMN(C) (centromeric SMN) gene was found in one proband who did not show the deletion of SMN(T) gene and in the father of one proband who showed the deletion of SMN(T) gene. The deletion of NAIP gene was not found among all the studied individuals. The extent of deletion in Koreans was smaller than that in other studied population. PCR-RFLP deletion analysis can be applied to diagnose SMA and make a prenatal diagnosis.

Adolescent↗

[Progressive infantile spinal muscular atrophy. Report of 12 cases].

Twelve children with progressive spinal muscular atrophy were seen at Santo Antonio Children Hospital, Porto Alegre. Diagnosis was based on neurological evaluation, serum enzymes, electroneuromyography and muscle biopsy. Several aspects are discussed by the authors, especially those concerning the presentation mode of the illness and the laboratory investigation. Our results are reviewed under the light of the current literature.

Child, Preschool↗

Gene for chronic proximal spinal muscular atrophies maps to chromosome 5q.

Proximal spinal muscular atrophies represent the second most common fatal, autosomal recessive disorder after cystic fibrosis. The childhood form is classically subdivided into three groups: acute Werdnig-Hoffmann (type I), intermediate Werdnig-Hoffmann disease (type II) and Kugelberg-Welander disease (type III). These different clinical forms have previously been attributed to either genetic heterogeneity or variable expression of different mutations at the same locus. Research has been hindered because the underlying biochemical defect is unknown, and there are insufficient large pedigrees with the most common and severe form (type I) available for study. Therefore, we have undertaken a genetic linkage analysis of the chronic forms of the disease (types II and III) as an initial step towards the ultimate goal of characterizing the gene(s) responsible for all three types. We report here the assignment of the locus for the chronic forms to the long arm of chromosome 5 (5q12-q14), with the anonymous DNA marker D5S39, in 24 multiplex families of distinct ethnic origin. Furthermore, no evidence for genetic heterogeneity was found for types II and III in our study, suggesting that these two forms are allelic disorders.

Chromosome Mapping↗