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Prevalence of type I spinal muscular atrophy in North Dakota.

In order to establish the incidence and prevalence of type I spinal muscular atrophy (SMA Werdnig-Hoffmann disease) in North Dakota, we reviewed the death certificates for the past 8 years. Between 1980 and 1987 the prevalence of was 1.5 per 10,000. The incidence was 1 in 6,720. This suggests a carrier frequency of 1 in 41 in North Dakota with a gene frequency of 0.0122. In North Dakota, type I spinal muscular atrophy appears to be 3 to 10 times more common than in other locations.

Death Certificates↗

Duplex PCR for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of spinal muscular atrophy.

The main difficulty in developing a molecular diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) resides in the specific genomic structure of the locus. Indeed, two highly homologous survival motor neurone genes, SMN1 and SMN2, are present at the locus. The detection of the homozygous deletion of exons 7 and 8 of the SMN1 gene, which is present in 90 to 98% of the patients, is based on methods highlighting 1 of the 8 nucleotidic mismatches existing between these 2 genes. In order to offer preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for SMA, we developed a new allele-specific amplification method. The main disadvantage of our previously described strategy resided in the possibility of diagnosing, in case of amplification failure, an unaffected embryo as affected. We present here a new PGD-SMA method. We established the conditions for three different duplex PCRs, allowing the specific detection of the SMN1 gene and one polymorphic marker, either D5S629, D5S1977, or D5S641. Of the 60 to 90 single cells tested, the PCR efficiency varied from 98 to 100% with a complete genotype obtained in a range between 81 and 87% with a global allele drop-out rate of 9%. Such a test was used to perform 1 PGD cycle for which 7 embryos could be analysed. All the embryos were fully diagnosed, six as unaffected and one as affected. Four embryos were transferred, but no pregnancy ensued.

Adult↗

Diaphragmatic spinal muscular atrophy with bulbar weakness.

We present the clinical and histopathological features of a child affected by diaphragmatic spinal muscular atrophy. The child was born with mild distal arthrogryposis, mild hypotonia and developed marked diaphragmatic and bulbar muscle weakness in the first week of life. Electrophysiological and pathological investigations performed at presentation were not conclusive, while the investigations performed at 3 months showed a clear neurogenic picture. Genetic studies excluded involvement of the SMN gene, or of other genes located on chromosome 5q, confirming that this syndrome represents a different entity from typical proximal spinal muscular atrophy.

Bulbar Palsy, Progressive↗

Prevention of pectus excavatum for children with spinal muscular atrophy type 1.

To demonstrate the elimination of pectus excavatum and promotion of more normal lung growth and chest wall development by the use of high-span positive inspiratory pressure plus positive end-expiratory pressure (PIP+PEEP), patients with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 with paradoxical breathing were placed on high-span PIP+PEEP when sleeping from the point of diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy. Although the appearance of pectus excavatum is ubiquitous in untreated infants with spinal muscular atrophy type 1, after institution of high-span PIP+PEEP, pectus resolves and lungs and chest walls grow more normally. High-span PIP+PEEP is indicated for all infants diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy who demonstrate paradoxical breathing for the purpose of promoting more normal lung and chest development.

Child↗

Erroneous diagnosis corrected after 28 years. Not spinal muscular atrophy with ophthalmoplegia but minicore myopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To correct, after 28 years, the previously reported diagnosis of ophthalmoplegia in a patient with presumed childhood spinal muscular atrophy. DESIGN: Clinical follow-up, laboratory, electrophysiologic, and muscle biopsy data are provided. RESULTS: The findings of clinical follow-up examination, electrophysiologic tests, and histologic examination of muscle specimens led to a revised diagnosis of minicore myopathy. CONCLUSIONS: Spinal muscular atrophy was diagnosed in 1967, before histochemical techniques for examining muscle tissue and quantitative electromyography became widely available. Modern laboratory techniques later made the diagnosis of minicore myopathy possible. Progressive external ophthalmoplegia has been described in 24% of patients with minicore myopathy, but there have been only 7 reports of ophthalmoplegia with spinal muscular atrophy since 1954, and some of these diagnoses have been questioned.

Adult↗

Deletions causing spinal muscular atrophy do not predispose to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive, invariably lethal disease resulting from the premature death of motor neurons of the motor cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord. In approximately 15% of familial ALS cases, the copper/zinc superoxide dismutase gene is mutated; a juvenile form of familial ALS has been linked to chromosome 2. No cause has been identified in the remaining familial ALS cases or in sporadic cases and the selective neurodegenerative mechanism remains unknown. Deletions in 2 genes on chromosome 5q, SMN (survival motor neuron gene) and NAIP (neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein gene), have been identified in spinal muscular atrophy, a disease also characterized by the loss of motor neurons. These genes are implicated in the regulation of apoptosis, a mechanism that may explain the cell loss found in the brains and spinal cords of patients with ALS. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the mutations causing neurodegeneration in spinal muscular atrophy are present in patients with ALS in whom the copper/zinc superoxide dismutase gene is not mutated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients in whom ALS was diagnosed were screened for mutations in the SMN and NAIP genes by single strand conformation analysis. RESULTS: We found 1 patient with an exon 7 deletion in the SMN gene; review of clinical status confirmed the molecular diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy. No mutations were found in the remaining patients. CONCLUSION: The SMN and NAIP gene mutations are specific for spinal muscular atrophy and do not predispose individuals to ALS.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗

Linkage analysis in the spinal muscular atrophy type of facioscapulohumeral disease.

Facioscapulohumeral disease is probably a heterogeneous disorder. We have ascertained and sampled two multigeneration families with the neurogenic form of this disorder, considered to be a type of spinal muscular atrophy (FSHSMA). The two families have 36 affected members. Linkage studies with 10 expressed and seven DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers failed to show significant linkage (Zmax greater than or equal to 3.00). However, two areas of probable linkage were defined on chromosomes 1p and 4q with the markers MNS (Zmax = 1.47 at theta max = 0.10) and PGM1 (Zmax = 0.94 at theta max = 0.001) respectively. We are using additional RFLPs from these and other areas of the human genome to screen these families for linkage to FSHSMA.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Molecular analysis of survival motor neuron (SMN) and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) genes of spinal muscular atrophy patients and their parents.

We have assayed deletions of two candidate genes for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the survival motor neuron (SMN) and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) genes, in 101 patients from 86 Chinese SMA families. Deletions of exons 7 and 8 of the telomeric SMN gene were detected in 100%, 78.6%, 96.6%, and 16.7%, in type I, II, III, and adult-onset SMA patients, respectively. Deletion of exon 7 only was found in eight type II and one type III patient. One type II patient did not have a deletion of either exon 7 or 8. The prevalence of deletions of exons 5 and 6 of the NAIP gene were 22.5% and 2.4% in type I and II SMA patients, respectively. We also examined four polymorphisms of SMN genes and found that there were only two, SMN-2 and CBCD541-2, in Chinese subjects. In our study, analysis of the ratio of the telomeric to centromeric portion (T/C ratio) of the SMN gene after enzyme digestion was performed to differentiate carriers, normals, and SMA patients. We found the T/C ratio of exon 7 of the SMN gene differed significantly among the three groups, and may be used for carrier analysis. An asymptomatic individual with homozygous deletion of exons 7 and 8 of the SMN gene showed no difference in microsatellite markers in the SMA-related 5q11.2-5q13.3. In conclusion, SMN deletion in clinically presumed child-onset SMA should be considered as confirmation of the diagnosis. However, adult-onset SMA, a heterogeneous disease with phenotypical similarities to child-onset SMA, may be caused by SMN or other gene(s).

Adult↗

Upper motor neurone and descending tract pathology in bovine spinal muscular atrophy.

The extent of neuropathology in a recently reported disease of Brown Swiss cattle, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), was investigated with light and electron microscopy. Many regions of the central nervous system were sampled from 10 SMA-affected and three normal Brown Swiss calves. In addition to extensive necrosis of lower motor neurones there was extensive upper motor neurone degeneration and descending tract pathology. Since these abnormalities are also hallmarks of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), SMA may be an animal model for that disease. There was also considerable vacuolar degeneration, which is a feature of the wobbler mouse and murine type C RNA virus-induced paralytic disease models of ALS.

Animals↗

Anaesthesia for caesarean section in spinal muscular atrophy type III.

We describe the conduct of general anaesthesia for a patient with spinal muscular atrophy Type III (Kugelberg-Welander disease) undergoing elective caesarean section. Apart from a delayed return of skeletal muscle power following non-depolarising neuromuscular blockade the procedure was uneventful. We found no previously published reports of general anaesthesia for caesarean section in this condition in the English language literature. We review the available literature and discuss the potential anaesthetic problems in the management of obstetric patients with this degenerative neuromuscular disorder.

Adult↗

Refined genetic mapping of autosomal recessive chronic distal spinal muscular atrophy to chromosome 11q13.3 and evidence of linkage disequilibrium in European families.

Chronic distal spinal muscular atrophy (Chronic DSMA, MIM (*)607088) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a progressive motor weakness and muscular atrophy, predominating in the distal parts of the limbs. A form of Chronic DSMA gene has been previously mapped to chromosome 11q13 in the 10.3 cM interval defined by loci D11S1889 and D11S1321. By linkage analysis in 12 European Chronic DSMA families, we showed that a disease gene maps to chromosome 11q13.3 (Z(max)=6.66 at theta=0.00 at the DSM4 locus) and suggested that this condition is genetically homogeneous. Recombination events allowed us to reduce the genetic interval to a 2.6 cM region, telomeric to the IGHMBP2 gene, excluding this gene as the disease causing gene in Chronic DSMA. Moreover, partial linkage disequilibrium was found between three rare alleles at loci D11S1369, DSM4 and D11S4184 and the mutant chromosome in European patients. Analysis of the markers at these loci strongly suggests that most Chronic DSMA chromosomes are derived from a single ancestor. Refinement of the Chronic DSMA locus will hopefully allow to test candidate genes and lead to identification of the disease-causing mutations.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Molecular analysis of the SMN and NAIP genes in Spanish spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) families and correlation between number of copies of cBCD541 and SMA phenotype.

Spinal muscular atrophy is an autosomal recessive disorder which affects about 1 in 10,000 individuals. The three clinical forms of SMA were mapped to the 5q13 region. Three candidate genes have been isolated and shown to be deleted in SMA patients: the Survival Motor Neuron gene (SMN), the Neuronal Apoptosis Inhibitory Protein gene (NAIP) and the XS2G3 cDNA. In this report we present the molecular analysis of the SMN exons 7 and 8 and NAIP exon 5 in 65 Spanish SMA families. NAIP was mostly deleted in type I patients (67.9%) and SMN was deleted in 92.3% of patients with severe and milder forms. Most patients who lacked the NAIP gene also lacked the SMN gene, but we identified one type II patient deleted for NAIP exon 5 but not for SMN exons 7 and 8. Two other patients carried deletions of NAIP exon 5 and SMN exon 7 but retained the SMN exon 8. Three polymorphic variants from the SMN gene, showing changes on the sequence of the centromeric (cBCD541) and telomeric copies of the SMN gene, were found. In addition, we show several genetic rearrangements of the telomeric SMN gene, which include duplication of this gene in one normal chromosome, and putative gene conversion events in affected and normal chromosomes. Altogether these results corroborate the high genetic variability of the SMA region. Finally, we have determined the ratio between the number of centromeric and telomeric copies of the SMN gene in parents of SMA patients, showing that the majority of parents of types II and III patients carried three or more copies of the cBCD541 gene; we suggest a relationship between the number of copies of cBCD541 and the disease phenotype.

Base Sequence↗

Gene deletions in spinal muscular atrophy.

Two candidate genes (NAIP and SMN) have recently been reported for childhood onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Although affected subjects show deletions of these genes, these deletions can lead to either a very mild or a severe phenotype. We have analysed a large number of clinically well defined patients, carriers, and normal controls to assess the frequency and extent of deletions encompassing both of these genes. A genotype analysis indicates that more extensive deletions are seen in the severe form of SMA than in the milder forms. In addition, 1 center dot 9% of phenotypically normal carriers are deleted for the NAIP gene; no carriers were deleted for the SMN gene. Our data suggest that deletions in both of these genes, using the currently available assays, are associated with both a severe and very mild phenotype.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5↗

[Quantitative analysis of SMN gene copies in spinal muscular atrophy].

OBJECTIVE: To study the genetic basis in the patients with clinical diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy(SMA) but without survival motor neuron telomeric copy (SMN-T) deletion; the relationship between the SMN-C (centromeric) copies and the phenotype; and the distribution of SMN-C and SMN-T copies in the SMA patients, the carriers and the controls. METHODS: Quantitative PCR analysis of SMN-T and SMN-C copies were carried out in 45 patients, 25 consanguineous and 33 control individuals. The patients were identified by clinical manifestation and muscular pathology. Two internal standards of SMN-T and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) were constructed. Nonradioactive and nonfluorescence-labelling competitive PCR were used. The numbers of SMN-T and SMN-C copies were determined by calculating the ratios of SMN-T/CFTR and SMN-C/CFTR. RESULTS: Quantitation of SMN-T gene copies in SMA patients revealed that nine cases of type I-III were homozygously deleted. Two cases of type III had only one copy and four cases of type III had two copies. SMA IV and other type cases had two copies. Nine cases of consanguineous individuals had one copy, but other 16 had two copies. All of the normal individuals had two copies. Analysis of SMN-C copies showed that SMA I had < or = 2 copies, II-III had < or = 3 copies, SMA IV and others had 0-3 copies, the consanguineous individuals and normal individuals had 0-3 copies. CONCLUSION: The number of copies determined by PCR quantitative assay of SMN-T is in accordance with the result of PCR qualitative assay of homozygous deletion. Quantitative assay of the number of copies can find out the cases and the carriers of heterozygous deletion. The SMA phenotype is related to the number of copies of SMN-C; the smaller the number of copies the patient has, the severer the patient's phenotype will be. The pathogenesis of SMA IV and other types of SMA may not relate to SMN gene.

Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein↗

[Clinical-genetic studies of infantile and juvenile proximal spinal muscular atrophy].

The present paper describes clinico-genetic characteristics of childhood and juvenile proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The investigation involved sporadic and familial cases out in 37 families. These cases showed typical or unusual course of SMA (e.g. the pedigrees suggesting an inheritance other than autosomal recessive, coexistence of SMA with other inherited diseases, unusual patterns in EMG and muscle biopsy). All cases mapped in genetical analysis to the chromosome 5q11.2-13.3 Spino-bulbar form of SMA was excluded in families in which only males were affected. The method of carriership identification is presented.

Adolescent↗

Indicators of need for mechanical ventilation in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The purpose was to investigate a possible relationship between different parameters of physical function, spirometric measurements, and the approaching need for mechanical ventilation. DESIGN: A nonrandomized, prospective, descriptive study of 11 patients with spinal muscular atrophy type II (SMA-II) and 14 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). At a home visit, the anthropometric indices of age, height, and weight were recorded, the degree of disability was scored, and measurement of the strength of eight muscle groups and spirometry was performed. The interdependence of the variables was analyzed and the intergroup differences evaluated. Eighteen months later, it was found that one of the authors (B.J.), who was blind to the results of the first examination had instituted home mechanical ventilation on seven of the patients. The data were analyzed retrospectively for their predictive value as indicators of approaching ventilator dependency. RESULTS: The seven patients who needed mechanical ventilation were the patients with DMD with the highest disability score (Egen Klassifikation [EK] sum > 20) and the smallest values for FVC < 1.2 L (FVC% < 30). We found a significant correlation (p = 0.002) between FVC% and the EK sum at the first examination and between the FVC% and the time until treatment with mechanical ventilation was instituted (p = 0.023). Although 7 of the 11 patients with SMA type II had FVC below 1.2 L and some of them had an EK sum score higher (indicating more disability) than some patients with DMD who needed mechanical ventilation, none of them required mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSION: In this investigation, a combination of EK sum and FVC% provided a better indication of the approaching need for mechanical ventilation in the patients with DMD than the variables separately.

Adolescent↗

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in infantile spinal muscular atrophy: coincidence or predisposition?

We report two unrelated patients with infantile spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) types II and IIIa who developed alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) at 15 and 19 years, respectively. The tumours were located in the forearm, within severely atrophic flexor muscles. They displayed a similar histology and shared the most common translocation, t(2;13)(q35;14) in ARMS. Since cell proliferation is increased in de- and regenerating muscle and the PAX3/FKHR fusion protein activates myogenic transcription, it is tempting to speculate whether severe muscle atrophy in SMA might predispose to malignant transformation in long-standing disease.

Adolescent↗