Transcriptome-wide association study reveals increased neuronal FLT3 expression is associated with Tourette's syndrome.

Tourette's Syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by motor and phonic tics. A recent TS genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified a genome-wide significant locus. However, determining the biological mechanism of GWAS signals remains difficult.

Association of Essential Tremor With Novel Risk Loci: A Genome-Wide Association Study and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders, affecting 5% of the general population older than 65 years. Common variants are thought to contribute toward susceptibility to ET, but no variants have been robustly identified.

Objective: To identify common genetic factors associated with risk of ET.

EIF2AK2 Missense Variants Associated with Early Onset Generalized Dystonia.

Objective: The study was undertaken to identify a monogenic cause of early onset, generalized dystonia.

Methods: Methods consisted of genome-wide linkage analysis, exome and Sanger sequencing, clinical neurological examination, brain magnetic resonance imaging, and protein expression studies in skin fibroblasts from patients.

Results: We identified a heterozygous variant, c.

TBC1D24-TLDc-related epilepsy exercise-induced dystonia: rescue by antioxidants in a disease model.

Genetic mutations in TBC1D24 have been associated with multiple phenotypes, with epilepsy being the main clinical manifestation. The TBC1D24 protein consists of the unique association of a Tre2/Bub2/Cdc16 (TBC) domain and a TBC/lysin motif domain/catalytic (TLDc) domain. More than 50 missense and loss-of-function mutations have been described and are spread over the entire protein.

The Twists of Pediatric Dystonia: Phenomenology, Classification, and Genetics.

This article aims to provide a practical review of pediatric dystonia from a clinician's perspective. The focus is on the underlying genetic causes, recent findings, and treatable conditions. Dystonia can occur in an isolated fashion or accompanied by other neurological or systemic features.

Recessive mutations in VPS13D cause childhood onset movement disorders.

VPS13 protein family members VPS13A through VPS13C have been associated with various recessive movement disorders. We describe the first disease association of rare recessive VPS13D variants including frameshift, missense, and partial duplication mutations with a novel complex, hyperkinetic neurological disorder. The clinical features include developmental delay, a childhood onset movement disorder (chorea, dystonia, or tremor), and progressive spastic ataxia or paraparesis.

Finger extension weakness and downbeat nystagmus motor neuron disease syndrome: A novel motor neuron disorder?

Introduction: Disturbances of eye movements are infrequently encountered in motor neuron diseases (MNDs) or motor neuropathies, and there is no known syndrome that combines progressive muscle weakness with downbeat nystagmus.

Methods: To describe the core clinical features of a syndrome of MND associated with downbeat nystagmus, clinical features were collected from 6 patients.

Results: All patients had slowly progressive muscle weakness and wasting in combination with downbeat nystagmus, which was clinically most obvious in downward and lateral gaze.

The genetic landscape of infantile spasms.

Infantile spasms (IS) is an early-onset epileptic encephalopathy of unknown etiology in ∼40% of patients. We hypothesized that unexplained IS cases represent a large collection of rare single-gene disorders. We investigated 44 children with unexplained IS using comparative genomic hybridisation arrays (aCGH) (n = 44) followed by targeted sequencing of 35 known epilepsy genes (n = 8) or whole-exome sequencing (WES) of familial trios (n = 18) to search for rare inherited or de novo mutations.

An atypical case of SCN9A mutation presenting with global motor delay and a severe pain disorder.

Introduction: Erythromelalgia due to heterozygous gain-of-function SCN9A mutations usually presents as a pure sensory-autonomic disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of burning pain and redness of the extremities.

Methods: We describe a patient with an unusual phenotypic presentation of gross motor delay, childhood-onset erythromelalgia, extreme visceral pain episodes, hypesthesia, and self-mutilation. The investigation of the patient's motor delay included various biochemical analyses, a comparative genomic hybridization array (CGH), electromyogram (EMG), and muscle biopsy.

VAMP1 mutation causes dominant hereditary spastic ataxia in Newfoundland families.

Our group previously described and mapped to chromosomal region 12p13 a form of dominantly inherited hereditary spastic ataxia (HSA) in three large Newfoundland (Canada) families. This report identifies vesicle-associated membrane protein 1 (VAMP1), which encodes a critical protein for synaptic exocytosis, as the responsible gene. In total, 50 affected individuals from these families and three independent probands from Ontario (Canada) share the disease phenotype together with a disruptive VAMP1 mutation that affects a critical donor site for the splicing of VAMP1 isoforms.

A novel duplication confirms the involvement of 5q23.2 in autosomal dominant leukodystrophy.

Objective: To identify the underlying locus and disease-causing mutation for adult-onset autosomal dominant leukodystrophy (ADLD).

Design: Previously, an adult-onset ADLD locus on chromosome 5q23 was mapped between markers D5S1495 and CTT/CCT15. This region contains 13 known and putative candidate genes.

SPG4 founder effect in French Canadians with hereditary spastic paraplegia.

Background: The most common cause of autosomal dominant Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP) is mutations in the SPG4 gene. We have previously identified novel SPG4 mutations in a collection of North American families including the c.G1801A mutation present in two families from Quebec.

A stop codon mutation in SCN9A causes lack of pain sensation.

The general lack of pain experience is a rare occurrence in humans, and the molecular causes for this phenotype are not well understood. Here we have studied a Canadian family from Newfoundland with members who exhibit a congenital inability to experience pain. We have mapped the locus to a 13.

Mutations in the KIAA0196 gene at the SPG8 locus cause hereditary spastic paraplegia.

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a progressive upper-motor neurodegenerative disease. The eighth HSP locus, SPG8, is on chromosome 8p24.13.

A variant in XPNPEP2 is associated with angioedema induced by angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitors.

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi), which are used to treat common cardiovascular diseases, are associated with a potentially life-threatening adverse reaction known as angioedema (AE-ACEi). We have previously documented a significant association between AE-ACEi and low plasma aminopeptidase P (APP) activity. With eight large pedigrees, we hereby demonstrate that this quantitative trait is partially regulated by genetic factors.

A novel locus for pure recessive hereditary spastic paraplegia maps to 10q22.1-10q24.1.

The hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders characterized by progressive lower-limb spasticity. In this study, we performed linkage analysis on an autosomal recessive pure HSP family and mapped the disease to chromosome 10q22.1-10q24.

Spectrum of SPG4 mutations in a large collection of North American families with hereditary spastic paraplegia.

Background: Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive spasticity and weakness of the lower limbs. The most common form of HSP is caused by mutations in the SPG4 gene, which codes for spastin, an adenosine triphosphatase with various cellular activities (AAA) protein family member.

Objective: To investigate a large collection of predominantly North American patients with HSP for mutations in the spastin encoding gene, SPG4.