Clinical and Genetic Findings in a Chinese Cohort of Dentatorubral-Pallidoluysian Atrophy Patients.

Objective: Dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) is a rare, inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of cytosine-adenine-guanine repeats in ATN1. Most studies on DRPLA to date are limited to case reports. We aimed to provide a comprehensive summary of the clinical, genetic, biological, and magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of DRPLA using cross-sectional baseline data.

Fatigue in the Preataxic and Ataxic Stages of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3.

Objective: Fatigue is a significant symptom in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3). This study explores the role of fatigue in SCA3, examining its impact on quality of life and its potential as an indicator of disease progression.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 128 molecularly confirmed SCA3 patients and 125 sex-, age-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs).

Associations between CAG repeat size, brain and spinal cord volume loss, and motor symptoms in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3: a cohort study.

Background: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is a hereditary disease caused by abnormally expanded CAG repeats in the ATXN3 gene. The study aimed to identify potential biomarkers for assessing therapeutic efficacy by investigating the associations between expanded CAG repeat size, brain and spinal cord volume loss, and motor functions in patients with SCA3.

Methods: In this prospective, cross-observational study, we analyzed 3D T1-weighted MRIs from 92 patients with SCA3 and 42 healthy controls using voxel-based morphometry and region of interest approaches.

Static Posture Instability as a Sensitive Biomarker for Motor Abnormalities in Pre-ataxic Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 Patients.

Background: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is a neurodegenerative disorder, with balance instability as a feature of the disease. Balance instability often manifests before the onset of obvious ataxic symptoms in patients. However, current clinical scales exhibit limited sensitivity in characterizing changes in pre-ataxic patients.

The phenotypic and genotypic features of Chinese patients with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.

Objective: Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is a late-onset inherited neuromuscular disorder, with progressive ptosis and dysphagia as common manifestations. To date, OPMD has rarely been reported among East Asians. The present study summarizes the phenotypic and genotypic features of Chinese patients with OPMD.

Short-term efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in SCA3: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study.

Objective: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is the most common autosomal dominant ataxia globally. No effective treatment is currently available for SCA3. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation, demonstrated to improve symptoms in patients with neurodegenerative cerebellar ataxias.

Loss of function of CMPK2 causes mitochondria deficiency and brain calcification.

Brain calcification is a critical aging-associated pathology and can cause multifaceted neurological symptoms. Cerebral phosphate homeostasis dysregulation, blood-brain barrier defects, and immune dysregulation have been implicated as major pathological processes in familial brain calcification (FBC). Here, we analyzed two brain calcification families and identified calcification co-segregated biallelic variants in the CMPK2 gene that disrupt mitochondrial functions.

GGC Repeat Expansion of RILPL1 is Associated with Oculopharyngodistal Myopathy.

Objective: Oculopharyngodistal myopathy (OPDM) is an adult-onset neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive ptosis, dysarthria, ophthalmoplegia, and distal muscle weakness. Recent studies revealed that GGC repeat expansions in 5'-UTR of LRP12, GIPC1, and NOTCH2NLC are associated with OPDM. Despite these advances, approximately 30% of OPDM patients remain genetically undiagnosed.

CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing for the modification of multiple duplications that cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

With the development of basic research, some genetic-based methods have been found to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) with large deletion mutations and nonsense mutations. Appropriate therapeutic approaches for repairing multiple duplications are limited. We used the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)/Cas9 system with patient-derived primary myoblasts to correct multiple duplications of the dystrophin gene.

Effect of a Pay-for-Performance Program on Renal Outcomes Among Patients With Early-Stage Chronic Kidney Disease in Taiwan.

Background: With the promising outcomes of the pre-ESRD (end-stage renal disease) pay-for-performance (P4P) program, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) of Taiwan launched a P4P program for patients with early chronic kidney disease (CKD) in 2011, targeting CKD patients at stages 1, 2, and 3a. This study aimed to examine the long-term effect of the early-CKD P4P program on CKD progression.

Methods: We conducted a matched cohort study using electronic medical records from a large healthcare delivery system in Taiwan.

CHIP control degradation of mutant ETF:QO through ubiquitylation in late-onset multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency.

Late-onset multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD) is the most common form of lipid storage myopathy. The disease is mainly caused by mutations in electron-transfer flavoprotein dehydrogenase gene (ETFDH), which leads to decreased levels of ETF:QO in skeletal muscle. However, the specific underlying mechanisms triggering such degradation remain unknown.

[Construction of a striatum-specific Slc20a2 gene knockout mice model by CRISPR/Cas9 AAV system].

Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a chronic progressive neurogenetic disorder. Its clinical symptoms mainly include dyskinesia, cognitive disorder and mental impairment; and the pathogenesis remains unclear. Studies have shown that SLC20A2 is the most common pathogenic gene of the disease.

Ataxic Severity Is Positively Correlated With Fatigue in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 Patients.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is an inherited form of ataxia that leads to progressive neurodegeneration. Fatigue is a common non-motor symptom in SCA3 and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although risk factors to fatigue in these diseases have been thoroughly studied, whether or not fatigue can affect clinical phenotypes has yet to be investigated.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex in Chinese patients: Phenotypic analysis and mutational screening of TSC1/TSC2 genes.

Purpose: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is characterized by the development of hamartomas in multiple organ systems. This study attempted to screen mutations and to investigate the mutation distribution and related phenotypes including epilepsy of Chinese TSC patients.

Methods: We performed the genotypic analysis of TSC1 and TSC2 genes in 77 unrelated Chinese TSC patients using direct Sanger sequencing and Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA).

Disruption of splicing-regulatory elements using CRISPR/Cas9 to rescue spinal muscular atrophy in human iPSCs and mice.

We here report a genome-editing strategy to correct spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Rather than directly targeting the pathogenic exonic mutations, our strategy employed Cas9 and guide-sgRNA for the targeted disruption of intronic splicing-regulatory elements. We disrupted intronic splicing silencers (ISSs, including ISS-N1 and ISS + 100) of survival motor neuron (SMN) 2, a key modifier gene of SMA, to enhance exon 7 inclusion and full-length SMN expression in SMA iPSCs.

Drug price, dosage and safety: Real-world evidence of oral hypoglycemic agents.

Objectives: Drug price reduction is one of the major policies to restrain pharmaceutical expenses worldwide. This study explores whether there is a relationship between drug price and clinical quality using real-world data.

Methods: Patients with newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes receiving metformin or sulfonylureas during 2001 and 2010 were identified using the claim database of the Taiwan universal health insurance system.

The influence of initial symptoms on phenotypes in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.

Background: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is a rare, inherited form of ataxia that leads to progressive neurodegeneration. The initial symptoms could affect clinical phenotypes in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, the contribution of initial symptoms to the phenotypes of SCA3 has been scarcely investigated.

Rhabdomyolysis and respiratory insufficiency due to the common ETFDH mutation of c.250G>A in two patients with late-onset multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency.

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