Smothering dystonia in a patient with oromandibular dystonia.

A case report is presented of a patient with pathologically confirmed striatonigral degeneration who experienced episodic syncope as a result of oromandibular dystonia obstructing inhalation through her mouth and nose.     

Novel GCH1 mutation in a Brazilian family with dopa‐responsive dystonia

Dopa responsive Dystonia (DRD) was first described in 1971 and typically begins at childhood with gait dysfunction caused by foot dystonia progressing to affect other extremities. There is marked diurnal fluctuation and sustained improvement of symptoms with low dose levodopa therapy. Heterozygous mutation of the gene GCH1 has been shown to cause DRD. We studied GCH1 in nine patients with DRD from six families of Federal University of Minas Gerais Movement Disorders Clinic. We identified three mutations; two affected siblings carried a novel T209P mutation and two siblings from another family were compound heterozygous carriers of Met211Val and Lys224Arg mutations. To our knowledge this is the first report of GCH1 mutations underlying DRD in patients from Brazil. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society     

多巴反应性肌张力障碍患者的GCH1基因突变检测

目的分析多巴反应性肌张力障碍(dopa responsive dystonia,DRD)患者的GCH1基因突变。方法我们抽取21例来自医院门诊及住院的散发型多巴反应性肌张力障碍患者的肘静脉血,并提取外周血全基因组DNA。Primer3设计GCH1基因6个外显子的引物,PCR扩增GCH1基因的外显子及周边部分内含子序列,并对PCR产物进行测序。测序结果与正常序列进行比对,发现碱基变异后进行序列分析以确定是否多态。结果成功扩增21位DRD患者GCH1基因的6个外显子。经过分析,GCH1基因外显子序列未发现基因突变。仅在4个患者的1号外显子发现1个单核苷酸多态(SNP)c.68CT,该SNP没有产生氨基酸的改变。结论本地区多巴反应性肌张力障碍患者未发现GCH1基因突变,DRD患者可能存在其他致病基因。GCH1基因突变检测目前仍不能作为早期诊断的依据。     

A new mutation of GCH1 in triplets family with dopa‐responsive dystonia

Background: Dopa‐responsive dystonia (DRD) is associated with mutations of the GCH1. We first report four female siblings with DRD from one family, including three monozygotic triplets patients clinically and genetically. Methods: We performed GCH1 analysis by direct sequencing of PCR product amplified with primers designed to cover the entire exons of GCH1 in those four patients and their mother. Results: In all four patients with DRD, a new frameshift mutation (c.729delG; p.A190fsX191) was identified in the exon 5 of GCH1. Conclusions: The frameshift mutation results in truncated GCH1 protein which is suspected to result in loss of function of the catalytic GTP‐cyclohydrol domain.     

GCH1 mutation and clinical study of Chinese patients with dopa‐responsive dystonia

Dopa‐responsive dystonia (DRD) is typically caused by heterozygous mutations in GTP cyclohydrolase 1 gene (GCH1). Our aim was to investigate the clinical and genetic features of Chinese DRD patients. We analyzed a cohort of Chinese DRD patients' clinical data. Mutation of the GCH1 gene was screened by direct sequencing. Additionally, multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA) assay targeting the GCH1 and the TH gene to evaluate large exon deletion or duplicate mutation of the genes were performed in point mutation‐negative patients. Ten sporadic DRD patients and two pedigrees including six patients were included in the study. The onset age ranged from 3 to 15 years old. All patients initially presented with walking problems due to lower limb dystonia. The delay between onset and diagnosis ranged from 1 to 42 years old. The symptoms were completely or near‐completely abolished with low dose levodopa treatment (dosages ranged from 25 mg to 400 mg/day). Direct sequencing in 14 patients found two known mutations (Gly203Arg in exon 5 in four unrelated patients and Met102Lys in exon 1 in one patient) and one new mutation (Thr186Ile mutation in exon 5 in two unrelated pedigrees). A heterozygous exon 2 deletion in the GCH1 gene was found in one of three point mutation‐negative patients by MLPA analysis. Our clinical findings in DRD patients were consistent with other studies. GCH1 gene mutations were quite common in Chinese patients. MPLA should be performed in routine deletion analysis of GCH1 in point mutation‐negative DRD patients. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society     

GCH1基因新的点突变的多巴反应性肌张力障碍1例报道并文献复习

目的 报道1例多巴反应性肌张力障碍(Doparesponsive dystonia, DRD)的三磷酸鸟苷环化水解酶I基因(Guanosine triphosphate cyclohydmlase I,GCH1)c.550C>T(p.R184C)杂合突变,并分析该基因突变患者的临床特点。方法 应用全外显子测序结合一代测序验证方法对1个家系的5名成员进行GCH1基因突变分析,并回顾既往文献进行疾病特点总结,以提高对DRD相关基因突变的临床特点及预后的认识。结果 5名家系成员中先证者及其一子一女 GCH1基因存在c.550C>T(p.R184C)杂合突变,且该点突变导致GCH1基因所编码的蛋白发生p.R184C错义突变(184位点上的精氨酸变为半胱氨酸)。软件分析显示c.550C>T(p.R184C)为可疑致病突变。结论 c.550C>T(p.R184C)突变可能是DRD新的致病位点,此分析扩展了DRD的GCH1基因突变内容,同时也为相关基因的功能验证提供了新的方向。     

Frequency of GCH1 deletions in Dopa-responsive dystonia

We performed a systematic study on the frequency of point mutations and deletions of the gene GCH1 in dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD). A total of 136 dystonia patients were studied. Fifty of these had a sustained response to oral L-Dopa therapy (group 1: definite diagnosis of DRD), whereas the response to L-Dopa was incomplete or not tested in 86 patients (group 2: possible diagnosis of DRD). We found a GCH1 point mutation in 27 patients of group 1 (54%) and in four patients of group 2 (5%). Of these, nine single and one double mutation have not been described before. GCH1 deletions were detected in four patients of group 1 (8%) and in one patient of group 2 (1%). Among GCH1 point-mutation-negative patients with a definite diagnosis of DRD (group 1), the frequency of GCH1 deletions was 17% (4/23). We conclude that GCH1 deletion analysis should be incorporated into the routine molecular diagnosis of all patients with DRD with a sustained response to L-Dopa.     

Novel non‐sense GCH1 mutation in a South African family diagnosed with dopa‐responsive dystonia

Background: Dopa‐responsive dystonia (DRD), a movement disorder characterized by onset in early childhood and a dramatic response to low doses of levodopa, has been shown to be caused by a number of different mutations in the GCH1 gene. Methods: We identified a South African family which presented with DRD in three family members. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were designed to span all six exons of GCH1 and the PCR products were screened for pathogenic mutations using direct sequencing. Results: A novel non‐sense mutation (c.233delT; p.I78fsX79) was identified in the DRD patients, which would produce a markedly truncated protein of only 78 amino acids. This mutation was also present in a number of asymptomatic family members. Conclusions: A novel non‐sense mutation in the GCH1 gene can be associated with DRD and reduced penetrance in South African patients.     

Clozapine treatment in oromandibular dystonia

Oromandibular dystonia (OMD) is a form of focal dystonias, which can be associated with substantial disability and is frequently refractory to all antidystonic therapies. Clozapine is a dibenzodiazepin derivative atypical neuroleptic that has been reported to be effective in the treatment of primary or symptomatic dystonia. We report here two patients with severe OMD refractory to other antidystonic therapies, who had substantial improvement with clozapine. We suggest that clozapine should be considered in patients with OMD who fail to response to other treatments.     

A heteroplasmic mitochondrial complex I gene mutation in adult-onset dystonia

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations can cause rare forms of dystonia, but the role of mtDNA mutations in other types of dystonia is not well understood. We now report identification by sequencing, restriction endonuclease analyses, and clonal analyses of a heteroplasmic missense A to G base pair substitution at nucleotide position 3796 (A3796G) in the gene encoding the ND1 subunit of mitochondrial complex I in a patient with adult-onset dystonia, spasticity, and core-type myopathy. The mutation converts a highly conserved threonine to an alanine. The same mutation subsequently was identified in 2 of 74 additional unrelated adult-onset dystonia patients. A muscle biopsy was obtained from 1 of these 2 subjects and this revealed abnormalities of electron transport chain (ETC) activities. The mutation was absent in 64 subjects with early onset dystonia, 82 normal controls, and 65 subjects with Parkinson's disease or multiple system atrophy. The A3796G mutation previously has been reported in 3 of 226 subjects from mitochondrial haplogroup H. Each of the 3 subjects in our study harboring the A3796G mutation was also from haplogroup H. However, a subgroup analysis of haplogroup H subjects from our study indicates that the A3796G mutation is significantly overrepresented among haplogroup H adult-onset dystonia subjects compared with haplogroup H controls (P<0.01). This difference remains significant even after excluding the index patient (P=0.04). These data suggest that, among haplogroup H subjects, the presence of the A3796G mutation increases the risk of developing adult-onset dystonia.     

Occurrence of GCH1 gene mutations in a group of Indian dystonia patients

The aim of this study is to examine the role of GCH1 among Indians affected with dopa responsive dystonia (DRD) and early onset Parkinson’s disease (EOPD). The patients (n?=?76 including 19 DRD and 36 EOPD) and controls (n?=?138) were screened for variants in GCH1 by PCR amplification of exons, splice junctions and 1?kb upstream region followed by SSCP and DNA sequencing. Four novel variants (p.Met1Val, p.Val204_205del, IVS3+68A>G, and IVS5?6T>G) were identified in 10 patients but not in the controls. In addition to two nonsynonymous changes, identified in four DRD patients in heterozygous condition, one intronic variant (IVS5?6T>G) could be linked to pathogenesis of the disease since it has the potential of altering the splice site as assessed by in silico analysis. Patients carrying different nonsynonymous variants had remarkable variation in clinical phenotype. Consistent with earlier reports, severity of clinical phenotype and the age of onset varied among family members harboring the same mutation. No mutation was detected in the EOPD patients. Three novel mutations in GCH1 gene have been found and are shown to be associated with variable clinical phenotypes mostly within the spectrum of DRD. The mutations identified represent 15.79% (3/19) of east Indian DRD patient cohort.     

Levodopa-induced oromandibular dystonia in progressive supranuclear palsy

Levodopa-induced dyskinesias have been reported in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy. Cranial dystonias are rare in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). In this report we describe an unusual case of reversible levodopa-induced Oromandibular dystonia (OMD) in a PSP patient to highlight the importance of recognizing this drug related complication in the management of PSP, and discuss the possible underlying pathophysiology.