Myology research highlights
RSS feedAn ultra-early case of mitofusin 2 deficiency
French researchers report the exceptional case of a foetus suffering from a deficiency in mitofusin 2, a mitochondrial protein encoded by the MFN2 gene already implicated in autosomal, dominant or recessive forms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease: the diagnosis of multiple cerebral malformations was made antenatally after the demonstration of lissencephaly, polymicrogyria and cerebellar atrophy, a … [Read more]
Two new families with a rare form of CMT disease reported in Brazil
Researchers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, report the clinical and paraclinical observations of two families diagnosed with X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease: mutations in the PKD3 gene, including a new one, were identified in these two families, enabling them to be classified as CMTX6, an ultra-rare subtype of CMT in which only a few patients have been … [Read more]
Oculo-pharyngo-distal myopathy: also look for CGG repeats in LOC642361/NUMTM2B-AS1
Oculo-pharyngo-distal myopathy (OPDM) is due to a repeat of CGG triplets in the 5′ untranslated region of one of the LRP12, GIPC1, NOTCH2NLC or RILPL1 genes. Only one Japanese family with MODP due to a CGG repeat in the LOC642361/NUMTM2B-AS1 gene has been described to date. In a new publication, a Chinese team reports : … [Read more]
PTPN11: the missing link between RASopathies and congenital myasthenic syndromes?
RASopathies are pathologies linked to genes in the RAS/MAPK pathway, including the gene encoding the PTPN11 protein (involved in half of Noonan syndromes). An international consortium of researchers has reported the observations of four children: all had mutations in the PTPN11 gene but had previously been investigated for suspected congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS), the clinical … [Read more]
McArdle’s disease: how to adapt to exercise intolerance
An international online survey gathered the experience of 162 people with McArdle’s disease, with a median age of 52: the median age at diagnosis was 28 and at onset of symptoms 5 years; the median fatigue score reflected moderate to severe fatigue; the median disability acceptance score reflected moderate acceptance; the greatest difficulties experienced were … [Read more]
Largest cohort of primary carnitine deficiency in the Faroe Islands treated with L-carnitine
A 10-year follow-up of the world’s largest cohort of 139 patients with primary carnitine deficiency, located in the Faroe Islands, where the incidence is particularly high, and treated with L-carnitine supplementation, revealed that : the vast majority of patients are alive and well (others died naturally, unrelated to the disease), a third continue to experience … [Read more]
Nusinersen in Neuromuscular Disease Reference Centers
Clinicians from the French network of neuromuscular disease specialists followed a cohort of 37 children treated with nusinersen (Spinraza) between the ages of 2 months and 3 years for three years. The motor functions of these patients, now aged between 3 and 6, improved. Motor development was greater in children with three copies of the … [Read more]
Fatty acid beta-oxidation disorders: a French retrospective study is optimistic despite the lack of treatment
Analysis of retrospective data from 44 adults with fatty acid beta-oxidation deficiency followed up in six French centres of reference for rare neuromuscular or metabolic diseases showed that : fourteen had carnitine palmitoyl transferase 2 (CPT2) deficiency, nine had multiple acyl-CoA (MAD) deficiency, 13 had long-chain fatty acid dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency, 3 had long-chain 3-hydoxyacyl-CoA … [Read more]
An update of European recommendations on the use of radiological contrast products in myasthenia gravis
Myasthenia gravis is included in the “precautions for use” of iodinated contrast products because of a possible worsening of the symptoms of the disease caused by their injection. After analysing the sometimes contradictory results of three retrospective studies, the Contrast Products Safety Committee of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology updated its recommendations on the … [Read more]
A review of serious digestive complications in adults with DMD
Based on four emblematic individual cases of young adults with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a British team studied and reviewed life-threatening digestive complications: DMD patients were between 24 and 28 years old, three out of four had never received long-term corticosteroid therapy, all had minor digestive problems such as constipation and/or dysphagia, depending on the … [Read more]
