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Disease course of feeding difficulties in spinal muscular atrophy type 2 is not well documented. Disease-modifying therapies rapidly change the trajectory of motor function and survival in spinal muscular atrophy, but effects on co-morbidities like bulbar function are unknown. We analysed data concerning feeding problems and their standard of care treatment in 146 patients with spinal muscular atrophy type 2. Data were collected from two separate cohorts: one single-centre retrospective chart review study from the United Kingdom (London), and one prospective questionnaire-based multicentre study from Italy. Cumulatively feeding difficulties were present in 88 patients (60%) in these 2 cohorts. Median age at onset of problems was 6.5years (range 0-16.5 years). Eighty-two patients (60%) showed periods of underweight according to age adjusted body mass index, and thirty-six patients (25%) showed malnourishment with a significant drop on their weight curves. Enteral feeding was indicated in 23 out of 72 patients in the UK cohort (32%) because of weight loss, oropharyngeal dysphagia or aspiration. Gastrostomy and its placement was generally well tolerated, uncomplicated in 96%, never reversed and performed without Nissen fundoplication in 66% of patients. After gastrostomy chest infections improved in 80% and nutritional status (e.g., Body Mass Index) in 84% of patients. These results show that feeding difficulties are a common problem in spinal muscular atrophy type 2. Treatment strategies should be tailor-made on the symptoms and needs of the individual patient., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest This work was supported by the SMA REACH UK (grant number 540606, supported by SMA UK and MDUK) and by the Italian Association of SMA Families (Famiglie SMA, 2015–2016 contribution) and Fondazione Telethon (Application GUP15014, 2015, Italy)., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: To identify the phenotypic, neuroimaging, and genotype-phenotype expression of MYORG mutations., Methods: Using next-generation sequencing, we screened 86 patients with primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) from 60 families with autosomal recessive or absent family history that were negative for mutations in SLC20A2 , PDGFRB , PDGBB , and XPR1 . In-depth phenotyping and neuroimaging investigations were performed in all cases reported here., Results: We identified 12 distinct deleterious MYORG variants in 7 of the 60 families with PFBC. Overall, biallelic MYORG mutations accounted for 11.6% of PFBC families in our cohort. A heterogeneous phenotypic expression was identified within and between families with a median age at onset of 56.4 years, a variable combination of parkinsonism, cerebellar signs, and cognitive decline. Psychiatric disturbances were not a prominent feature. Cognitive assessment showed impaired cognitive function in 62.5% of cases. Parkinsonism associated with vertical nuclear gaze palsy was the initial clinical presentation in 1/3 of cases and was associated with central pontine calcifications. Cerebral cortical atrophy was present in 37% of cases., Conclusions: This large, multicentric study shows that biallelic MYORG mutations represent a significant proportion of autosomal recessive PFBC. We recommend screening MYORG mutations in all patients with primary brain calcifications and autosomal recessive or negative family history, especially when presenting clinically as atypical parkinsonism and with pontine calcification on brain CT., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.)

Synucleinopathies are mostly sporadic neurodegenerative disorders of partly unexplained aetiology, and include Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). We have further investigated our recent finding of somatic SNCA (α-synuclein) copy number variants (CNVs, specifically gains) in synucleinopathies, using Fluorescent in-situ Hybridisation for SNCA, and single-cell whole genome sequencing for the first time in a synucleinopathy. In the cingulate cortex, mosaicism levels for SNCA gains were higher in MSA and PD than controls in neurons (> 2% in both diseases), and for MSA also in non-neurons. In MSA substantia nigra (SN), we noted SNCA gains in > 3% of dopaminergic (DA) neurons (identified by neuromelanin) and neuromelanin-negative cells, including olig2-positive oligodendroglia. Cells with CNVs were more likely to have α-synuclein inclusions, in a pattern corresponding to cell categories mostly relevant to the disease: DA neurons in Lewy-body cases, and other cells in the striatonigral degeneration-dominant MSA variant (MSA-SND). Higher mosaicism levels in SN neuromelanin-negative cells may correlate with younger onset in typical MSA-SND, and in cingulate neurons with younger death in PD. Larger sample sizes will, however, be required to confirm these putative findings. We obtained genome-wide somatic CNV profiles from 169 cells from the substantia nigra of two MSA cases, and pons and putamen of one. These showed somatic CNVs in ~ 30% of cells, with clonality and origins in segmental duplications for some. CNVs had distinct profiles based on cell type, with neurons having a mix of gains and losses, and other cells having almost exclusively gains, although control data sets will be required to determine possible disease relevance. We propose that somatic SNCA CNVs may contribute to the aetiology and pathogenesis of synucleinopathies, and that genome-wide somatic CNVs in MSA brain merit further study.

Introduction: There are now a number genes, known to be associated with familial primary brain calcification (PFBC), causing the so called 'Fahr's' disease or syndrome. These are SCL20A2, PDGFB, PDGFRB and XPR1. In this systematic review, we analyse the clinical and radiological features reported in genetically confirmed cases with PFBC. We have additionally reviewed pseudohypoparathyroidism which is a close differential diagnosis of PFBC in clinical presentation and is also genetically determined., Methods: We performed a Medline search, from 1st Jan 2012 through to 7th November 2016, for publications with confirmed mutations of SCL20A2, PDGFB, PDGFRB, and XPR1 and found twenty papers with 137 eligible cases. A second search was done for publications of cases with Pseudohypoparathyroidism or pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism, and found 18 publications with 20 eligible cases., Results: SLC20A2 was the most common gene involved with 75 out of 137 cases included with PFBC (55%) followed by PDGFB (31%) and PDGFRB (11%). Statistically significant correlation was found between the presence of parkinsonism with SLC20A2 mutations, headache in PDGFB and generalised tonic-clonic seizures in patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism., Conclusion: We combine statistical analysis and clinical inference to suggest a diagnostic algorithm based on the observations in this study to help with investigation of a patient with neurological features and brain calcification., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Neurodegenerative diseases are a very diverse group of disorders but they share some common mechanisms such as abnormally misfolded proteins with prion-like propagation and aggregation. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is the most prevalent prion disease in humans. In the sporadic form of CJD the only known risk factor is the codon 129 polymorphism. Recent reports suggested that α-synuclein in multiple system atrophy (MSA) has similar pathogenic mechanisms as the prion protein. Here we present 1 Italian family with MSA and prion disease. Also, cases of concurrent MSA and prion pathology in the same individual or family suggest the possibility of molecular interaction between prion protein and α-synuclein in the process of protein accumulation and neurodegeneration, warranting further investigations. We assessed the PRNP gene by whole-exome sequencing in 264 pathologically confirmed MSA cases and 462 healthy controls to determine whether the 2 diseases share similar risk factors. We then analyzed codon 129 polymorphism by Sanger sequencing and compared with previously published results in sporadic CJD. Homozygosity at codon 129 was present in 50% of pathologically confirmed MSA cases and in 58% of normal controls (odds ratio, 0.7 (95% confidence interval of 0.5-0.9)) compared with 88.2% in sporadic CJD. Our data show that the homozygous state of position 129 in the PRNP is not a risk factor for MSA. No other variants in the PRNP gene were associated with increased risk for MSA., (Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To identify genetic variants that play a role in the pathogenesis of multiple system atrophy (MSA), we undertook a genome-wide association study (GWAS)., Methods: We performed a GWAS with >5 million genotyped and imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 918 patients with MSA of European ancestry and 3,864 controls. MSA cases were collected from North American and European centers, one third of which were neuropathologically confirmed., Results: We found no significant loci after stringent multiple testing correction. A number of regions emerged as potentially interesting for follow-up at p < 1 × 10 -6 , including SNPs in the genes FBXO47, ELOVL7, EDN1, and MAPT. Contrary to previous reports, we found no association of the genes SNCA and COQ2 with MSA., Conclusions: We present a GWAS in MSA. We have identified several potentially interesting gene loci, including the MAPT locus, whose significance will have to be evaluated in a larger sample set. Common genetic variation in SNCA and COQ2 does not seem to be associated with MSA. In the future, additional samples of well-characterized patients with MSA will need to be collected to perform a larger MSA GWAS, but this initial study forms the basis for these next steps., (© 2016 American Academy of Neurology.)

The hereditary spastic paraplegias are a heterogeneous group of degenerative disorders that are clinically classified as either pure with predominant lower limb spasticity, or complex where spastic paraplegia is complicated with additional neurological features, and are inherited in autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive or X-linked patterns. Genetic defects have been identified in over 40 different genes, with more than 70 loci in total. Complex recessive spastic paraplegias have in the past been frequently associated with mutations in SPG11 (spatacsin), ZFYVE26/SPG15, SPG7 (paraplegin) and a handful of other rare genes, but many cases remain genetically undefined. The overlap with other neurodegenerative disorders has been implied in a small number of reports, but not in larger disease series. This deficiency has been largely due to the lack of suitable high throughput techniques to investigate the genetic basis of disease, but the recent availability of next generation sequencing can facilitate the identification of disease-causing mutations even in extremely heterogeneous disorders. We investigated a series of 97 index cases with complex spastic paraplegia referred to a tertiary referral neurology centre in London for diagnosis or management. The mean age of onset was 16 years (range 3 to 39). The SPG11 gene was first analysed, revealing homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in 30/97 (30.9%) of probands, the largest SPG11 series reported to date, and by far the most common cause of complex spastic paraplegia in the UK, with severe and progressive clinical features and other neurological manifestations, linked with magnetic resonance imaging defects. Given the high frequency of SPG11 mutations, we studied the autophagic response to starvation in eight affected SPG11 cases and control fibroblast cell lines, but in our restricted study we did not observe correlations between disease status and autophagic or lysosomal markers. In the remaining cases, next generation sequencing was carried out revealing variants in a number of other known complex spastic paraplegia genes, including five in SPG7 (5/97), four in FA2H (also known as SPG35) (4/97) and two in ZFYVE26/SPG15 Variants were identified in genes usually associated with pure spastic paraplegia and also in the Parkinson's disease-associated gene ATP13A2, neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis gene TPP1 and the hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy DNMT1 gene, highlighting the genetic heterogeneity of spastic paraplegia. No plausible genetic cause was identified in 51% of probands, likely indicating the existence of as yet unidentified genes., (© The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between common exonic variants in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene and risk of multiple system atrophy (MSA)., Methods: One series from the United States (92 patients with pathologically confirmed MSA, 416 controls) and a second series from the United Kingdom (85 patients with pathologically confirmed MSA, 352 controls) were included in this case-control study. We supplemented these data with those of 53 patients from the United States with clinically probable or possible MSA. Seventeen common LRRK2 exonic variants were genotyped and assessed for association with MSA., Results: In the combined series of 177 patients with pathologically confirmed MSA and 768 controls, there was a significant association between LRRK2 p.M2397T and MSA (odds ratio [OR] = 0.60, p = 0.002). This protective effect was observed more strongly in the US series (OR = 0.46, p = 0.0008) than the UK series (OR = 0.82, p = 0.41). We observed other noteworthy associations with MSA for p.G1624G (OR = 0.63, p = 0.006) and p.N2081D (OR = 0.15, p = 0.010). The p.G1624G-M2397T haplotype was significantly associated with MSA in the US series (p < 0.0001) and combined series (p = 0.003) but not the UK series (p = 0.67). Results were consistent when additionally including the US patients with clinical MSA, where the strongest single-variant association was again observed for p.M2397T (OR = 0.59, p = 0.0005)., Conclusions: These findings provide evidence that LRRK2 exonic variants may contribute to susceptibility to MSA. Validation in other series and meta-analytic studies will be important., (© 2014 American Academy of Neurology.)

Importance: The leukodystrophies comprise a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of progressive hereditary neurological disorders mainly affecting the myelin in the central nervous system. Their onset is variable from childhood to adulthood and presentation can be with a variety of clinical features that include mainly for adult-onset cases cognitive decline, seizures, parkinsonism, muscle weakness, neuropathy, spastic paraplegia, personality/behavioral problems, and dystonia. Recently, Rademakers and colleagues identified mutations in the CSF1R gene as the cause of hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids (HDLS), offering the possibility for an in-life diagnosis. The detection of mutations in this gene in cases diagnosed with different clinical entities further demonstrated the difficulties in the clinical diagnosis of HDLS., Objective: To better understand the genetic role of mutations in this gene, we sequenced a large cohort of adult-onset leukodystrophy cases., Design: Whole-exome sequencing and follow up-screening by Sanger sequencing., Setting: Collaborative study between the Institute of Neurology, University College London and the Inserm, Paris, France., Participants: A total of 114 probands, mostly European patients, with a diagnosis of adult-onset leukodystrophy or atypical cases that could fit within a picture of leukodystrophy. These included 3 extended families within the spectrum of leukodystrophy phenotype., Interventions: Whole-exome sequencing in a family and Sanger sequencing of CSF1R., Main Outcomes and Measures: Mutations in CSF1R., Results: We identified 12 probands with mutations in CSF1R. The clinical diagnoses given to these patients included dementia with spastic paraplegia, corticobasal degeneration syndrome, and stroke disorders. Our study shows that CSF1R mutations are responsible for a significant proportion of clinically and pathologically proven HDLS., Conclusions and Relevance: These results give an indication of the frequency of CSF1R mutations in a European leukodystrophy series and expand the phenotypic spectrum of disorders that should be screened for this gene.

Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) are a genetically heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative diseases characterised by progressive cerebellar ataxia, dysarthria and oculomotor abnormalities. Recently the prodynorphin (PDYN) gene was identified as the cause of SCA23 in four Dutch families displaying progressive gait and limb ataxia. In this study we aimed to assess the frequency of PDYN gene defects and extend the phenotype of SCA23 patients in a UK ataxia series and also in patients from Greece, Egypt and India. We sequenced the coding and flanking intronic regions of the PDYN gene in a total of 852 ataxia patients, of which 356 were sporadic with no family history, 320 had a positive family history, and 176 probands had a positive family history and at least one family member had also been investigated. We also analysed 190 patients with multiple-system atrophy with cerebellar features (MSA-C), a phenocopy of SCA23. We identified a novel putative pathogenic heterozygous missense variant in the PDYN gene in an early onset SCA patient with an unknown family history. This variant was not present in 570 matched British controls. This is the first study to screen for SCA23 in UK patients and confirms that PDYN mutations are a very rare cause of spinocerebellar ataxia, accounting for ~ 0.1 % of ataxia cases but perhaps with a higher frequency in pure cerebellar ataxia. Given the rarity of PDYN mutations, front-line diagnostic evaluation of UK familial and early onset pure spinocerebellar ataxia patients should focus on other known ataxia genes.