Dopa-Responsive Dystonia: An Early Presentation of Ataxia-Telangiectasia.

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a complex genetic neurodegenerative disease with autosomal recessive inheritance. The typical initial features of ataxia telangiectasia include ataxia, cutaneous telangiectasia, and immune deficiency with recurrent infections. Usually, movement disorder occurs late in the course of the disease. A diagnosis of variant or atypical ataxia-telangiectasia (variant AT) is considered in case of any deviation from the normal course of illness giving rise to variable presentations of the disease. Only a few cases of variant AT with predominant movement disorder have been reported worldwide. A knowledge of atypical presentations helps in early diagnosis and thus to initiate management and counselling of the family at the earliest. Here, we report a case of genetically confirmed ataxia-telangiectasia with an initial presentation of dopamine responsive dystonia.

GABA Transaminase Deficiency With Survival Into Adulthood.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)-transaminase deficiency is an ultra-rare disorder of GABA metabolism that was described for decades as an early-onset epileptic encephalopathy plus movement disorder and hypersomnolence with mortality in early childhood. We report 2 affected siblings in adolescence and adulthood, both with profound developmental impairment, intractable epilepsy, movement disorder, and behavioral fluctuations. This considerably expands the phenotype and longevity of this inherited neurotransmitter disease.

Comparison of transferrin isoform analysis by capillary electrophoresis and HPLC for screening congenital disorders of glycosylation.

BACKGROUND: Transferrin, a major glycoprotein has different isoforms depending on the number of sialic acid residues present on its oligosaccharide chain. Genetic variants of transferrin as well as the primary (CDG) & secondary glycosylation defects lead to an altered transferrin pattern. Isoform analysis methods are based on charge/mass variations. We aimed to compare the performance of commercially available capillary electrophoresis CDT kit for diagnosing congenital disorders of glycosylation with our in-house optimized HPLC method for transferrin isoform analysis. METHODS: The isoform pattern of 30 healthy controls & 50 CDG-suspected patients was determined by CE using a Carbohydrate-Deficient Transferrin kit. The results were compared with in-house HPLC-based assay for transferrin isoforms. RESULTS: Transferrin isoform pattern for healthy individuals showed a predominant tetrasialo transferrin fraction followed by pentasialo, trisialo, and disialotransferrin. Two of 50 CDG-suspected patients showed the presence of asialylated isoforms. The results were comparable with isoform pattern obtained by HPLC. The commercial controls showed a <20% CV for each isoform. Bland Altman plot showed the difference plot to be within +1.96 with no systemic bias in the test results by HPLC & CE. CONCLUSION: The CE method is rapid, reproducible and comparable with HPLC and can be used for screening Glycosylation defects.

Riboflavin Treatment in Genetically Proven Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere Syndrome.

Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere (BVVL) syndrome is a rare motor neuron disorder of childhood, which forms a continuous spectrum with Fazio-Londe syndrome. It is an autosomal-recessive inherited disease caused by mutations in intestinal riboflavin transporter genes. We describe a child with genetically proven BVVL syndrome where prompt treatment with riboflavin showed good results.

Autism and sleep disorders.

"Autism Spectrum Disorders" (ASDs) are neurodevelopment disorders and are characterized by persistent impairments in reciprocal social interaction and communication. Sleep problems in ASD, are a prominent feature that have an impact on social interaction, day to day life, academic achievement, and have been correlated with increased maternal stress and parental sleep disruption. Polysomnography studies of ASD children showed most of their abnormalities related to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep which included decreased quantity, increased undifferentiated sleep, immature organization of eye movements into discrete bursts, decreased time in bed, total sleep time, REM sleep latency, and increased proportion of stage 1 sleep. Implementation of nonpharmacotherapeutic measures such as bedtime routines and sleep-wise approach is the mainstay of behavioral management. Treatment strategies along with limited regulated pharmacotherapy can help improve the quality of life in ASD children and have a beneficial impact on the family. PubMed search was performed for English language articles from January 1995 to January 2015. Following key words: Autism spectrum disorder, sleep disorders and autism, REM sleep and autism, cognitive behavioral therapy, sleep-wise approach, melatonin and ASD were used. Only articles reporting primary data relevant to the above questions were included.

Deep brain stimulation improves quality of life in pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration.

Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) is an uncommon extrapyramidal movement disorder characterized by the progressive incapacitating dystonia. Medical management is often incapable of reversing the dystonic symptoms. In recent years, stereotactic procedure like deep brain stimulation has been found effective in resolving the disabling dystonia and improving the quality of life. There are few cases in the world literature highlighting the usefulness of this technique. We report a case of 10-year-old girl who underwent bilateral Globus pallidus internus stimulation for PKAN.

Superficial siderosis: A rare occurrence in children.

Superficial siderosis of the central nervous system results from deposition of hemosiderin in the subpial layers of the brain and spinal cord. Patients usually present after 40 years of age with progressive ataxia and sensorineural hearing impairment. We present the case of a twelve-year-old boy who had a surgery of the posterior fossa at the age of two years and then developed recurrent headaches, instability of gait, and hearing deficit at around ten years of age. Clinical examination revealed progressive ataxia and mild sensorineural hearing loss. He also had infrequent seizures with mild electroencephalographic abnormality. His serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) showed a progressive deposition of hemosiderin in the cerebellar folia and around the brainstem, confirming a diagnosis of superficial siderosis. This case report draws attention to this rare condition, usually seen in adults, even though rarely it can be seen in children as a chronic sequela of surgery of the posterior fossa.

Cyclical vomiting syndrome with bilateral epileptiform discharges.

Cyclical vomiting syndrome is a paroxysmal, condition characterized by recurrent severe episodes of vomiting lasting for hours to days, with variable intervals of normal health in between with no apparent cause of the vomiting. We hereby report a 10 yr old girl with cyclical vomiting syndrome with multiple, bisynchronous occipitally predominant, bilateral epileptiform discharges representing a diagnostic confusion.