MAE. There are many distinct childhood epilepsy syndromes that we have become critically aware of in the genomic era as they are linked to prominent genetic causes, including Dravet Syndrome (SCN1A) and Epilepsy of Infancy with Migrating Focal Seizures (KCNT1). However, there are many other epilepsy syndromes where a genetic cause has long been suspected, but has remained elusive. One of the epilepsy syndromes that has largely remained unexplored is Doose Syndrome, also referred to as Myoclonic Astatic Epilepsy (MAE) or Epilepsy with Myoclonic-Atonic Seizures. In a recent study in Epilepsia, we explored the genetic architecture of Doose Syndrome and identified monogenic causes in 14% of individuals, including SYNGAP1, NEXMIF (KIAA2022), and SLC6A1. Our study suggests that Doose Syndrome is genetically heterogeneous, possibly with a distinct genetic landscape. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Doose Syndrome
Identifying the Doose gene – SLC6A1 mutations in Myoclonic Astatic Epilepsy
Doose Syndrome. In the early 1970s, a group of children with severe childhood epilepsies was found to have comparable clinical features that consisted of quick jerks and subsequent drop attacks amongst other types of epileptic seizures. These seizures, myoclonic-astatic or myoclonic-atonic seizures, eventually became the defining feature of an epilepsy syndrome referred to as Myoclonic Astatic Epilepsy or Doose Syndrome. In the recent issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, we report on the first true gene for Doose Syndrome. Here is the story of SLC6A1 (GAT-1). Continue reading
CHD2 myoclonic encephalopathy – delineating a novel disease
CHD2. In 2013, mutations in CHD2 were reported in various publications including two major studies on epileptic encephalopathies, reinforcing the notion that de novo mutations in this gene are a recurrent cause of epileptic encephalopathies. However, large-scale studies often cannot fully appreciate the complete phenotype of the patient behind the gene finding. Therefore, it is difficult to appreciate similarities between patients and assess whether phenotypes constitute a recognizable entity. In a recent publication in Neurology, the phenotype of CHD2 encephalopathy is explored in detail – it represents a distinct, recognizable disease entity. Continue reading
Heat at the synapse – STX1B mutations in fever-associated epilepsies
Febrile Seizures. The discovery of the genes for fever-associated epilepsies was one of the most relevant milestones in epilepsy genetics. Discovery of the underlying genes including SCN1A, SCN1B and GABRG2 was tightly linked to the development of the Genetic/Generalized Epilepsy with Febrile Seizures Plus (GEFS+) concept, describing the spectrum of epilepsy phenotypes seen in families with these mutations. Gene discovery in GEFS+, however, has slowed down in recent years, and no further causative genes had been identified for more than a decade. Now, in a recent paper in Nature Genetics, mutations in STX1B are found as a novel cause for fever-associated epilepsies. Continue reading
