G proteins, GNAO1 mutations and Ohtahara Syndrome

G proteins. Intracellular signaling in neurons can occur through various mechanisms including so-called second messengers. G proteins constitute an important part of the signaling cascade that translates the signal from membrane-bound receptors. On neurons, GABA-B receptors or alpha-2 adrenergic receptors use signal transduction through the so-called G alpha-o proteins, which are particularly abundant in the CNS and encoded by the GNAO1 gene. Now a recent paper in the American Journal of Human Genetics describes de novo mutations in Ohtahara Syndrome and movement disorders. Continue reading

The eye of the tiger, brain iron and the beta-propeller

NBIA. Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) is a group of mainly recessive disorders that present with progressive dystonia and dementia. The common feature of these diseases is the excessive accumulation of iron in the basal ganglia. NBIA is very rare and usually not discussed in the context of epilepsy. However, a recent paper in Brain reviews the phenotypes of beta-propeller associated neurodegeneration (BPAN), a novel X-linked disorder with brain iron accumulation. In childhood, the phenotype shares similarities with atypical Rett syndrome and other epileptic encephalopathies, raising the question to what extent the epilepsies that we investigate may be neurodegenerative disorders. Continue reading

ATP1A3 links alternating hemiplegia of childhood with genetic dystonia and parkinsonism

Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC). Acute hemiplegia in children, i.e. weakness of one side of the body, is always a medical emergency. Causes for a sudden hemiplegia can include intracranial bleeds, tumors and rare metabolic disorders. Immediate diagnostic work-up is paramount. In some children, no cause can be found on brain imaging and extensive testing, and the episode remits after hours or days. Strangely, during a following episode, the other side of the body is affected. This condition has been named Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC) by Verret and Steele in 1971. AHC is an enigmatic disorder, which is sometimes associated with epilepsy, developmental delay and dystonia. Even though some cases with mutations in SCN1A, CACNA1A, and ATP1A2 have reported, most cases of AHC are unresolved. Given some resemblance with epilepsy and familial hemiplegic migraine, many children with AHC are followed up by epileptologists. The major cause of AHC has now been identified in a recent study… Continue reading