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