Publications of the week: genetics of Infantile Spasms, CERS1, DYRK1A, and hyaluronan

This week in epilepsy genetics. The following publications might be relevant for you, as they demonstrate what happened in the field of epilepsy genetics in the last two weeks. The publications range from basic science studies in extracellular space to novel gene discoveries. I have added a brief comment to each of these studies. Continue reading

Hidden neurometabolic disorders – the expanding spectrum of PNPO deficiency

Pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP). PNPO deficiency is a rare neurometabolic disease that presents with severe neonatal epilepsy responsive to pyridoxal phosphate. While the classical clinical presentation is well described, there might be milder versions of this potentially treatable neurometabolic disease that have not been recognized so far. In a recent publication in Brain, the phenotypic spectrum of PNPO deficiency is revisited. In addition to the classical neonatal phenotype, the authors identify patients with later onset and atypical response to pyridoxal phosphate. In addition, they identify a rare, potentially causative PNPO variant that probably gets stuck in most exome filtering pipelines. Continue reading