Variants in tumor suppressor genes and in genes encoding DNA repairing proteins are associated with syndromes conferring neurologic features and increased risk for malignancy. The best example for these conditions is ataxia-telangiectasia (AT). A more rare and recent disease is an ataxia-pancytopenia syndrome (ATXPC) associated with heterozygous gain-of-function variants in the tumor suppressor gene SAMD9L (MIM 159550). Here, we describe a patient with a complex cerebellar syndrome associated with a novel SAMD9L pathogenic variant. Case PresentationA 54-year-old Swedish man presented with progressive gait difficulties, impaired coordination, dizziness, falls, slurred speech, and urinary urgency. Age at onset was 42 years. Later, recurrent episodes with profuse sweating and crawling in both calves started to occur. There was no family history of movement disorders or other neurologic diseases. His mother died of glioblastoma at age 65 years and his father of cardiac disease. His medical history was unremarkable. Examination revealed dysmetria, inability to perform tandem gait, reduced arm swing, dysarthria, positive Romberg test, conjunctival telangiectasias, nystagmus, and pes cavus (Video 1). Reflexes were brisk, with mild spasticity in the legs. Muscle tone in the arms, sensation to pinprick, strength, and proprioception were normal, and the Babinski sign was absent, but vibration was reduced in both malleoli. At age 50 years, his Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia score was 10 p, and 3 years later, it was 11.5 p (range 0-40 points). 1 There were no signs of orthostatism, and the patient denied gastrointestinal symptoms. ENeG and quantitative sensory testing demonstrated a demyelinating sensorimotor neuropathy and elevated thresholds for heat and cold. EMG revealed chronic mild neurogenic abnormalities in the distal leg and arm muscles with no signs of active denervation, whereas motor evoked potential yielded normal findings. A mild symmetric sensorineural hearing loss was found, but the patient does not require hearing aids. Ophthalmologic evaluation, which included optical coherence tomography and eye-bottom examination, demonstrated presbyopia but no evidence of retinal pathology.Brain MRI with contrast demonstrated marked cerebellar atrophy and confluent periventricular hyperintensities. Additional hyperintensities were found in deep white matter regions that included the corpus callosum's left trunk. There were multiple cysts ranging in size between 1.5 and 3 mm within the hyperintensities and increased T2-weighted signal in the putamen, caudate, and dentate nuclei (Figure). A CT scan ruled out calcifications in the brain. A large
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.