Hypomyelination with Atrophy of Basal Ganglia and Cerebellum (HABC)Due to UFM1 Mutation in Roma Patients - Severe Early Encephalopathywith Stridor and Severe Hearing and Visual Impairment. A SingleCenter Experience
Иван Иванов, Iliyana Pacheva, Ralitsa Yordanova, Iglika Sotkova, Fani Galabova, Katerina Gaberova, Margarita Panova, Ina Gheneva, Tsvetelina Tsvetanova, Katerina Noneva, Diana Dimitrova, Stoyan Markov, Nikolay Sapundzhiev, Stoyan Bichev, Alexey Savov
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hypomyelination with atrophy of the basal ganglia and cerebellum (H-ABC) is a neurodegenerative disease with neurodevelopmental delay, motor, and speech regression, pronounced extrapyramidal syndrome, and sensory deficits due to TUBB4A mutation. In 2017, a severe variant was described in 16 Roma infants due to mutation in UFM1. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to expand the clinical manifestations of H-ABC due to UFM1 mutation and suggest clues for clinical diagnosis. METHODOLOGY: Retrospective analysis of all 9 cases with H-ABC due to c.-273_-271delTCA mutation in UFM1 treated during 2013-2020 in a Neuropediatric Ward in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. RESULTS: Presentation is no later than 2 months with inspiratory stridor, impaired sucking, swallowing, vision and hearing, and reduced active movements. By the age of 10 months, a monomorphic disease was observed: microcephaly (6/9), malnutrition (5/9), muscle hypertonia (9/9) and axial hypotonia (4/9), progressing to opisthotonus (6/9), dystonic posturing (5/9), nystagmoid ocular movements (6/9), epileptic seizures (4/9), non-epileptic spells (3/9). Dysphagia (7/9), inspiratory stridor (9/9), dyspnea (5/9), bradypnea (5/9), apnea (2/9) were major signs. Vision and hearing were never achieved or lost by 4-8 mo. Neurodevelopment was absent or minimal with subsequent regression after 2-5 mo. Brain imaging revealed cortical atrophy (7/9), atrophic ventricular dilatation (4/9), macrocisterna magna (5/9), reduced myelination (6/6), corpus callosum atrophy (3/6) and abnormal putamen and caput nuclei caudati. The age at death was between 8 and 18 mo. CONCLUSION: Roma patients with severe encephalopathy in early infancy with stridor, opisthotonus, bradypnea, severe hearing and visual impairment should be tested for the Roma founder mutation of H-ABC in UFM1.