Movement disorders in patients with alternating hemiplegia
Eleni Panagiotakaki, Diane Doummar, Erika Nogué, Nicolas Nagot, Gaëtan Lesca, Florence Riant, Sophie Nicole, Charlene Delaygue, Marie Anne Barthez, Marie‐Cécile Nassogne, A. Dusser, Louis Vallée, T. Billette, Marie Bourgeois, Christine Ioos, Cyril Gitiaux, Cécile Laroche, Mathieu Milh, Vincent des Portes, Alexis Arzimanoglou, Agathe Roubertie, the AHC–Movement Disorder Study Group
Abstract
<h3>Objective</h3> To assess nonparoxysmal movement disorders in <i>ATP1A3</i> mutation-positive patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC). <h3>Methods</h3> Twenty-eight patients underwent neurologic examination with particular focus on movement phenomenology by a specialist in movement disorders. Video recordings were reviewed by another movement disorders specialist and data were correlated with patients9 characteristics. <h3>Results</h3> Ten patients were diagnosed with chorea, 16 with dystonia (nonparoxysmal), 4 with myoclonus, and 2 with ataxia. Nine patients had more than one movement disorder and 8 patients had none. The degree of movement disorder was moderate to severe in 12/28 patients. At inclusion, dystonic patients (n = 16) were older (<i>p</i> = 0.007) than nondystonic patients. Moreover, patients (n = 18) with dystonia or chorea, or both, had earlier disease onset (<i>p</i> = 0.042) and more severe neurologic impairment (<i>p</i> = 0.012), but this did not correlate with genotype. All patients presented with hypotonia, which was characterized as moderate or severe in 16/28. Patients with dystonia or chorea (n = 18) had more pronounced hypotonia (<i>p</i> = 0.011). Bradykinesia (n = 16) was associated with an early age at assessment (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Significant dysarthria was diagnosed in 11/25 cases. A history of acute neurologic deterioration and further regression of motor function, typically after a stressful event, was reported in 7 patients. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Despite the relatively limited number of patients and the cross-sectional nature of the study, this detailed categorization of movement disorders in patients with AHC offers valuable insight into their precise characterization. Further longitudinal studies on this topic are needed.