title: [Siblings of early onset cerebellar ataxia with hypoalbuminemia].
abstract: Recently, a new syndrome of early onset cerebellar ataxia with hypoalbuminemia (EOCA-HA) was reported in Japan. The clinical features of EOCA-HA overlap with those of Friedreich's ataxia (FA), and primary hypoalbuminemia is a characteristic laboratory finding of this syndrome. Genetic linkage analysis of EOCA-HA including this newly reported family revealed that the gene for EOCA-HA is located on the long arm of chromosome 9 as FA. However, several recombination events were observed between D9S15 in EOCA-HA, whereas no recombination events were seen in FA. We report on two siblings with EOCA-HA and discuss the clinical and laboratory features. The patients were a 25-year-old man (patient 1) and a 23-year-old man (patient 2). Their parents marriage was non-consanguineous. The mode of inheritance is compatible with autosomal recessive mode. Clinically, they showed cerebellar ataxia as the initial symptom in the late infantile period and subsequently showed choreoathetosis and ocular motor apraxia at the age of approximately fifteen years. Deep tendon reflexes were reduced in late infancy and finally disappeared. Amyotrophy and sensory impairment of the legs developed at approximately twenty. Abnormal electrocardiogram and diabetes mellitus were not observed. On X-ray CT scan or MRI, the cerebella of both patients were mildly atrophic. Clinical features in these siblings were indistinguishable from those of ataxia telangiectasia, but immunodeficiency syndrome was absent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Kanagawa Prefectural Center of Psychiatry, Kinkoh Hospital.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hanihara
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Amano
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwamoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwabuchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D002524:Cerebellar Ataxia / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D012709:Serum Albumin