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Patients with features similar to Huntington's disease, without CAG expansion in huntingtin

  • Adam Rosenblatt
  • , N. G. Ranen
  • , D. C. Rubinsztein
  • , O. C. Stine
  • , R. L. Margolis
  • , M. V. Wagster
  • , M. W. Becher
  • , A. E. Rosser
  • , J. Leggo
  • , J. R. Hodges
  • , C. K. ffrench-Constant
  • , M. Sherr
  • , M. L. Franz
  • , M. H. Abbott
  • , C. A. Ross

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

* Objective: To describe characteristics of gene-negative patients with clinical features of Huntington's disease (HD), exploring likely etiologies.

*Background: When a direct gene test became definitive for diagnosis of HD, we discovered a number of patients in our clinics in Baltimore, MD, and Cambridge, UK, believed or suspected to have HD who did not have the triplet repeat expansion.

* Methods: Patients were examined using standardized instruments, and given full neurologic and psychiatric evaluations. Those negative for HD were tested for dentatorubro-pallidoluysian atrophy, SCA-1, SCA-3, SCA-2, SCA-6, and other conditions as indicated.

* Results: Of 15 patients, 7 received specific diagnoses or appear to be sporadic cases, 4 have a possible but uncertain relation to HD, and 4 have unknown familial progressive movement disorders.

* Conclusions: This last group of patients might be properly described as phenocopies of HD, some of which may be caused by unidentified triplet repeat expansions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)215-220
Number of pages6
JournalNeurology
Volume51
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 1998

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