Orphanet J Rare Dis
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Orphanet J Rare Dis · Jan 2015
Quality of life in patients with locked-in syndrome: Evolution over a 6-year period.
Improved knowledge of the quality of life (QoL) of locked-in syndrome (LIS) patients have implications for managing their care, and assists clinicians in choosing the most appropriate interventions. We performed a survey of a population of LIS patients to describe the course of the QoL of LIS patients over a 6-year period and to determine the potential predictive factors of QoL changes over time. ⋯ In opposition to a widespread opinion, LIS persons report a relatively satisfactory QoL level that stays stable over time, suggesting that life with LIS is worth living. Preservation of autonomy and communication may help them to live as normal life as possible.
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Sneddon's syndrome (SS) is a rare non-inflammatory thrombotic vasculopathy characterized by the combination of cerebrovascular disease with livedo racemosa(LR). The Orpha number for SS is ORPHA820. It has been estimated that the incidence of SS is 4 per 1 million per annum in general population and generally occurs in women between the ages of 20 and 42 years. ⋯ The optimal management remains an unsolved problem and long-term anticoagulation have been recommended for cerebral ischemic events based on the presumed pathogenesis. There are controversial results in treatment of SS with immunomodulatory agents. The aim of this review is to comprehensively discuss this disease.
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Orphanet J Rare Dis · Dec 2014
Multicenter StudySeverity score for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia.
A disease severity score in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) would be a useful tool for assessing burden of disease and for designing clinical trials. Here, we propose the first known HHT severity score, the HHT-score. ⋯ We have taken the first steps toward creating a global measure of disease severity in HHT. While the initial results are promising, further validation of the HHT-score is still required.
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Orphanet J Rare Dis · Nov 2014
ReviewTreatable inborn errors of metabolism presenting as cerebral palsy mimics: systematic literature review.
Inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) have been anecdotally reported in the literature as presenting with features of cerebral palsy (CP) or misdiagnosed as 'atypical CP'. A significant proportion is amenable to treatment either directly targeting the underlying pathophysiology (often with improvement of symptoms) or with the potential to halt disease progression and prevent/minimize further damage. ⋯ Limited by the rare nature of IEMs and incomplete information in the literature, we conclude that (1) A surprisingly large number of IEMs can present with CP symptoms, as 'CP mimics', (2) although individually rare, a large proportion of these diseases are treatable such that neurological damage can either be reversed or prevented, (3) clinician awareness of treatable CP mimics is important for appropriate screening, diagnosis, and early intervention, and (4) systematic studies are required to elucidate the collective frequency of treatable IEMs in CP.
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Orphanet J Rare Dis · Sep 2014
STUB1 mutations in autosomal recessive ataxias - evidence for mutation-specific clinical heterogeneity.
A subset of hereditary cerebellar ataxias is inherited as autosomal recessive traits (ARCAs). Classification of recessive ataxias due to phenotypic differences in the cerebellum and cerebellar structures is constantly evolving due to new identified disease genes. Recently, reports have linked mutations in genes involved in ubiquitination (RNF216, OTUD4, STUB1) to ARCA with hypogonadism. ⋯ These results suggest that STUB1 mutations might cause disease by impacting not only the E3 ligase function, but also its protein interaction properties and protein amount. Whether the clinical heterogeneity seen in STUB1 ARCA can be related to the location of the mutations remains to be understood, but interestingly, all siblings with the p.Asn65Ser substitution showed a marked appearance of accelerated aging not previously described in STUB1 related ARCA, none display hormonal aberrations/clinical hypogonadism while some affected family members had diabetes, alopecia, uveitis and ulcerative colitis, further refining the spectrum of STUB1 related disease.