Sandhoff disease comprises a phenotypic continuum encompassing acute infantile, subacute juvenile, and late-onset disease. Although classification into these phenotypes is somewhat arbitrary, it is helpful in understanding the variation observed in the timing of disease onset, presenting manifestations, rate of progression, and life span. Acute infantile Sandhoff disease (onset age <6 months). Infants are generally normal at birth followed by progressive weakness and slowing of developmental progress, then developmental regression and severe neurologic impairment. Seizures are common. Death usually occurs between ages two and three years. Subacute juvenile Sandhoff disease (onset age 2-5 years). After attaining normal developmental milestones, developmental progress slows, followed by developmental regression and neurologic impairment (abnormal gait, dysarthria, and cognitive decline). Death (usually from aspiration) typically occurs in the early to late teens. Late-onset Sandhoff disease (onset older teen years or young adulthood). Nearly normal psychomotor development is followed by a range of neurologic findings (e.g., weakness, spasticity, dysarthria, and deficits in cerebellar function) and psychiatric findings (e.g., deficits in executive function and memory). Life expectancy is not necessarily decreased.

For a general discussion of autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), see SCA1 (164400).

Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) is clinically characterized by a progressive cerebellar ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, and spasticity. Disease onset of classic ARSACS is often in early childhood, leading to delayed walking because of gait unsteadiness in very young toddlers, while an increasing number of individuals with disease onset in teenage or early-adult years are now being described. Typically the ataxia is followed by lower-limb spasticity and later by peripheral neuropathy – although pronounced peripheral neuropathy has been observed as a first sign of ARSACS. Oculomotor disturbances, dysarthria, and upper-limb ataxia develop with slower progression than the other findings. Brain imaging demonstrates atrophy of the superior vermis and the cerebellar hemisphere with additional findings on MRI, such as linear hypointensities in the pons and hyperintense rims around the thalami. Many affected individuals (though not all) have yellow streaks of hypermyelinated fibers radiating from the edges of the optic disc noted on ophthalmologic exam, and thickened retinal fibers can be demonstrated by optical coherence tomography. Mild intellectual disability, hearing loss, and urinary urgency and incontinence have been reported in some individuals.

An autosomal dominant form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by mutation(s) in the FIG4 gene, encoding polyphosphoinositide phosphatase.

Alopecia, neurologic defects, and endocrinopathy syndrome (ANES) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by alopecia with skin involvement including multiple facial nevi and flexural hyperpigmentation; moderately to severely impaired intellectual development; progressive motor decline; and endocrine deficiency (summary by Spiegel et al., 2010).

Hengel-Maroofian-Schols syndrome (HEMARS) is an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe global developmental delay apparent from infancy or early childhood. Affected individuals have delayed walking or inability to walk, impaired intellectual development with poor or absent speech, pyramidal signs manifest as lower limb spasticity, poor overall growth often with short stature and microcephaly, and dysmorphic facial features. Some patients develop seizures. Brain imaging shows thinning of the posterior part of the corpus callosum, delayed myelination, and cerebral and cerebellar atrophy (Hengel et al., 2021).