MedGen

Alexander disease, a progressive disorder of cerebral white matter caused by a heterozygous GFAP pathogenic variant, comprises a continuous clinical spectrum most recognizable in infants and children and a range of nonspecific neurologic manifestations in adults. This chapter discusses the spectrum of Alexander disease as four forms: neonatal, infantile, juvenile, and adult. The neonatal form begins in the first 30 days after birth with neurologic findings (e.g., hypotonia, hyperexcitability, myoclonus) and/or gastrointestinal manifestations (e.g., gastroesophageal reflux, vomiting, failure to thrive), followed by severe developmental delay and regression, seizures, megalencephaly, and typically death within two years. The infantile form is characterized by variable developmental issues: initially some have delayed or plateauing of acquisition of new skills, followed in some by a loss of gross and fine motor skills and language during in the first decade or in others a slow disease course that spans decades. Seizures, often triggered by illness, may be less frequent/severe than in the neonatal form. The juvenile form typically presents in childhood or adolescence with clinical and imaging features that overlap with the other forms. Manifestations in early childhood are milder than those in the infantile form (e.g., mild language delay may be the only developmental abnormality or, with language acquisition, hypophonia or nasal speech may alter the voice, often prior to appearance of other neurologic features). Vomiting and failure to thrive as well as scoliosis and autonomic dysfunction are common. The adult form is typically characterized by bulbar or pseudobulbar findings (palatal myoclonus, dysphagia, dysphonia, dysarthria or slurred speech), motor/gait abnormalities with pyramidal tract signs (spasticity, hyperreflexia, positive Babinski sign), or cerebellar abnormalities (ataxia, nystagmus, or dysmetria). Others may have hemiparesis or hemiplegia with a relapsing/remitting course or slowly progressive quadriparesis or quadriplegia. Other neurologic features can include sleep apnea, diplopia or disorders of extraocular motility, and autonomic dysfunction. [from GeneReviews]

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 20 (SCA20) is characterized by a slowly progressive ataxia and dysarthria. Approximately two thirds of those affected also display palatal tremor ("myoclonus") and/or abnormal phonation clinically resembling spasmodic adductor dysphonia. Dysarthria, which may be abrupt in onset, precedes the onset of ataxia in about two thirds of affected individuals, sometimes by a number of years. Hypermetric horizontal saccades (without nystagmus or disturbance of vestibulo-ocular reflex gain) are seen in about half of affected persons. Although minor pyramidal signs (brisk knee jerks, crossed adductor spread) may be seen, spasticity and extensor plantar responses are not. Cognition is normal. Clinical information is based on the findings in 16 personally examined affected members of a single Australian family of Anglo-Celtic descent. [from GeneReviews]

Palatal tremor (PT) is an involuntary, rhythmic and oscillatory movement of the soft palate. PT is a rare type of tremor involving the soft palate. It can be unilateral or bilateral. [from HPO]