Targeted sequencing of ATP1A3 should be considered in any patient presenting with cerebellar ataxia triggered by febrile illness, or pregnancy and delivery, especially in the presence of sensorineural hearing loss, optic atrophy, pes cavus, or early childhood history of acute encephalopathic ataxia.
Our report contributes to extent the phenotypic spectrum of ATP1A3 mutations, remarking childhood rapid-onset ataxia as an additional clinical presentation of ATP1A3-related conditions.
Mutations in ATP1A3 are involved in a large spectrum of neurological disorders, including rapid onset dystonia parkinsonism (RDP), alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC), and cerebellar ataxia, pes cavus, optic atrophy, and sensorineural hearing loss (CAPOS), with recent descriptions of overlapping phenotypes.
Autosomal dominant mutations in the human ATP1A3 gene encoding the neuron-specific Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase α3 isoform cause different neurological diseases, including rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism (RDP) and alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) with overlapping symptoms, including hemiplegia, dystonia, ataxia, hyperactivity, epileptic seizures, and cognitive deficits.
The field of movement disorders with neuronal antibodies keeps expanding with the discovery for example of antibodies against leucine rich glioma inactivated protein 1 (LGI1) and contactin associated protein 2 (Caspr2) in chorea, or antibodies targeting ARHGAP26- or Na/K ATPase alpha 3 subunit (ATP1A3) in cerebellar ataxia.
Targeted sequencing of the ATP1A3 gene is recommended in children exhibiting paroxysmal, fever-induced ataxia and in adults with a more or less stationary or slowly progressive cerebellar syndrome since childhood accompanied by mixed combinations of areflexia, pes cavus, profound visual impairment, and/or sensorineural hearing loss.
Here, we report on a 34-year-old female presenting with a new ATP1A3-related entity involving a relapsing encephalopathy characterized by recurrent episodes of cerebellar ataxia and altered consciousness during febrile illnesses.
ATP1A3 mutation analysis is appropriate to consider in the diagnostic algorithm for any child presenting with episodic or fluctuating ataxia, weakness or dystonia whether they manifest persistence of neurological symptoms between episodes.