Notch3 mutations in cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), a mendelian condition causing stroke and vascular dementia.
Distinct from CADASIL, hereditary endotheliopathy with retinopathy, nephropathy, and stroke (HERNS) is an autosomal dominant multi-infarct syndrome with systemic involvement.
Mutations in NOTCH3 are the cause of cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), a hereditary angiopathy causing stroke and vascular dementia.
Migraine (with aura) and stroke can present in NOTCH3 MCs younger than 35 years; however, more importantly, physical function and cognition are intact.
This article summarizes some recent data on monogenic stroke while focusing on two conditions: CADASIL, as a genetic variant of ischemic small vessel disease, and familial forms of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which share many properties with sporadic disease.
Mutations in the NOTCH3 gene are the cause of cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), which is an important cause of stroke in young adults.
Thirty-eight CADASIL patients (19 to 61 years old; 20 in a prestroke group, 15 in a stroke group, and 3 in a dementia group), all with the R133CNOTCH3 mutation and including one homozygous patient, underwent a detailed ophthalmologic examination.
Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy (CADASIL), due to mutations in the Notch 3 gene, is the best example of monogenic pathology leading to stroke.
Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy is caused by mutations in the NOTCH3 gene and is clinically characterized by recurrent stroke and cognitive decline.
We report for the first time a mutation (c.3471C>G) on exon 21 of the NOTCH3 gene that leads to a cysteine substitution (p.1131C>W) in the EGF-like repeat 29 of the NOTCH3 receptor extracellular domain, and that is responsible for CADASIL in a functionally independent elderly man who came to our attention at the age of 79 because of a minor stroke.
Notch signaling is critically important for proper architecture of the vascular system, and mutations in NOTCH3 are associated with CADASIL, a stroke and dementia syndrome with vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) dysfunction.
The patient experienced a young onset familial stroke with an 856T>G missense mutation in exon 5 of the NOTCH3 gene resulting in a C260G mutation in the sixth epidermal growth factor-like repeat.
Some features were significantly (Fisher exact test p < 0.05) more frequent in CADASIL than in NOTCH3-negative patients: history of migraine (73 vs 39%), stroke before the age of 60 among relatives (71 vs 32%), severe leukoencephalopathy (94 vs 62%), white matter changes extended to the anterior temporal lobes (93 vs 45%), external capsule involvement (100 vs 50%), and presence of lacunar infarcts (100 vs 65%).
Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is caused by mutations in the NOTCH3 gene and is clinically characterized by recurrent stroke, cognitive decline, psychiatric disturbances and migraine.
Also reviewed is recent progress in understanding single-gene disorders in which stroke is a major feature of the phenotype, including CADASIL, CARASIL, hereditary angiopathy with nephropathy, aneurysm and muscle cramps, and Fabry disease and progress in pharmacogenomics as it relates to response to antiplatelet therapy.