Pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH) represents a group (PCH1-6) of neurodegenerative autosomal recessive disorders characterized by hypoplasia and/or atrophy of the cerebellum, hypoplasia of the ventral pons, progressive microcephaly and variable neocortical atrophy.
Fourteen patients (12 females and two males; aged 16 months-14 years) presenting with PCH at neuroimaging and with clinical characteristics unsuggestive of PCH1 or PCH2 were included.
Here, we report an association of a novel homozygous splice variant in VRK1 (c.1159 + 1G>A) with childhood-onset SMA or juvenile lower motor disease with brisk tendon reflexes without pontocerebellar hypoplasia and normal intellectual ability in a family with five affected individuals.
In contrast to the previous definition of PCH-1, our observations suggest the existence of milder phenotypes with pontocerebellar hypoplasia or olivopontocerebellar atrophy in combination with anterior horn cell loss.
Very rare polymorphisms in the human VRK1 (vaccinia-related kinase 1) gene have been identified in complex neuromotor phenotypes associated to spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH), microcephaly, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and distal motor neuron dysfunctions.