Novel DNJ Derivative Ameliorates Cardiac Hypertrophy by Targeting OPA1 and Restoring Mitochondrial Health
Circ Res. 2025 Dec 29. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.125.327407. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Pathological cardiac hypertrophy, an abnormal enlargement of cardiomyocytes and interstitial fibrosis in response to sustained injury or pressure overload, may lead to heart failure or even sudden death. Affected patients often also exhibit myocardial mitochondrial dysfunction and associated structural damage. Discovering more […]
Cerebellar Ataxia-deafness-narcolepsy (ADCA) syndrome. Description of a variable family phenotype
Acta Neurol Belg. 2025 Oct;125(5):1395-1399. doi: 10.1007/s13760-025-02776-1. Epub 2025 Apr 26. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Cerebellar ataxia-deafness-narcolepsy syndrome (ADCA-DN) is a very rare polymorphic subtype of autosomal dominant ataxia type 1 (ADCA type 1). It begins in adulthood, and may also be associated with other variable symptoms as optic atrophy, cataracts, psychosis, depression or sensory neuropathy. PATIENTS […]
Novel in vivo models of autosomal optic atrophy reveal conserved pathological changes in neuronal mitochondrial structure and function
FASEB J. 2025 Apr 15;39(7):e70497. doi: 10.1096/fj.202403271R. ABSTRACT Autosomal optic atrophy (AOA) is a form of hereditary optic neuropathy characterized by the irreversible and progressive degermation of the retinal ganglion cells. Most cases of AOA are associated with a single dominant mutation in OPA1, which encodes a protein required for fusion of the inner mitochondrial […]
Incidence and health burden of 20 rare neurological diseases in South China from 2016 to 2022: a hospital-based observational study
Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2025 Apr 8;20(1):163. doi: 10.1186/s13023-025-03704-5. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Rare neurological diseases (RNDs) result in severe health burdens worldwide. Data from China are limited. We aimed to investigate the health burden of 20 RNDs in Guangdong Province (GD), which contains two-thirds of the population of South China. METHODS: The hospitalization data of 20 […]
Natural history of patients with autosomal dominant WFS1 pathogenic variants associated with sensorineural hearing loss and optic atrophy
medRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Feb 25:2025.02.23.25322342. doi: 10.1101/2025.02.23.25322342. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Autosomal dominant pathogenic variants in the WFS1 gene can cause a broad spectrum of WFS1-related disorders. These disorders present with a range of phenotypic manifestations, including isolated low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss, optic nerve atrophy accompanied by low- to mid-frequency sensorineural hearing loss, isolated diabetes mellitus, and […]
A novel frameshift variant leads to familial osteopetrosis with variable phenotypes in a Chinese Han consanguineous family
BMC Med Genomics. 2025 Feb 24;18(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s12920-025-02101-y. ABSTRACT Osteopetrosis, a group of highly heterogeneous genetic bone disorders, is characterized by deafness, increased bone density, hepatosplenomegaly, pancytopenia and intellectual disability. Osteopetrosis can be divided into three subtypes: autosomal recessive osteopetrosis (ARO), intermediate autosomal recessive osteopetrosis (IARO), and autosomal dominant osteopetrosis (ADO). CLCN7 has been reported […]
Expanding the Phenotypic Spectrum of SPG7 Rare Damaging Variants: Insights From a Hungarian Cohort
Clin Genet. 2025 Aug;108(2):124-133. doi: 10.1111/cge.14719. Epub 2025 Feb 20. ABSTRACT Mitochondria-associated paraplegin dysfunction is primarily linked to spastic paraplegia; however, genetic alterations in SPG7 have been associated with a broader spectrum of clinical symptoms. To identify disease-causing variants in the SPG7 gene, 437 patients with spastic ataxia, mitochondrial dysfunction-associated symptoms, or motoneuron lesions detected […]
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again
Surv Ophthalmol. 2025 Jul-Aug;70(4):840-844. doi: 10.1016/j.survophthal.2025.01.011. Epub 2025 Feb 14. ABSTRACT A previously healthy 15-year-old Asian boy presented with progressive bilateral painless vision loss, dyschromatopsia, and visual field defects. Optical coherence tomography showed diffuse retinal nerve fiber layer thinning. Work-up including neuroimaging, lab testing for acquired bilateral optic atrophy, extensive mitochondrial and nuclear genetic testing […]
Disruption of mitochondrial homeostasis and permeability transition pore opening in OPA1 iPSC-derived retinal ganglion cells
Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2025 Feb 13;13(1):28. doi: 10.1186/s40478-025-01942-z. ABSTRACT Dominant optic atrophy (DOA) is the most common inherited optic neuropathy, characterised by the selective loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Over 60% of DOA cases are caused by pathogenic variants in the OPA1 gene, which encodes a dynamin-related GTPase protein. OPA1 plays a key role […]
Frequency and Pattern of Gene Therapy Clinical Trials for Inherited Retinal Diseases
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2025;1468:89-93. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-76550-6_15. ABSTRACT This study describes worldwide gene therapy clinical trials aimed at treating inherited retinal diseases (IRD). The information was collected through 15 different international registries including clinicaltrials.gov . There have been 101 gene therapy clinical trials targeting IRD up until the end of 2022. Seventy-seven trials employed gene […]