Responsiveness to levodopa in epsilon-sarcoglycan deletions

✍ Scribed by Marta San Luciano; Laurie Ozelius; Katherine Sims; Deborah Raymond; Liu Liu; Rachel Saunders-Pullman

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 905 KB
• Volume: 24
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-3185
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.22375

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Myoclonus‐dystonia (M‐D) is characterized by early‐onset myoclonus and dystonia, and is often due to mutations in the epsilon‐sarcoglycan gene (SCGE) at locus 7q21. The pathogenesis of M‐D is poorly understood, and in a murine knockout model, dopaminergic hyperactivity has been postulated as a mechanism. We present two unrelated individuals with M‐D due to SCGE deletions who displayed a robust and sustained response to levodopa (L‐dopa) treatment. In contrast to using dopamine blocking agents suggested by the hyperdopaminergic knockout model, we propose that a trial of L‐dopa may be considered in patients with myoclonus‐dystonia. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society