Spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is an X-linked disease characterized by degeneration of motor neurons, muscle atrophy, and progressive weakness. It is caused by a polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion in the androgen receptor (AR), a transcription factor that is activated upon hormone binding. The polyQ expansion in AR causes it to form intracellular aggregates and impairs transcriptional activit...

Expansions of polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts in nine different proteins cause a family of neurodegenerative disorders called polyQ diseases. Because polyQ tracts are potential therapeutic targets for these pathologies there is great interest in characterizing the conformations that they adopt and in understanding how their aggregation behavior is influenced by the sequences flanking them. We used...

Different somatic motor neuron subpopulations show a differential vulnerability to degeneration in diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and spinobulbar muscular atrophy. Studies in mutant superoxide dismutase 1 over-expressing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis model mice indicate that initiation of disease is intrinsic to motor neurons, while progression is promot...

OBJECTIVE To study tremor in patients with X-linked recessive spinobulbar muscular atrophy or Kennedy's disease. METHODS Ten patients (from 7 families) with a genetic diagnosis of Kennedy's disease were screened for the presence of tremor using a standardized clinical protocol and followed up at a neurology outpatient clinic. All index patients were genotyped and showed an expanded allele in ...

Polyglutamine expansion in androgen receptor (AR) is responsible for spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) that leads to selective loss of lower motor neurons. Using SBMA as a model, we explored the relationship between protein structure/function and neurodegeneration in polyglutamine diseases. We show here that protein arginine methyltransferase 6 (PRMT6) is a specific co-activator of normal and...

We describe a protocol for the rapid and sensitive quantification of disease severity in mouse models of cerebella ataxia. It is derived from previously published phenotype assessments in several disease models, including spinocerebellar ataxias, Huntington s disease and spinobulbar muscular atrophy. Measures include hind limb clasping, ledge test, gait and kyphosis. Each measure is recorded on...

There is limited data on the differences in F-wave characteristics between spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) and lower motor neuron dominant (LMND) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We compared the parameters of F-waves recorded bilaterally from the median, ulnar, tibial, and deep peroneal nerves in 32 SBMA patients, 37 patients with LMND ALS, and 30 normal controls. The maximum F-wave amp...

how to cite this article: rashnonejad a, onay h, atik t, atan sahin o, gokben s, tekgul h, ozkinay f. molecular genetic analysis of survival motor neuron gene in 460 turkish cases with suspicious spinal muscular atrophy disease. iran j child neurol. autumn 2016; 10(4):30-35. abstract objective to describe 12 yr experience of molecular genetic diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy (sma) in 460 ca...

Spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is an inherited neuromuscular disorder caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat encoding a polyglutamine tract in exon 1 of the androgen receptor (AR) gene. SBMA demonstrates androgen-dependent toxicity due to unfolding and aggregation of the mutant protein. There are currently no disease-modifying therapies, but of increasing interest for therapeutic targetin...

spinal muscular atrophies (smas) represent a rare group of inherited disorders that cause progressive degeneration of the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. the exact cause of the degeneration is unknown. loss of these cells results in a progressive lower motor neuron disease that has no sensory involvement and that is manifested as hypotonia, weakness, and progressive paralysis. kugelberg...