Familial idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (FIBGC) is a rare, autosomal dominant disorder involving bilateral calcification of the basal ganglia. To identify gene mutations related to a Chinese FIBGC lineage, we evaluated available individuals in the family using CT scans. DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of available family members, and both exonic and flanking intronic sequenc...

background: familial idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (ibgc) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder which is usually transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait. ibgc is genetically heterogeneous and slc20a2, on chromosome 8p21.1–8q11.23, is the first gene found in ibgc-affected patients with varied ancestry. on the other hand, several candidate genes for ibgc on chromosome 2q37, including t...

Vitamin D deficiency (hypovitaminosis D) causes osteomalacia and poor long bone mineralization. In apparent contrast, hypovitaminosis D has been reported in patients with primary brain calcifications ("Fahr's disease"). We evaluated the expression of two phosphate transporters which we have found to be associated with primary brain calcification (SLC20A2, whose promoter has a predicted vitamin ...

BACKGROUND Familial Idiopathic Basal Ganglia Calcification (IBGC) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder which is usually transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait. IBGC is genetically heterogeneous and SLC20A2, on chromosome 8p21.1-8q11.23, is the first gene found in IBGC-affected patients with varied ancestry. On the other hand, several candidate genes for IBGC on chromosome 2q37, including th...

Wang et al. (2012) recently identified seven novel mutations at the SLC20A2 gene in families from China, Spain and Brazil, suggesting that Familial Idiopathic Basal Ganglia Calcification (IBGC) might be a phosphate imbalance disorder. Expressing wild-type human SLC20A2 and the mutated variants, using transport assays in Xenopus oocytes, resulted in significant impaired Pi transport. On the othe...

BACKGROUND Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a rare disorder characterized by distinctive bilateral brain calcification and variable clinical presentations. However, cerebrovascular attack was rarely reported in PFBC patients. We here reported a SLC20A2 mutation patient presenting with acute ischemic stroke. CASE PRESENTATION A 56 years old man was transferred to our hospital bec...

INTRODUCTION There are now a number genes, known to be associated with familial primary brain calcification (PFBC), causing the so called 'Fahr's' disease or syndrome. These are SCL20A2, PDGFB, PDGFRB and XPR1. In this systematic review, we analyse the clinical and radiological features reported in genetically confirmed cases with PFBC. We have additionally reviewed pseudohypoparathyroidism whi...

During conjugation, two yeast cells fuse to form a single zygote. Cell fusion requires extensive remodeling of the cell wall, both to form a seal between the two cells and to remove the intervening material. The two plasma membranes then fuse to produce a continuous cytoplasm. We report the characterization of two cell fusion defective (Fus-) mutants, fus5 and fus8, isolated previously in our l...

Cognitive deficits (CD) in schizophrenia are recalcitrant to treatment as usual. Whilst there has been considerable interest in recent years for evaluating the efficacy of cognitive remediation (CR) programs in schizophrenia at research settings, scant attention has been paid to evaluate the effectiveness of CR programs at everyday clinical practice settings. Method: We evaluated retrospectivel...