Background: Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is a devastating multi-system disorder characterized by progressive cerebellar ataxia, growth retardation, immunodeficiency, chronic pulmonary disease and chromosomal instability. Cutaneous granulomas are a known phenomenon in A-T but extra-dermal manifestation of granulomas at bone and synovia has not been reported so far. The clinical presentation, immunological findings, the long-term course and treatment options of eight patients with severe granulomas will be reported. Methods: From our cohort of 44 classical A-T patients, eight patients aged 2-11 years (18.2%) presented with granulomas. Immunological features of patients with and without granulomas were compared. Five patients suffered from cutaneous manifestation, in two patients we detected a bone and in one a joint involvement. Patients with significant extra-dermal involvement as well as one patient with massive skin manifestation were treated with TNF inhibitors. The patient with granulomas at his finger joint and elbow was treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Results: Interestingly, seven of eight patients with granulomas were total IgA deficient, but there were no differences in IgG and IgM levels. All lymphocytes subsets were equally distributed except patients with granuloma had significantly lower naïve CD8 cells. In patients without treatment, four of eight showed a slow but significant enlargement of the granuloma. Treatment success with TNF inhibitors was variable. In one patient, treatment with TNF inhibitors led to a total remission for 3 years up to now. In two patients, treatment with TNF inhibitors led to a partial regression of granulomas. Treatment interruptions caused deterioration again. Conclusions: Granulomas in A-T progress slowly over years and can lead to significant morbidity.Treatment with TNF inhibitors was safe and in part successful in our patients. Interestingly HSCT leads to complete remission, and indicates that aberrant immune function is responsible for granulomas in A-T patients. What This Study Adds to the Field: Granulomas in A-Tprogress slowly over years and can lead to significant morbidity. Treatment with TNF inhibitors was safe and in part successful in our patients. AT A GLANCE COMMENTARY: Scientific knowledge on the subject: Little is known about the clinical presentation, course and treatment of granulomas in ataxia telangiectasia (A-T). In addition, this is the first report of extra-dermal manifestation of granulomas at bone and synovia in patients with A-T. What This Study Adds to the Field: Granulomas in A-Tprogress slowly over years and can lead to significant morbidity. Treatment with TNF inhibitors was safe and in part successful in our patients.

Ataxia-telangiectasia is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder that was initially thought to present exclusively in childhood. With the discovery of the ATM gene, the phenotypic spectrum of the condition has expanded. This review elaborates the expanded phenomenology, including oculomotor apraxia and immunodeficiency, and estimates the presence of each movement disorder feature from previously reported literature. Initial manifestations of Ataxia-telangiectasia include cerebellar symptoms (67%), dystonia (18%), choreoathetosis (10%), and tremor (4%), with parkinsonism and myoclonus not reported as initial features. The prevalence of movement disorders during the course of the disease includes cerebellar symptoms (96%), dystonia (89%), parkinsonism (41%), choreoathetosis (89%), myoclonus (92%), and tremor (74%). Phenomenology and age of onset is modulated by presence of residual ATM kinase activity, with genotypes heavily truncating the ATM protein associated with the most severe phenotypes. Ataxia-telangiectasia commonly results in a spectrum of movement disordersbeyond ataxia and telangiectasias.

© 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

BACKGROUND:

Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is a neurodegenerative cerebellar disorder, caused by mutations in the ATM gene, involved in DNA repair. Radiosensitivity, progressive ataxia, immune deficiency and malignancies, are well known symptoms, but urological manifestations are scarcely described.

OBJECTIVE:

To characterize urologic manifestations in a large cohort of AT patients.

METHODS:

Retrospective cross-sectional chart study comprising 52 AT patients followed at a National AT Center.

RESULTS:

25% of the cohort (13 patients/8 males) had urologic symptoms, which presented at 11 ± 4.3 years. The most common symptom was secondary enuresis affecting 15% of the patients (8 children/4 males). Incontinence appeared at 8 ± 6.2 years of age, and resolved spontaneously within 15 ± 8.3 months in 6 patients. It preceded loss of ambulatory capacity by 1-2 years in 7 patients. Lumbosacral MRI were normal (4 children) and urine cultures (all) were negative. Urodynamic evaluation that was performed in only one patient revealed overactive bladder. Additional manifestations were macroscopic hematuria due to bladder telangiectasia in a 12-year-old, and renal cell carcinoma in a 22-year-old. Other manifestations unrelated to AT were neprolithiasis, vesico-ureteral reflux and scrotal pain, each in 1 patient.

DISCUSSION:

Transient secondary enuresis is a frequent finding in AT patients, heralding loss of ambulatory capacity, tough it's pathophysiological mechanism is largely no understood.

Copyright © 2018 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

BACKGROUND:

Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is a rare, multi-systemic, genetic disorder. Mutations in the ATM gene cause dysfunction in cell-cycle, apoptosis and V (D) J recombination leading to neurodegeneration, cellular, humoral immunodeficiencies and predisposition to malignancies. Previous studies have suggested that a sub-group of AT patients with elevated IgM levels have a distinct and more severe phenotype. In the current study we aimed to better characterize this group of patients.

METHODS:

We performed a retrospective review of 46 patient records, followed from January 1986 to January 2015 at the Israeli National AT Center. Demographic, clinical, radiological, laboratory data was reviewed and compared between AT patients with elevated IgM levels (EIgM) and patients with normal IgM levels (NIgM).

RESULTS:

15/46(32.6%) patients had significantly elevated IgM levels. This group had a unique phenotype characterized mainly by increased risk of infection and early mortality. Colonization of lower respiratory tract with Mycobacterium gordonae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as viral skin infections were more frequent in EIgM patients. Patients with NIgM had a significantly longer survival as compared to patients with EIgM but had an increased incidence of fatty liver or cirrhosis. T-cell recombination excision circles and kappa-deleting element recombination circle levels were significantly lower in the EIgM group, suggesting an abnormal class switching in this group.

CONCLUSIONS:

EIgM in AT patients are indicative of a more severe phenotype that probably results from a specific immune dysfunction. EIgM in AT should be considered a unique AT phenotype that may require different management.

BACKGROUND:

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a well-known primary immunodeficiency with recurrent sinopulmonary infections and variable abnormalities in both the humoral and cellular immune system. Dysfunctions in immunoglobulin production, reduced number of B cells, and B-cell receptor excision circles copies have been reported. We aimed to understand the immunological mechanisms involving the humoral compartment in AT patients by analysing peripheral blood B cells subsets, B-T lymphocyte cooperation through the expression of CD40 and CD40 ligand (CD40L), and cytokines involved in class-switch recombination production.

METHODS:

We compared the proportion of B-cell subsets, the expression of CD40/CD40L, and the plasma levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ of 18 AT patients and 15 healthy age-sex-matched controls using flow cytometry.

RESULTS:

We found that some steps in peripheral B cell development were altered in AT with a pronounced reduction of cell-surface CD40 expression. The proportions of transitional and naïve-mature B cells were reduced, whereas CD21-low, natural effector memory, IgM-only memory, and IgG atypical memory B cells were present in a higher proportion.

CONCLUSIONS:

These findings revealed a disturbed B-cell homeostasis with unconventional maturation of B lymphocyte memory cells, which can explain the consequent impairment of humoral immunity.

Copyright © 2018 SEICAP. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by variants in ATM gene and characterized by progressive neurologic impairment, cerebellar ataxia, and oculo-cutaneous telangiectasia. Immunodeficiency with a recurrent sinopulmonary infections are observed in patients with A-T. Here, we report a novel stop codon variant, c.5944 C>T (p.Gln1982*), revealed by whole-exome sequencing in a 9-year old boy. He presented with recurrent upper respiratory tract infections, failure to thrive, developmental delay, ataxic gait, and bulbar telangiectasia.

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is a multisystem disease caused by a genetic defect located on the long arm of chromosome 11 (11p22-23). The gene defect results in the loss of A-T-mutated protein, subsequently leading to unrepaired DNA fractures and defects in the signal transduction pathway. As a result, characteristic findings arise, including recurrent sinopulmonary infections, hypersensitivity against ionized radiation with the tendency to develop cancer related to progressive cerebellar ataxia, pathognomonic oculocutaneous telangiectasias, varying degrees of humoral and cellular immunodeficiency, and infertility. This case report presents a 3-year-old male patient with A-T who developed hemophagocytic syndrome. To the best of our knowledge, no such case has been previously reported.

INTRODUCTION:

Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T) syndrome is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cerebellar ataxia, oculocutaneous telangiectasia, immunodeficiency, chromosome instability, radiosensitivity, and predisposition to malignancy. There is growing evidence that A-T patients suffer from pathologic inflammation that is responsible for many symptoms of this syndrome, including neurodegeneration, autoimmunity, cardiovascular disease, accelerated aging, and insulin resistance. In addition, epidemiological studies have shown A-T heterozygotes, somewhat like deficient patients, are susceptible to ionizing irradiation and have a higher risk of cancers and metabolic disorders.

AREA COVERED:

This review summarizes clinical and molecular findings of inflammation in A-Tsyndrome.

CONCLUSION:

Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM), a master regulator of the DNA damage response is the protein known to be associated with A-T and has a complex nuclear and cytoplasmic role. Loss of ATM function may induce immune deregulation and systemic inflammation.