Abstract
Niemann-Pick type C disease (NPC) is a neurovisceral lysosomal storage disorder with a heterogeneous phenotype including ataxia, cognitive impairment, impairment of vertical saccades, and psychiatric symptoms, among many others. Based on clinical, genetic, and biomarker findings, recent guidelines put forward a screening for atypical and oligosymptomatic forms of NPC in clinical niches with an increased risk. Here, we report methods and results of a negative screening study in the niche of a memory clinic. We retrospectively and prospectively identified 83 patients with unclassified cognitive impairment (15 dementia, 46 mild cognitive impairment, and 22 progressive subjective cognitive decline) before 60 years of age (82 patients between 41 and 60 years). We explored the prevalence of clinical features compatible with NPC and measured plasma levels of chitotriosidase and cholestantriol. The NPC suspicion index indicated high probability for NPC in 3 and moderate probability in 16 patients. Prevalent (>5%) neurological and psychiatric features were depression, seizures, ataxia, dysarthria, and psychotic symptoms. Vertical gaze palsy without parkinsonism was observed in one patient. Cholestantriol levels were only abnormal in one patient. Chitotriosidase levels were susceptible to slight elevations that were reproducible in only two of five patients. Our study does not exclude NPC among memory clinic patients. Instead, we suggest conducting prospective screening studies in younger cohorts that include a focused neurological examination. Excluding minor cognitive impairment and discarding depression as an independent disease symptom probably further improve screening effectivity but may delay or miss therapeutic options in early or mild disease.
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Communicated by: Maurizio Scarpa, M.D, Ph.D
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Synopsis
Niemann-Pick type C disease was not detected among memory clinic patients despite cases with abnormal suspicion index or plasma biomarkers, but future screenings may be positive in larger and younger cohorts with disease characteristics in addition to cognitive impairment and depression.
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A.T. has received travel fees by Actelion Pharmaceuticals.
M.T.H. declares that his Clinical Neuroscience unit at the Department of Neurology has received funding for this clinical study.
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The study was funded by Actelion Pharmaceuticals.
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All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.
Author Contributions
Andreas Traschütz acquired the data, performed the analysis, and wrote the manuscript.
Michael T. Heneka planned the study and wrote the manuscript.
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© 2018 Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism (SSIEM)
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Traschütz, A., Heneka, M.T. (2018). Screening for Niemann-Pick Type C Disease in a Memory Clinic Cohort. In: Morava, E., Baumgartner, M., Patterson, M., Rahman, S., Zschocke, J., Peters, V. (eds) JIMD Reports, Volume 44. JIMD Reports, vol 44. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8904_2018_133
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/8904_2018_133
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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Online ISBN: 978-3-662-58617-4
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