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Roberto Cilia, MD; Jeremy Kraff, MD; Margherita Canesi, MD; Gianni Pezzoli, MD; Stefano Goldwurm, MD, PhD; Khalid Amiri, PhD; Hiu-Tung Tang, BS; Ruiqin Pan, MS; Paul J. Hagerman, MD, PhD; Flora Tassone, PhD

Arch Neurol. 2009;66(2):244-249.

Background  Fragile X–associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a progressive, late-onset neurodegenerative disease that affects older carriers of premutation (CGG) repeat expansions of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. Clinical features include intention tremor, gait ataxia, memory loss, peripheral neuropathy, autonomic dysfunction, and parkinsonism. The presence of parkinsonism in FXTAS raises the possibility that some individuals who have Parkinson disease are actually carriers of a premutation FMR1 allele.

Objective  To screen DNA samples from a large cohort of females with Parkinson disease for an excess of expanded alleles of the FMR1 gene.

Design and Patients  We screened a cohort of 595 women with parkinsonism, the largest screening of a parkinsonism-associated group to date, for the presence of an FMR1 premutation allele (55-200 CGG repeats). The screening protocol uses an enhanced polymerase chain reaction method capable of flagging any FMR1 expanded CGG repeat in women as well as in men.

Setting  Diagnostic assessments were performed at an outpatient tertiary clinic (Parkinson Institute, Milan). Genotyping was conducted at the University of California, Davis.

Main Outcome Measures  CGG repeat number and clinical/neuroimaging assessments of patients with Parkinson disease were conducted. Two premutation carriers were identified.

Results  Two individuals possessed an FMR1 allele in the premutation range (CGG repeats: 30 and 75; 30 and 115). This carrier frequency (2 of 595 [0.34%]) is not significantly different from estimates of the allele frequency among women in the general population (0.4%-0.8%). Clinical and radiologic features of these 2 patients were similar to those of the general Parkinson disease population; however, 1 patient (115 CGG repeats) had a family history of 2 sons with the fragile X syndrome.

Conclusion  Screening of women within the parkinsonism clinical spectrum is unlikely to be productive in the absence of additional medical or family history suggestive of involvement of the FMR1 gene.

Author Affiliations: Parkinson Institute–Clinici di Perfezionamento, Milan, Italy (Drs Cilia, Canesi, Pezzoli, and Goldwurm); Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine (Drs Kraff, Hagerman, and Tassone and Mss Tang and Pan); Department of Biology, College of Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (Dr Amiri); and M.I.N.D. Institute (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders), University of California, Davis, Medical Center, Sacramento (Drs Hagerman and Tassone).

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