epilepsy

Tonic seizures have their onset in the first month of life.  These become refractory as documented by the EEG which shows severe background slowing, multifocal origins, and hypsarrhythmia.  Psychomotor development is severely delayed and accompanied by profound intellectual disability.  The two reported children were unable to stand and never developed speech.  Feeding difficulties requires tube feeding.  Microcephaly eventually develops along with axial hypotonia and limb ataxia.

Brain MRI was normal at 5 months of age in one individual but at 6 years old showed cerebellar atrophy.  Her younger male sibling at 2 months of age had a normal MRI but cerebellar atrophy was present at 3 years of age.  He died at 3.5 years while his older sib died at age 7 years.

Infants may appear normal at birth but within a few months develop signs of developmental stagnation with onset of tonic-clonic seizures.  Irritability, poor feeding, vomiting and failure to thrive are important features.  Generalized hypotonia is evident but lower limb deep tendon reflexes may be present.  Normal developmental milestones are never achieved and patients are unresponsive to their environment.  Older individuals develop non-purposeful choreothetoid movements.  The EEG shows multifocal epileptiform discharges and brain MRIs show diffuse atrophy in older patients.

Hypo- and hyperpigmented skin macules in a 'salt and pepper' pattern, have been described.  These vary from 2-5 mm in size and are located primarily on the extremities.  These are found among children older than 3 years of age and some parents have reported that the hyperpigmentation may decrease after many years.  No such lesions were found in mucosal tissue.        

This is a highly complex dysmorphic developmental disorder with unusual progression of facial features.  Birth weight and length are usually normal but later there is general somatic and mental growth delay with microcephaly (pre- and post natal), short stature, intellectual disability, and epilepsy (70%).  Hypotonia has been noted at birth.  A significant proportion (~50%) of patients have Hirschsprung disease with megacolon.  Congenital heart defects are common, many involving septal openings.  Hypospadias is often present with or without other genitourinary anomalies.  Teeth are often crowded and crooked.  The earlobes may be flattened and may have a central depression.

The facial features are present in early childhood but as they mature the upper half of the nasal profile becomes convex, while the nasal tip becomes longer and overhangs the philtrum.  The eyes appear more deeply set.  The chin lengthens and prognathism becomes apparent.  IQ levels cannot be determined but many individuals exhibit behavioral or emotional disturbances.

This is a disorder primarily of the basal ganglia resulting from progressive damage secondary to iron accumulation.  There is an early onset classic form with symptoms of extrapyramidal disease beginning in the first decade of life and rapid progression to loss of ambulation in about 15 years.  Others with atypical disease may not have symptoms until the second or third decades.  Clumsiness, gait disturbance, and difficulty with tasks requiring fine motor coordination are common presenting symptoms.  Motor tics are often seen.  Dysarthria, dystonia, rigidity and corticospinal signs are often present early as well.  Swallowing difficulties may be severe sometimes leading to malnutrition.  Cognitive decline and psychiatric disturbances such as obsessive-compulsive behavior and depression may follow.  Independent ambulation is lost in the majority of patients within one to two decades.    Brain MRIs show an ‘eye of the tiger’ sign with a specific T²- weighted pattern of hyperintensity within the medial globus pallidus and the substantia nigra pars reticulata.