A familial case of DRPLA diagnosed by an autopsy associated with hemoglobinopathy (Hb Takamatsu)

: The patient first noticed general muscle stiffness at the age of 36. Two years later, she suffered from a tonic-clonic seizure which brought her to a hospital for the first time. Choreoathetoid movement, ataxia and cognitive deficit were apparent. At the age of 44, tonic-clonic seizures became more frequent and she was admitted to our hospital as being status epilepticus. After the cessation of clinical seizures, she became appllic. Gradual increase of atrophic changes in cerebrum, cerebellum and brain stem were observed by MRI and CT. Hematological study showed that she had abnormal hemoglobin, Hb Takamatsu. Four of her five children were clinically examined; all of them showed abnormal EEG findings; three being mentally retarded and had clinical generalized convulsive seizures; two had hemoglobinopathy (Hb Takamatsu). The patient died from sepsis at the age of 50 and the autopsy was carried out. The brain weighed 930 gram. Histological findings confirmed the diagnosis of dentato-rubro-pallido-luysian atrophy; neuronal loss accompanied by gliosis in dentate nuclei, red nuclei, lateral part of globus pallidus, and subthalamic nuclei. The coincidence of the hereditary traits of two independent diseases, DRPLA and familial hemoglobinopathy (Hb Takamatsu) suggests closeness of their genetic loci.