A family with DRPLA and chronic renal failure

We reported a family with dentato-rubro-pallido-luysian atrophy (DRPLA) and chronic renal failure. The proband was a 66-year-old woman who developed gait disturbance, limb ataxia, pyramidal tract signs, and dementia since age 54. T2-weighted brain MR images revealed symmetric high-signal lesions in the cerebral white matter, in addition to cerebellar, brainstem, and cerebral cortical atrophy. She suffered from renal failure and became dialysis-dependent at the age of 59, four years after the onset of chronic nephritic syndrome. At the age of 66, she was admitted to our hospital because of hyperthermia and disturbance of consciousness, and died of DIC. Her CAG repeats in the DRPLA gene were 58 and 12. An autopsy was performed. The brain weighed 910 g. Histological findings confirmed the diagnosis of DRPLA. Her mother died of chronic renal failure. All three siblings had cerebellar ataxia, and two siblings had chronic nephritic syndrome. Among them, only her younger brother was diagnosed as non-IgA glomerulonephritis based on kidney biopsy findings at the age of 48. Though the nature of the association between DRPLA and renal dysfunction remains obscure, the DRPLA gene abnormality may be correlated with chronic renal failure in this family.