POMGnT1 mutations in congenital muscular dystrophy: genotype-phenotype correlation and expanded clinical spectrum.

BACKGROUND: Muscle-eye-brain disease is a congenital muscular dystrophy with eye and brain involvement due to POMGnT1 mutations.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and molecular features of 3 Italian patients with POMGnT1 mutations.
DESIGN: Case reports. PATIENTS: One patient had muscle and brain abnormalities without eye involvement. Two patients had a classic muscle-eye-brain disease phenotype with different levels of clinical severity.
RESULTS: Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed cortical malformation and posterior fossa involvement. Immunofluorescence for glycosylated alpha-dystroglycan performed on muscle biopsy specimens demonstrated an absent signal in 1 patient and reduced staining in 2 patients. Molecular analysis identified 5 mutations, 2 of which are novel.
CONCLUSION: This article adds to what is known about the genotype-phenotype correlation and expands our awareness of the clinical spectrum associated with POMGnT1 mutations.