This article is about a type of spinal muscular atrophy linked to a genetic defect in the AR gene. For a list of other conditions with similar names, see Spinal muscular atrophies.
Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy
Other names: spinobulbar muscular atrophy, bulbo-spinal atrophy, X-linked bulbospinal neuropathy (XBSN), X-linked spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMAX1), Kennedy's disease (KD), and many other names[1]
SBMA is inherited in an X-linked recessive pattern.
Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), popularly known as Kennedy's disease, is a progressive debilitating neurodegenerative disorder resulting in muscle cramps and progressive weakness due to degeneration of motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord.[5][6]
Individuals with SBMA have muscle cramps and progressive weakness due to degeneration of motor neurons in the brain stem and spinal cord. Ages of onset and severity of manifestations in affected males vary from adolescence to old age, but most commonly develop in middle adult life. The syndrome has neuromuscular and endocrine manifestations.[6]
Early signs often include weakness of tongue and mouth muscles, fasciculations, and gradually increasing weakness of limb muscles with muscle wasting. Neuromuscular management is supportive, and the disease progresses very slowly, but can eventually lead to extreme disability.[11] Further signs and symptoms include:
Ideogram of human X chromosome.
Neurological
Bulbar signs: bulbar muscles are those supplied by the motor nerves from the brain stem, which control swallowing, speech, and other functions of the throat.[4]
Lower motor neuron signs: lower motor neurons are those in the brainstem and spinal cord that directly supply the muscles, loss of lower motor neurons leads to weakness and wasting of the muscle.[4]
Babinski response: when the bottom of the foot is scraped, the toes bend down (an abnormal response would be an upward movement of the toes indicating a problem with higher-level (upper) motor neurons).[12]
Homozygous females, both of whose X chromosomes have a mutation leading to CAG expansion of the AR gene, have been reported to show only mild symptoms of muscle cramps and twitching. No endocrinopathy has been described.[14]
SBMA is a hereditarysyndrome, inherited in an X-linked recessive manner.[7] The ARgene, located in the X chromosome, involves a section consisting of CAG repeats. The number of repeats varies among individuals. Healthy males carry up to 34 repeats. From 35 to around 46 repeats, penetrance (the possibility that the individual manifests the disease) gradually increases, approaching a maximum value (full penetrance).[10] Therefore, males bearing 35 to 46 CAG repeats are at intermediate but increasing risk for developing SBMA. Males bearing 47 or more repeats have nearly 100% risk of developing SBMA.[10] Other, still unidentified genetic factors may also play a role in disease manifestation and symptoms’ severity. Genetic founder effects are likely to be responsible for the higher prevalence of SBMA observed in certain geographic regions.[citation needed]
The mechanism behind SBMA is caused by expansion of a CAG repeat in the first exon of the androgen receptor gene (trinucleotide repeats). The CAG repeat encodes a polyglutamine tract in the androgen receptor protein. The greater the expansion of the CAG repeat, the earlier the disease onset and more severe the disease manifestations. The repeat expansion likely causes a toxic gain of function in the receptor protein, since loss of receptor function in androgen insensitivity syndrome does not cause motor neuron degeneration.[15]
Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy may share mechanistic features with other disorders caused by polyglutamine expansion, such as Huntington's disease. No cure for SBMA is known.[16]
a) Type 2 ‘saddleback’ pattern (standard V1-V2 precordial lead) b) SBMA muscle
Diagnosis of SBMA is based on identifying the number of CAG repeats in the ARgene using molecular techniques such as PCR. The accuracy of such techniques is nearly 100%.[7] Additionally one should also look for the following:[17]
In terms of the management of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, no cure is known and treatment is supportive. Rehabilitation to slow muscle weakness can prove positive, though the prognosis indicates some individuals will require the use of a wheelchair in later stages of life.[18]
Surgery may achieve correction of the spine, and early surgical intervention should be done in cases where prolonged survival is expected. Preferred nonsurgical treatment occurs due to the high rate of repeated dislocation of the hip.[13]
A 2006 study followed 223 patients for a number of years. Of these, 15 died, with a median age of 65 years. The authors tentatively concluded that this is in line with a previously reported estimate of a shortened life expectancy of 10–15 years (12 in their data).[19]
↑ 4.04.14.24.34.44.54.64.74.84.9La Spada, Albert (1993-01-01). Pagon, Roberta A.; Adam, Margaret P.; Ardinger, Holly H.; Wallace, Stephanie E.; Amemiya, Anne; Bean, Lora J.H.; Bird, Thomas D.; Fong, Chin-To; Mefford, Heather C. (eds.). Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle. PMID20301508. Archived from the original on 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2021-08-18. Update: July 3, 2014
↑ 5.05.1Kennedy, W. R.; Alter, M.; Sung, J. H. (1968). "Progressive proximal spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy of late onset. A sex-linked recessive trait". Neurology. 18 (7): 671–680. doi:10.1212/WNL.18.7.671. PMID4233749. S2CID45735233.
↑ 6.06.1A, La Spada (1993–2020). "Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy". PMID20301508. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
↑ 7.07.17.27.3Krivickas, L. S. (2003). "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other motor neuron diseases". Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. 14 (2): 327–345. doi:10.1016/S1047-9651(02)00119-5. PMID12795519.
↑Chen CJ, Fischbeck KH (2006). "Ch. 13: Clinical aspects and the genetic and molecular biology of Kennedy's disease". In Tetsuo Ashizawa, Wells, Robert V. (eds.). Genetic Instabilities and Neurological Diseases (2nd ed.). Boston: Academic Press. pp. 211–222. ISBN978-0-12-369462-1.
↑ 10.010.110.2Laskaratos, Achilleas; Breza, Marianthi; Karadima, Georgia; Koutsis, Georgios (2020-06-22). "Wide range of reduced penetrance alleles in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy: a model-based approach". Journal of Medical Genetics: jmedgenet–2020–106963. doi:10.1136/jmedgenet-2020-106963. ISSN0022-2593. PMID32571900.
↑Adachi, H.; Waza, M.; Katsuno, M.; Tanaka, F.; Doyu, M.; Sobue, G. (2007-04-01). "Pathogenesis and molecular targeted therapy of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy". Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology. 33 (2): 135–151. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2990.2007.00830.x. ISSN1365-2990. PMID17359355. S2CID73301743.
↑La Spada, Albert (1993). "Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy". GeneReviews®. University of Washington, Seattle. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2021.