Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy – case report with positive family history
Małgorzata Kot, Małgorzata Lewandowska, Julia Kruk-Jeromin
Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is an autosomal dominant muscle disorder. Occasional cases of autosomal recessive inheritance have been reported. The pathogenic mechanism of OPMD is unknown. The mutation of the gene encoding PABP1 protein has been detected in patient with OPMD. It consists in expansion of GCG triplet repeat sequence in this gene. Pathological alleles consist of expansions greater that 8 and up to 13 GCG repeats. Due to its prevalence of 1 to 2% in the Western world, the (GCG)7 allele per se is condidered a polymorphism. Clinically OPMD is characterized by slowly progressive blepharoptosis, dysphagia, limb weakness and dysarthria during the fifth or sixth decade of life. Cases of OPMD have been reported in 30 countries. In this report, we described 68-year-old patient with OPMD that has been verified by genetic testing. Dysphagia was occurred in the patient at the age of 28. The blepharoptosis, limb weakness and dysarthria occurred later than dysphagia. Additionally, patient’s mother, older patient’s sister and one brother of the patient’s mother similar symptoms are presented.