Background: Mutations in SQSTM1 gene have been recently identified as a rare cause of progressive childhood neurodegenerative disorder. So far, only 25 patients from 10 unrelated families were reported.
Methods and results: We report on the first Tunisian case of an 11-year-old girl with cerebellar ataxia, chorea and ophthalmoparesis. Brain MRI was normal. Whole-exome sequencing revealed a homozygous mutation c.823_824del(p.Ser275Phefs*17) in SQSTM1 gene (GenBank: NM_003900.4).
Conclusion: By pooling our data to the data of literature, we delineated the phenotypic spectrum and stressed on genetic heterogeneity of this rare neurodegenerative disease.
Keywords: SQSTM1 mutation; cognitive decline; degenerative ataxia; dystonia; ophthalmoparesis.
© 2020 The Authors. Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.