Expanding the genotype-phenotype spectrum in SCN8A-related disorders

Background: SCN8A-related disorders are a group of variable conditions caused by pathogenic variations in SCN8A. Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) terms them as developmental and epileptic encephalopathy 13, benign familial infantile seizures 5 or cognitive impairment with or without cerebellar ataxia.

Methods: In this study, we describe clinical and genetic results on eight individuals from six families with SCN8A pathogenic variants identified via exome sequencing.

Results: Clinical findings ranged from normal development with well-controlled epilepsy to significant developmental delay with treatment-resistant epilepsy. Three novel and three reported variants were observed in SCN8A. Electrophysiological analysis in transfected cells revealed a loss-of-function variant in Patient 4.

Conclusions: This work expands the clinical and genotypic spectrum of SCN8A-related disorders and provides electrophysiological results on a novel loss-of-function SCN8A variant.