[An autopsied case of dentato-rubro-pallido-luysian atrophy with atypical pathological lesions]

Abstract

In this paper, atypical pathological findings in a genetic diagnosed case of dentato-rubro-pallido-luysian atrophy (DRPLA) with mild degeneration in the common lesions of the disease is reported. The patient was 59-year-old woman with 31-year history of involuntary movement, ataxia and psychiatric disorders. Her CAG repeat number of DRPLA gene was 68/14. Besides the spongy degeneration in the third and fourth layers of the occipital cortex, severe degenerations were observed in the cerebellar cortex and white matter, inferior olive, posterior funicular nuclei of the medulla oblongata, posterior and lateral funicles of the spinal cord, and Clarke's nucleus. A wide spread distribution of the intracellular polyglutamine aggregation was also showed including both common and uncommon lesions. Genetic diagnosis disclosed a DRPLA case with lesions different from the conventional cases.