Genetic Landscape of Dystonia in Asian Indians

Genomic variations associated with dystonia in Asian Indians remain largely unknown.

To identify genomic alterations associated with dystonia in the Asian Indian population using next generation sequencing approaches.

From September 2018 to December 2023, we enrolled 745 individuals including probands with dystonia and family members, in the Indian Movement Disorder Registry and Biobank. Clinical and demographic data were captured on a REDCap platform. We performed whole exome sequencing (WES) on DNA specimens obtained from 267 individuals with isolated, combined or complex dystonia. Variants were classified according to joint guidelines of American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and Association of Molecular Pathology (AMP).

The mean age of the WES cohort was 33.8 ± 16.2 years, and mean age at onset (AAO) of dystonia was 25.6 ± 17.7 years. 62.2% had isolated dystonia, 7.9% combined and 29.2% had complex phenotypes. WES identified pathogenic/ likely pathogenic variants in 54 patients (20.2%) including 14 novel variants in known dystonia genes. Variants in THAP1 were most common followed by PANK2, GLB1, PLA2G6, TOR1A, ANO3, VPS16, SGCE, SPG7, FTL and other genes. Multifocal/generalized distribution of dystonia [OR: 4.1; 95% CI 1.4-12.2, P = 0.011] and family history [OR: 4.3; 95% CI 2.1-8.9, P < 0.001] were associated with positive yield on WES.

THAP1 was the most frequent dystonia associated gene in this cohort. Singleton WES identifiedpotentially pathogenic variants in approximately one out of five patients tested, and contributed to management decisions in 4%.