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Maternally inherited Leigh syndrome

E Ciafaloni1, F M Santorelli, S Shanske

  • 1H. Houston Merritt Clinical Research Center for Muscular Dystrophy and Related Diseases, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, New York.

A 6 1/2-year-old girl had developmental regression, and Leigh syndrome was diagnosed. A second girl born to the same mother after heterologous artificial insemination also lost acquired skills and died at 2 1/2 years of age; neuropathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of Leigh syndrome. Tissues from both children and from the mother had a point mutation at nucleotide 8993 in the adenosinetriphosphatase 6-gene of mitochondrial DNA. This family illustrates that Leigh syndrome can be transmitted by maternal inheritance.

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