Congenital muscular dystrophy with dropped head phenotype and cognitive impairment due to a novel mutation in the LMNA gene

Abstract

Mutations in A-type nuclear lamins are known to cause a variety of diseases, which can affect almost all organs of the human body including striated muscle. For lamin-related congenital muscular dystrophy two different phenotypes are known to date. Here, we describe a 3-year-old, white Caucasian girl with a novel de novo mutation in the LMNA gene with marked hypotonia of neck and trunk muscles with dropped head posture, loss of cervical lordosis and marked joint laxity. In addition to this novel mutation, the patient also had cerebral white matter lesions on MRI and cognitive impairment on developmental testing. This is only the second A-type lamin-related congenital muscular dystrophy patient in which white matter lesions are described. Thus, white matter involvement might be a feature in A-type lamin-related congenital muscular dystrophy, warranting screening of these patients for both white matter lesions and cognitive impairment.

Keywords: Congenital muscular dystrophy; Dropped head phenotype; L-CMD; LMNA gene mutation; White matter lesions.