Cerebellar ataxia, areflexia, pes cavus, optic atrophy and sensorineural hearing impairment (CAPOS) is a rare clinically distinct syndrome caused by a single dominant missense mutation, c.2452G>A, p.Glu818Lys, in ATP1A3, encoding the neuron-specific alpha subunit of the Na+/K+-ATPase α3. Allelic mutations cause the neurological diseases rapid dystonia Parkinsonism and alternating hemiplegia of childhood, disorders which do not encompass hearing or visual impairment. We present detailed clinical phenotypic information in 18 genetically confirmed patients from 11 families (10 previously unreported) from Denmark, Sweden, UK and Germany indicating a specific type of hearing impairment-auditory neuropathy (AN). All patients were clinically suspected of CAPOS and had hearing problems. In this retrospective analysis of audiological data, we show for the first time that cochlear outer hair cell activity was preserved as shown by the presence of otoacoustic emissions and cochlear microphonic potentials, but the auditory brainstem responses were grossly abnormal, likely reflecting neural dyssynchrony. Poor speech perception was observed, especially in noise, which was beyond the hearing level obtained in the pure tone audiograms in several of the patients presented here. Molecular modelling and in vitro electrophysiological studies of the specific CAPOS mutation were performed. Heterologous expression studies of α3 with the p.Glu818Lys mutation affects sodium binding to, and release from, the sodium-specific site in the pump, the third ion-binding site. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm that the structure of the C-terminal region is affected. In conclusion, we demonstrate for the first time evidence for auditory neuropathy in CAPOS syndrome, which may reflect impaired propagation of electrical impulses along the spiral ganglion neurons. This has implications for diagnosis and patient management. Auditory neuropathy is difficult to treat with conventional hearing aids, but preliminary improvement in speech perception in some patients suggests that cochlear implantation may be effective in CAPOS patients.
Laryngeal sarcoidosis is rare (0.5% of patients with sarcoidosis), the pathogenesis is unknown and the optimal treatment remains a matter of debate. We undertook this study to elucidate possible pathogenic factors in clinically isolated laryngeal sarcoidosis and to describe results of supraglottoplastic surgery. From 1995 to 2009, we identified six patients with histologically proven sarcoidosis of the larynx treated at Rigshospitalet. All patients were subjected to a panel of blood tests and MR scan of the head and neck. All patients had dyspnoea at admission, and five were subjected to a combination of CO(2)-laser excision of supraglottic tissue and closure of the incision with sutures. All serological tests were negative or normal, including angiotensin 1 converting enzyme. The clinical expression was uniform with pale, smooth swellings of the supraglottic structures. Surgery proved successful to maintain normal breathing. None of the many parameters examined--some previously having been found to be abnormal in sarcoidosis--were abnormal in the present cohort. We are therefore unable to elucidate the pathogenesis. The combined surgical approach re-established normal airway function for all five patients and complete remission without further swellings was seen in two patients.
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