SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability is a monogenetic developmental and epileptic encephalopathy that affects the central nervous system. [1] [2] Symptoms include intellectual disability, epilepsy, autism, sensory processing deficits, hypotonia and unstable gait. [3] [4] [5]
The first signs of SYNGAP1-related encephalopathy are typically gross motor delays in infancy followed by developmental delays, seizure onset and language impairment. [6] Penetrance is 100%. Mild to severe intellectual or developmental disability is present in the majority of patients. [7] Epilepsy is present in the majority of cases, with approximately 80-98% of patients affected by seizures. [8] Truncal hypotonia and clumsy or ataxic gait are typical. [5] Behavioral and sleep problems are also common. [9] [10] Approximately 50% of patients receive a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. [8] Some patients have significant feeding issues. [11] [7] Constipation has also been reported. [12] Some patients experience strabismus. [5]
SYNGAP1 encephalopathy is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder caused by haploinsufficiency of the SynGAP protein, usually due to the presence of a heterozygous protein-truncating loss-of-function variation on the SYNGAP1 gene. Missense variations, which may result in either a loss or a change-of-function can also result in the disorder. These pathogenic variations disrupt early cognitive development, particularly in the hippocampus and cortex. [10]
The majority of mutations are considered de novo, however cases of inheritance from both somatic mosaic and germ-line mosaic parents have been reported. [13]
Diagnosis is based on genetic testing, with the recommended testing approach being chromosomal microarray analysis followed by an intellectual disability multigene panel or whole exome sequencing. A diagnosis is established following the identification of a heterozygous pathogenic (or likely pathogenic) point mutation of the SYNGAP1 gene (present in approximately 89% of patients), a micro deletion of chromosome 6 incorporating SYNGAP1 (approximately 11% of patients), or a balanced translocation disrupting SYNGAP1. [13] [7]
Electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring frequently shows generalized epilepsy, predominantly in the occipital regions. [13] Seizure onset usually occurs around 2 years of age. [14] MRI is usually normal. [4] [15] [7]
SYNGAP1-related encephalopathy can result in a specific seizure type, characterized by eyelid myoclonia followed by an atonic drop. Reflex seizures are also seen, often triggered by eating and photosensitivity. [8] [16] [14]
There is currently no cure or definitive treatment. Epilepsy may be controlled by the use of one or more anti-epileptic drugs, vagus nerve stimulation, or the ketogenic diet in some cases. [5] [14] Approximately half of patients have seizures that are pharmacoresistant. [3] [10] Patients with significant feeding issues may require the use of a gastrostomy tube. Communication may be supported with the use of an augmentative and alternative communication device. Patients with significant mobility or gait issues may require the use of wheelchairs, adaptive strollers or ankle-foot orthoses.
Despite the common mechanism of haploinsufficiency, there is distinct phenotypic variability amongst patients. Although one third of patients are non-verbal, others can communicate with single words, while others can speak conversationally using four to five word sentences. [3] [7]
SYNGAP1 encephalopathy is estimated to comprise approximately 0.7–2% of all cases of intellectual disability [19] [20] [21] with over one million people expected to be affected worldwide. [22] [23] The SynGAP Research Fund, a US patient advocacy group, reviewed all the studies that support these estimates. SRF pointed to a more recent study by Lopez-Riviera et al. that predicts an incidence per 100,000 births of 6.107. [24]
Although the SynGAP protein was first identified in 1998, [25] SYNGAP1 mutations were not found to be responsible for cases of intellectual disability until 2009. [26]
On October 1, 2021, the first ICD-10 Code for SYNGAP1-related disorders became effective.
On August 11, 2021,SYNGAP1-related Disorders was included in the Social Security Administration list of diseases for Compassionate Use.
The use of antisense oligonucleotides to up-regulate the expression of SynGAP protein is currently being researched. [27] The use of statins to address the downstream impacts of loss of SynGAP function on the Ras signaling pathway is also being studied. [28]
Three patient registry efforts are run by third parties and currently gathering patient data:
There are multiple academic labs publicly working on potential therapies for SYNGAP1:
A number of companies have also demonstrated interest in SYNGAP1. Stoke Therapeutics has a published patent for SYNGAP1, Praxis Precision Medicines and Q-State Biosciences have listed SYNGAP1 on their treatment pipelines.
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. An epileptic seizure is the clinical manifestation of an abnormal, excessive, and synchronized electrical discharge in the neurons. The occurrence of two or more unprovoked seizures defines epilepsy. The occurrence of just one seizure may warrant the definition in a more clinical usage where recurrence may be able to be prejudged. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain. These episodes can result in physical injuries, either directly, such as broken bones, or through causing accidents. In epilepsy, seizures tend to recur and may have no detectable underlying cause. Isolated seizures that are provoked by a specific cause such as poisoning are not deemed to represent epilepsy. People with epilepsy may be treated differently in various areas of the world and experience varying degrees of social stigma due to the alarming nature of their symptoms.
Epileptic spasms is an uncommon-to-rare epileptic disorder in infants, children and adults. One of the other names of the disorder, West syndrome, is in memory of the English physician, William James West (1793–1848), who first described it in an article published in The Lancet in 1841. The original case actually described his own son, James Edwin West (1840–1860). Other names for it are "generalized flexion epilepsy", "infantile epileptic encephalopathy", "infantile myoclonic encephalopathy", "jackknife convulsions", "massive myoclonia" and "Salaam spasms". The term "infantile spasms" can be used to describe the specific seizure manifestation in the syndrome, but is also used as a synonym for the syndrome itself. West syndrome in modern usage is the triad of infantile spasms, a pathognomonic EEG pattern, and developmental regression – although the international definition requires only two out of these three elements.
Dravet syndrome (DS), previously known as severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder which causes a catastrophic form of epilepsy, with prolonged seizures that are often triggered by hot temperatures or fever. It is very difficult to treat with anticonvulsant medications. It often begins before one year of age, with six months being the age that seizures, characterized by prolonged convulsions and triggered by fever, usually begin.
Ohtahara syndrome (OS), also known as Early Infantile Developmental & Epileptic Encephalopathy (EIDEE) is a progressive epileptic encephalopathy. The syndrome is outwardly characterized by tonic spasms and partial seizures within the first few months of life, and receives its more elaborate name from the pattern of burst activity on an electroencephalogram (EEG). It is an extremely debilitating progressive neurological disorder, involving intractable seizures and severe intellectual disabilities. No single cause has been identified, although in many cases structural brain damage is present.
Synaptic Ras GTPase-activating protein 1, also known as synaptic Ras-GAP 1 or SYNGAP1, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SYNGAP1 gene. SYNGAP1 is a ras GTPase-activating protein that is critical for the development of cognition and proper synapse function. Mutations in humans can cause intellectual disability, epilepsy, autism and sensory processing deficits.
Chromodomain-helicase-DNA-binding protein 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CHD2 gene.
Lynette Grant Sadleir is a New Zealand paediatric neurologist and epileptologist, and a former synchronised swimmer and coach.
Pitt–Hopkins syndrome (PTHS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by developmental delay, moderate to severe intellectual disability, distinctive facial features, and possible intermittent hyperventilation followed by apnea. Epilepsy often occurs in Pitt-Hopkins. It is part of the clinical spectrum of Rett-like syndromes. Pitt-hopkins syndrome is clinically similar to Angelman syndrome, Rett-syndrome, Mowat Wilson syndrome, and ATR-X syndrome.
Epilepsy-intellectual disability in females also known as PCDH19 gene-related epilepsy or epileptic encephalopathy, early infantile, 9 (EIEE9), is a rare type of epilepsy that affects predominately females and is characterized by clusters of brief seizures, which start in infancy or early childhood, and is occasionally accompanied by varying degrees of cognitive impairment. The striking pattern of onset seizures at a young age, genetic testing and laboratory results, potential developmental delays or developmental regression and associated disorders, eases diagnosis.
Kohlschütter–Tönz syndrome (KTS), also called amelo-cerebro-hypohidrotic syndrome, is a rare inherited syndrome characterized by epilepsy, psychomotor delay or regression, intellectual disability, and yellow teeth caused by amelogenesis imperfecta. It is a type A ectodermal dysplasia.
Mental retardation and microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia (MICPCH) – also known as mental retardation, X-linked, syndromic, Najm type (MRXSNA); X-linked intellectual deficit, Najm type; intellectual developmental disorder, X-linked, syndromic, Najm type; X-linked intellectual disability–microcephaly–pontocerebellar hypoplasia syndrome; and by variations of these terms – is a rare X-linked dominant genetic disorder of infants characterised by intellectual disability and pontocerebellar hypoplasia. It usually affects females; many males die before birth or not long after.
An epilepsy syndrome is defined as "a characteristic cluster of clinical and Electroencephalography (EEG) features, often supported by specific etiological findings ."
Methyl-CpG binding domain protein 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MBD5 gene.
GRIN disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that result from mutations in genes coding for subunits of an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, which leads to dysfunction of glutamate signaling. GRIN disorders are universally characterized by a varying degree of developmental delay and intellectual disability, as well as epileptic seizures. Other clinical features vary depending on the affected gene and may include muscular hypotonia, spasticity, and movement disorders. GRIN disorders are confirmed with genetic testing and managed symptomatically since there is currently no cure for the disorder.
CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a rare genetic disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the gene CDKL5.
SLC6A1 epileptic encephalopathy is a genetic disorder characterised by the loss-of-function of one copy of the human SLC6A1 gene. SLC6A1 epileptic encephalopathy can typically manifest itself with early onset seizures and it can also be characterised by mild to severe learning disability. Not all manifestations of the conditions are present in one given patient.
Severe intellectual disability-progressive spastic diplegia syndrome is a rare novel genetic disorder characterized by severe intellectual disabilities, ataxia, craniofacial dysmorphisms, and muscle spasticity. It is a type of autosomal dominant syndromic intellectual disability.
SLC13A5 citrate transporter disorder, or SLC13A5 Epilepsy, is a rare genetic spectrum disorder that presents with neurological symptoms. Symptoms include severe seizures, ataxia, dystonia, teeth hypoplasia, poor communication skills, difficulty standing or walking, as well as developmental delay. Other names associated with SLC13A5 Epilepsy include SLC13A5 Citrate Transporter Disorder, Citrate Transporter Disorder, SLC13A5 Deficiency, Early Infantile Epilepsy Encephalopathy 25 (EIEE25), Developmental Epilepsy Encephalopathy 25 (DEE25), and Kohlschutter-Tonz Syndrome (non-ROGDI).
TRPM3-related neurodevelopmental disorder is a monogenetic developmental and epileptic encephalopathy that affects the central nervous system. The broad phenotype includes global developmental delay, intellectual disability, epilepsy, musculoskeletal anomalies, altered pain perception, ataxia, hypotonia, nystagmus, and cerebellar atrophy.
16p11.2 deletion syndrome is a rare genetic condition caused by microdeletion on the short arm of chromosome 16. Most affected individuals experience global developmental delay and intellectual disability, as well as childhood-onset obesity. 16p11.2 deletion is estimated to account for approximately 1% of autism spectrum disorder cases.