Clinical and electrophysiological features of <i>SCN8A</i> variants causing episodic or chronic ataxia
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract Objective Variants in SCN8A are associated with a spectrum of epilepsies and neurodevelopmental disorders. Ataxia as a predominant symptom of SCN8A variation has not been well studied. We set out to investigate disease mechanisms and genotype-phenotype correlations of SCN8A -related ataxia. Methods We collected genetic and electro-clinical data of ten individuals from nine unrelated families carrying novel SCN8A variants associated with chronic progressive or episodic ataxia. Electrophysiological characterizations of these variants were performed in ND7/23 cells and cultured neurons. Results Variants associated with chronic progressive ataxia either significantly decreased Na + current densities and shifted activation curves towards more depolarized potentials (p.Asn995Asp, p.Lys1498Glu and p.Trp1266Cys) or resulted in a premature stop codon (p.Trp937Ter), i.e. strong loss-of-function (LOF) effects. Three variants (p.Arg847Gln and biallelic p.Arg191Trp/p.Asp1525Tyr) were associated with episodic ataxia causing LOF by decreasing Na + current densities or a hyperpolarizing shift of the inactivation curve. Two additional episodic ataxia-associated variants caused mixed gain-and loss-of function effects in ND7/23 cells and were further examined in primary murine hippocampal neuronal cultures. Neuronal firing in excitatory neurons was increased by p.Arg1629His, but decreased by p.Glu1201Lys. Neuronal firing in inhibitory neurons was decreased for both variants. No functional effect was observed for p.Arg1913Trp. In four individuals, treatment with sodium channel blockers exacerbated symptoms. Interpretation We identified episodic or chronic ataxia as new phenotypes caused by variants in SCN8A . Genotype-phenotype correlations revealed a more pronounced LOF effect for variants causing chronic ataxia. Sodium channel blockers should be avoided under these conditions. Summary for Social Media Twitter handles @cmbosselmann, @FiladelfiaGene1, @Katrine92658231, @Elegardella What is the current knowledge on the topic? Variants in SCN8A , a gene encoding the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.6, are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, including epilepsy, intellectual disability, and autism spectrum disorder. What question did this study address? This study investigated whether SCN8A variants can cause predominant episodic or chronic ataxia, as well as the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these variants. What does this study add to our knowledge? Episodic or chronic ataxia as a sole or predominant symptom caused by NaV1.6 channel loss-of-function comprise new phenotypes in the broad spectrum associated with SCN8A dysfunction. Genotype-phenotype correlations help to differentiate between chronic and episodic ataxia. How might this potentially impact on the practice of neurology? Loss-of-function SCN8A variants may represent an underdiagnosed etiology in hereditary ataxia. Treatment with sodium channel blockers, commonly prescribed in other types of episodic ataxia, may harm these individuals, and should be avoided.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".