We studied a Malian family with parental consanguinity and two of eight siblings affected with late-childhood-onset progressive
myoclonus epilepsy and cognitive decline, consistent with the diagnosis of Lafora disease. Genetic analysis showed a novel
homozygous single-nucleotide variant in the
NHLRC1 gene, c.560A>C, producing the missense change H187P. The changed amino acid is highly conserved, and the mutation impairs
malin's ability to degrade laforin in vitro. Pathological evaluation showed manifestations of Lafora disease in the entire
brain, with particularly severe involvement of the pallidum, thalamus, and cerebellum. Our findings document Lafora disease
with severe manifestations in the West African population.
Keywords Clinical neurology - Epilepsy/seizures - Myoclonus - Dementia - Genetics