Abstract
Background
Congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) are associated with defects in the structure and the function of neuromuscular junctions. These rare disorders can result from mutations in the collagenic tail of endplate acetylcholinesterase (COLQ) essentially associated with autosomal recessive inheritance. With the lowered cost of genetic testing and increased access to next-generation sequencing, many mutations have been reported to date.
Methods and results
In this study we identified the first COLQ homozygous mutation c.1193T>A in the North African population. This study outlines the genetic and phenotypic features of a CMS patient in a Moroccan family. It also describes a novel COLQ missense mutation associated with CMS-5.
Conclusion
COLQ mutations are probably underdiagnosed in these North African populations, this is an issue as CMS-5 may be treated with ephedrine, and albuterol. Indeed, patients can seriously benefit and even recover after the treatment that should be planned according to genetic tests and clinical findings.
Data availability
The data are available on request from the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the families and their relatives for participating in this study.
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The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
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The study protocol was approved by committee on ethics of Mohamed V university of Rabat, faculty of medicine and pharmacy (ID 09/19).
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Khaoula, R., Cerino, M., Da Silva, N. et al. First characterization of congenital myasthenic syndrome type 5 in North Africa. Mol Biol Rep 48, 6999–7006 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06530-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06530-7