Myoclonus generators in sialidosis

Objective: Sialidosis is an inborn error of metabolism. There is evidence that the myoclonic movements observed in this disorder have a cortical origin, but this mechanism does not fully explain the bilaterally synchronous myoclonus activity frequently observed in many patients. We present evidence...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Felipe Vial, Patrick McGurrin, Sanaz Attaripour, Alesandra d'Azzo, Cynthia J. Tifft, Camilo Toro, Mark Hallett
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-01-01
Series:Clinical Neurophysiology Practice
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2467981X22000233
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Summary:Objective: Sialidosis is an inborn error of metabolism. There is evidence that the myoclonic movements observed in this disorder have a cortical origin, but this mechanism does not fully explain the bilaterally synchronous myoclonus activity frequently observed in many patients. We present evidence of a subcortical basis for synchronous myoclonic phenomena. Methods: Electromyographic investigations were undertaken in two molecularly and biochemically confirmed patients with sialidosis type-1. Results: The EMG recordings showed clear episodes of bilaterally synchronous myoclonic activity in contralateral homologous muscles. We also observed a high muscular-muscular coherence with near-zero time-lag between these muscles. Conclusion: The absence of coherence phase lag between the right-and-left homologous muscles during synchronous events indicates that a unilateral cortical source cannot fully explain the myoclonic activity. There must exist a subcortical mechanism for bilateral synchronization accounting for this phenomenon. Significance: Understanding this mechanism may illuminate cortical-subcortical relationships in myoclonus.
ISSN:2467-981X