A Japanese family with atypical type I familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) in Iiyama, Japan was studied. Most of the family members have dysfunctions in the central nervous system, in addition to typical symptoms of type I FAP. The transthyretin (TTR, also called prealbumin) gene of the atypical FAP(FAP-IY) was analyzed with recombinant DNA techniques and a RIA method. FAP-IY was found to have the mutation responsible for the methionine-for-valine substitution at position 30 of TTR, as in the case of typical type I FAP. However, analysis of DNA polymorphisms in the TTR locus showed that FAP-IY has a genetic background differing from that of the typical type I FAP. These observations lead to the consideration that a genetic factor(s) involved in the dysfunction of the central nervous system may locate in a chromosome region in close proximity to the TTR gene.
H Furuya, K Yoshioka, H Sasaki, Y Sakaki, M Nakazato, H Matsuo, A Nakadai, S Ikeda, N Yanagisawa
The Editorial Board will only consider comments that are deemed relevant and of interest to readers. The Journal will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review; or a comment that is essentially a reiteration of another comment.