TOR1A generalized dystonia: a pathology with phenotypic heterogeneity

Authors

Keywords:

DYT-TOR1A, TOR1A, clinical heterogeneity

Abstract

Introduction: Dystonia is a hyperkinetic movement disorder characterized by involuntary, sustained or intermittent muscle contractions, leading to repetitive movements and/or abnormal postures. Among genetic dystonias, the one associated with pathogenic variants of the TOR1A gene (DYT-TOR1A) is the most common, with an autosomal dominant inheritance model, and is related to the c.907_909delGAG variant. Its global prevalence is estimated to range from 7.6 to 16 cases per 100,000 individuals. Objective: The objective of this review was to describe the phenotypic heterogeneity of subjects with DYT-TOR1A from different populations over the past 5 years. Methodology: A bibliographic search was conducted in the PubMed and UW Libraries databases, following the PRISMA methodology. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to select the most relevant articles. Results: A total of 131 articles were obtained (91 in PubMed and 46 in UW Libraries). After applying the selection filters, 124 publications were excluded, and 7 articles containing data from 36 subjects from eight countries were included in this systematic review: South Africa, Germany, Spain, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, and Italy. Of these, 21 individuals showed clinical manifestations of dystonia (58.33%), and 15 family members were asymptomatic carriers (41.6%). Conclusions: DYT-TOR1A presents a challenge in clinical practice due to its heterogeneity in clinical manifestations. Future research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the phenotypic variability, which is crucial for improving diagnosis and therapeutic options.

 

Publication Facts

Metric
This article
Other articles
Peer reviewers 
2
2.4

Reviewer profiles  N/A

Author statements

Author statements
This article
Other articles
Data availability 
N/A
16%
External funding 
N/A
32%
Competing interests 
No
11%
Metric
This journal
Other journals
Articles accepted 
43%
33%
Days to publication 
156
145

Indexed in

Editor & editorial board
profiles
Academic society 
N/A

References

Balint B, Bhatia KP. Dystonia: An update on phenomenology, classification, pathogenesis and treatment. Curr Opin Neurol. 2014;27(4):468-476. https://doi.org/10.1097/ WCO.0000000000000114

Balint B, Mencacci NE, Valente EM, et al. Dystonia. Nat Rev Dis Prim 2018;4:25. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-018-0023-6

Albanese A, Bhatia K, Bressman SB, et al. Phenomenology and classification of dystonia: a consensus update. Mov Disord. 2013;28(7):863-873. doi:10.1002/mds.25475

Hettich J, Ryan SD, de Souza ON, et al. Biochemical and cellular analysis of human variants of the DYT1 dystonia protein, TorsinA/TOR1A. Hum Mutat. 2014;35(9):1101-1113. doi:10.1002/humu.22602

Ozelius LJ, Hewett JW, Page CE, et al. The early-onset torsion dystonia gene (DYT1) encodes an ATP-binding protein. Nat Genet. 1997;17(1):40-48. doi:10.1038/ng0997-40

Weisheit CE, Pappas SS, Dauer WT. Inherited dystonias: clinical features and molecular pathways. Handb Clin Neurol. 2018;147:241-254. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-63233-3.00016-6

Grundmann K, Laubis-Herrmann U, Bauer I, et al. Frequency and phenotypic variability of the GAG deletion of the DYT1 gene in an unselected group of patients with dystonia. Arch Neurol. 2003;60(9):1266-1270. doi:10.1001/archneur.60.9.1266

Ozelius, L., y Lubarr, N. DYT1 Early-Onset Isolated Dystonia. GeneReviews®. 1999.

Ozelius LJ, Bressman SB. Genetic and clinical features of primary torsion dystonia. Neurobiol Dis. 2011;42(2):127-135. doi:10.1016/j.nbd.2010.12.012

Moro E, LeReun C, Krauss JK, et al. Efficacy of pallidal stimulation in isolated dystonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Neurol 2017;24(4):552-560. https://doi. org/10.1111/ene.13255

Giri S, Biswas A, Das SK, Ray K, Ray J. Primary generalized dystonia due to TOR1A ΔGAG mutation in an Indian family with intrafamilial clinical heterogeneity. Neurol India. 2019;67(3):872-875. doi:10.4103/0028-3886.263172

Gambarin M, Valente EM, Liberini P, et al. Atypical phenotypes and clinical variability in a large Italian family with DYT1-primary torsion dystonia. Mov Disord. 2006;21(10):1782-1784. doi:10.1002/mds.21056

Van Coller R, Schutte C-M, Lübbe E, Ngele B. TOR1A mutation-related isolated childhood-onset generalised dystonia in South Africa. SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. 2021 . https://doi.org/10.7196/samj.2021.v111i10.15801.

Wu MC, Chang YY, Chen YF, et al. Investigating DYT1 in a Taiwanese dystonia cohort. J Formos Med Assoc. 2022;121(1 Pt 2):375-380. doi:10.1016/j.jfma.2021.05.017

Hanaoka Y, Akiyama T, Yoshinaga H, et al. Monozygotic twins with DYT-TOR1A showing jerking movements and levodopa responsiveness. Brain Dev. 2021;43(7):783-788. doi:10.1016/j.braindev.2021.03.005

Li LX, Liu Y, Huang JH, et al. Genetic spectrum and clinical features in a cohort of Chinese patients with isolated dystonia. Clin Genet. 2023;103(4):459-465. doi:10.1111/cge.14298

Thomsen M, Marth K, Loens S, et al. Large-Scale Screening: Phenotypic and Mutational Spectrum in Isolated and Combined Dystonia Genes. Mov Disord. 2024;39(3):526-538. doi:10.1002/mds.29693

Opal P, Tintner R, Jankovic J, Leung J, Breakefield XO, Friedman J, et al. Intrafamilial phenotypic variability of the DYT1 dystonia from asymptomatic TOR1A gene carrier status to dystonic storm. Mov Disorder 2002;17(2):339–45.)

Bressman SB, Sabatti C, Raymond D, de Leon D, Klein C, Kramer PL, et al. The DYT1 phenotype and guidelines for diagnostic testing. Neurology 2000;54:1746e52.

Ozelius L, Lubarr N. DYT1 early-onset isolated dystonia. In: Adam MP, Ardinger HH, Pagon RA, Wallace SE, Bean LJH, Stephens K, et al., editors. GeneReviews((R)); 1993. Seattle (WA).

Elia, A. E., Filippini, G., Bentivoglio, A. R., Fasano, A., Ialongo, T., & Albanese, A. (2006). Onset and progression of primary torsion dystonia in sporadic and familial cases. European journal of neurology, 13(10), 1083–1088. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-1331.2006.01387.x

Brüggemann N, Kühn A, Schneider SA, et al. Short- and long-term outcome of chronic pallidal neurostimulation in monogenic isolated dystonia. Neurology 2015;84(9):895-903. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000001312

Pauls KAM, Krauss JK, Kämpfer CE, et al. Causes of failure of pallidal deep brain stimulation in cases with pre-operative diagnosis of isolated dystonia. Park Relat Disord 2017;43:38-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parkreldis.2017.06.023

Published

2025-05-26

How to Cite

1.
Rodríguez-Gutierrez A, Sánchez-Hernández BE, Pérez Aldana BE, Ortega-Vázquez A, Monroy-Jaramillo N, Ramírez-García M Ángel, et al. TOR1A generalized dystonia: a pathology with phenotypic heterogeneity. Invest. Discapacidad [Internet]. 2025 May 26 [cited 2025 Jul. 4];. Available from: https://dsm.inr.gob.mx/indiscap/index.php/INDISCAP/article/view/370

Issue

Section

Evidence synthesis and meta-research

Similar Articles

1 2 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.