Clinical Description
GTP cyclohydrolase 1-deficient dopa-responsive dystonia (GTPCH1-deficient DRD), the major form of DRD, is a clinical syndrome characterized by childhood-onset dystonia and a dramatic and sustained response (complete or near-complete responsiveness of symptoms) to relatively low doses of levodopa. The perinatal and postnatal periods are normal, as is early motor development.
Symptoms and signs. Initial symptoms in most individuals with childhood-onset GTPCH1-deficient DRD are gait difficulties attributable to dystonia in the legs, typically flexion-inversion (equinovarus posture) of the foot. Affected individuals have a tendency to fall. A relatively small number of individuals have onset with arm dystonia, postural tremor of the hand, or slowness of movements. Standing position with equinovarus posture of the feet can induce increased lumbar lordosis.
A variable degree of rigidity and slowness of movements are recognized in the affected limbs. Tremor is usually postural, especially in the early course of illness. Rapid fatiguing of effort with repetitive motor tasks (e.g., finger tapping or foot tapping) is often observed.
Some clinical findings suggestive of pyramidal signs in the lower extremities (brisk deep-tendon reflexes, spasticity, ankle clonus, and/or intermittent extensor plantar responses) are detected in many affected individuals. However, normal efferent cortical spinal activity with magneto-electrical stimulation of the motor cortex suggests a non-pyramidal basis for these findings. In fact, after starting levodopa therapy, severe hyperreflexia and spasticity resolve and an extensor plantar response often disappears in individuals with GTPCH1-deficient DRD. Dystonic extension of the big toe (the striatal toe) may be misinterpreted as an extensor plantar response.
In general, intellectual and cognitive function is normal and there is no evidence of cerebellar, sensory, and autonomic disturbances in individuals with GTPCH1-deficient DRD.
Diurnal fluctuation (aggravation of symptoms toward the evening and alleviation of symptoms in the morning after sleep) is characteristic [Segawa et al 1976]. The degree of fluctuation is variable, with some individuals being normal in the morning and others being only less severely affected in the morning compared to later in the day. Some individuals demonstrate only exercise-induced exacerbation or manifestation of dystonia. Diurnal fluctuation often attenuates with age and disease progression.
Progression of symptoms. In general, gradual progression to generalized dystonia occurs in individuals with childhood-onset GTPCH1-deficient DRD. Typically, dystonia remains more pronounced in the legs throughout the disease course.
Symptoms in individuals with adolescent onset are usually milder than in those with childhood onset and disease progression is slower. Individuals with adolescent-onset GTPCH1-deficient DRD seldom develop severe generalized dystonia. Such individuals may become more symptomatic in mid-adulthood because of development of overt parkinsonism.
Response to levodopa. All individuals with GTPCH1-deficient DRD demonstrate a dramatic and sustained complete or near-complete response of symptoms to relatively low doses of levodopa [Nygaard et al 1991, Segawa & Nomura 1993, Furukawa et al 2005] (see Treatment of Manifestations). Even individuals who have been untreated for more than 50 years (e.g., persons initially diagnosed with cerebral palsy) can show a remarkable response to levodopa.
At the initiation of levodopa therapy, some individuals with GTPCH1-deficient DRD develop dyskinesias, which subside following dose reduction and do not reappear when the dose is slowly increased later; note that these transient dyskinesias are different from those with motor response fluctuations observed in persons with early-onset parkinsonism and Parkinson disease during chronic levodopa therapy. Under optimal doses, individuals with typical GTPCH1-deficient DRD on long-term levodopa treatment do not develop either motor response fluctuations or dopa-induced dyskinesias.
Female predominance. A predominance of clinically affected females is observed, with reported female-to-male ratios ranging from 1.3:1 to 8.3:1 [Furukawa et al 1998b, Segawa et al 2003, Trender-Gerhard et al 2009, Furukawa et al 2013, Wijemanne & Jankovic 2015, Dobričić et al 2017]. See Penetrance.
Phenotypic variability and spectrum. Wide intra- and interfamilial variations in expressivity have been reported in GTPCH1-deficient DRD [Bandmann et al 1998, Steinberger et al 1998, Furukawa et al 2000, Grimes et al 2002, Postuma et al 2003, Trender-Gerhard et al 2009].
The clinical phenotypic spectrum has been extended to include adult-onset "benign" parkinsonism, various types of focal dystonia, DRD-simulating cerebral palsy or spastic paraplegia, and spontaneous remission of dystonia and/or parkinsonism (sometimes with a relapse in the later course of illness) [Furukawa et al 2013].
Adult-onset parkinsonism. There are two types of adult-onset parkinsonism in families with GTPCH1-deficient DRD [Furukawa & Kish 2015].
"Neurodegenerative" parkinsonism, including Parkinson disease associated with
GCH1 pathogenic variants, can be found in families with GTPCH1-deficient DRD; in contrast to findings in "benign" parkinsonism, individuals with "neurodegenerative" parkinsonism or dystonia-parkinsonism associated with
GCH1 pathogenic variants were found to have abnormal
18F-fluorodopa PET or dopamine transporter (DAT) SPECT imaging [
Kikuchi et al 2004,
Hjermind et al 2006,
Eggers et al 2012,
Ceravolo et al 2013,
Mencacci et al 2014,
Lewthwaite et al 2015,
Terbeek et al 2015,
Lin et al 2018].
Myoclonus-dystonia.
Leuzzi et al [2002] reported an individual who demonstrated delayed attainment of early motor milestones and involuntary jerky movements that were responsive to levodopa; myoclonus-dystonia as a phenotype of GTPCH1-deficient DRD was found only in this individual [Furukawa & Rajput 2002, Luciano et al 2009, Wijemanne & Jankovic 2015].
Non-motor symptoms. In individuals with GTPCH1-deficient DRD, there are conflicting reports on the frequency of non-motor symptoms. Antelmi et al [2015] analyzed published data on non-motor symptoms in GTPCH1-deficient DRD and stated that overt non-motor symptoms would suggest a diagnosis of DRD plus diseases (other neurotransmitter disorders that may sometimes mimic DRD) rather than of GTPCH1-deficient DRD.
Six of the 23 individuals with GTPCH1-deficient DRD described by
Tadic et al [2012] reported one or more non-motor symptoms including depression, anxiety, and migraine. However, a more recent study by the same researchers did not confirm an increased frequency of non-motor symptoms in individuals with
GCH1-associated DRD [
Brüggemann et al 2014].
Timmers et al [2017] found a higher lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders and daytime sleepiness in adults but not in children with GTPCH1-deficient DRD.
Neuroimaging. Brain CT and MRI are normal.
Positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) studies using presynaptic dopaminergic markers have demonstrated normal results in the striatum of DRD and "benign" parkinsonism due to GCH1 pathogenic variants [Jeon et al 1998, Kishore et al 1998, O'Sullivan et al 2001, De La Fuente-Fernández et al 2003, Kang et al 2004, Furukawa et al 2013, Lewthwaite et al 2015, Terbeek et al 2015, Lin et al 2018]. These PET and SPECT findings are supported by normal striatal levels of dopa decarboxylase, dopamine transporter, and vesicular monoamine transporter at autopsy of individuals with GTPCH1-deficient DRD, indicating that striatal dopamine nerve terminals are preserved in this disorder [Furukawa et al 1999, Furukawa et al 2002]. Using [11C]-raclopride PET, elevated D2-receptor binding in the striatum has been found in GTPCH1-deficient DRD [Kishore et al 1998].
Network analysis of [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose PET images has shown that GTPCH1-deficient DRD is associated with a specific metabolic topography, which is characterized by increases in the dorsal midbrain, cerebellar vermis, and supplementary motor area and by decreases in the putamen as well as lateral premotor and motor cortical regions [Asanuma et al 2005].
Neuropathology. Neuropathologic studies demonstrated a normal population of cells with reduced melanin and no evidence of Lewy body formation in the substantia nigra of four individuals with GTPCH1-deficient DRD and one asymptomatic individual with a GCH1 pathogenic variant [Rajput et al 1994, Furukawa et al 1999, Furukawa et al 2002, Grötzsch et al 2002, Wider et al 2008, Segawa et al 2013].
Neurochemistry. Neurochemical data are available for GTPCH1-deficient DRD [Rajput et al 1994, Furukawa et al 1999, Furukawa et al 2002, Furukawa et al 2016].
At autopsy, biopterin (BP) and neopterin (NP) levels in the putamen were substantially lower in two affected individuals (mean: -84% and -62%) than in age-matched normal controls. The caudal portion of the putamen was the striatal subdivision most affected by dopamine loss (-88%). Striatal levels of dopa decarboxylase protein, dopamine transporter, and vesicular monoamine transporter were normal, but tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) protein levels were markedly decreased in the putamen (> -97%). These biochemical findings suggest that striatal dopamine reduction in GTPCH1-deficient DRD is caused by both decreased TH activity resulting from a low cofactor (BH4) level and actual loss of TH protein without nerve terminal loss. This TH protein reduction in the striatum may be caused by diminished regulatory effect of BH4 on the steady-state level of TH molecules [Furukawa et al 1999, Sumi-Ichinose et al 2001, Furukawa et al 2002, Sumi-Ichinose et al 2005].
In an asymptomatic individual with a GCH1 pathogenic variant, decreases in BP and NP levels in the putamen (-82% and -57%) paralleled those in the two symptomatic individuals who were autopsied [Furukawa et al 2002]. However, TH protein and dopamine levels in the caudal putamen (-52% and -44%) were not as severely affected as in the symptomatic individuals. Consistent with other postmortem brain data suggesting that greater than 60%-80% striatal dopamine loss is necessary for overt motor symptoms to occur [Furukawa 2003, Furukawa 2004], the maximal 44% dopamine reduction in the striatum of the asymptomatic individual with the GCH1 pathogenic variant was not sufficient to produce any symptoms of GTPCH1-deficient DRD. Striatal levels of serotonin markers (serotonin, TPH protein, serotonin transporter protein [Kish et al 2008]) were normal in GTPCH1-deficient DRD [Furukawa et al 2016].