Paramyotonia congenita is a disorder that affects muscles used for movement (skeletal muscles). Beginning in infancy or early childhood, people with this condition experience bouts of sustained muscle tensing (myotonia) that prevent muscles from relaxing normally. Myotonia causes muscle stiffness that typically appears after exercise and can be induced by muscle cooling. This stiffness chiefly affects muscles in the face, neck, arms, and hands, although it can also affect muscles used for breathing and muscles in the lower body. Unlike many other forms of myotonia, the muscle stiffness associated with paramyotonia congenita tends to worsen with repeated movements.\n\nMost people—even those without muscle disease—feel that their muscles do not work as well when they are cold. This effect is dramatic in people with paramyotonia congenita. Exposure to cold initially causes muscle stiffness in these individuals, and prolonged cold exposure leads to temporary episodes of mild to severe muscle weakness that may last for several hours at a time. Some older people with paramyotonia congenita develop permanent muscle weakness that can be disabling.

Chiari malformation type II (CM2), also known as the Arnold-Chiari malformation, consists of elongation and descent of the inferior cerebellar vermis, cerebellar hemispheres, pons, medulla, and fourth ventricle through the foramen magnum into the spinal canal. CM2 is uniquely associated with myelomeningocele (open spina bifida; see 182940) and is found only in this population (Stevenson, 2004). It is believed to be a disorder of neuroectodermal origin (Schijman, 2004). For a general phenotypic description of the different forms of Chiari malformations, see Chiari malformation type I (CM1; 118420).

Autosomal recessive distal hereditary motor neuronopathy-1 (HMNR1) is characterized by distal and proximal muscle weakness and diaphragmatic palsy that leads to respiratory distress. Without intervention, most infants with the severe form of the disease die before 2 years of age. Affected individuals present in infancy with inspiratory stridor, weak cry, recurrent bronchopneumonia, and swallowing difficulties. The disorder is caused by distal and progressive motor neuronopathy resulting in muscle weakness (summary by Perego et al., 2020). Genetic Heterogeneity of Autosomal Recessive Distal Hereditary Motor Neuronopathy See also HMNR2 (605726), caused by mutation in the SIGMAR1 gene (601978); HMNR3 (607088) (encompassing Harding HMN types III and IV), which maps to chromosome 11q13; HMNR4 (611067), caused by mutation in the PLEKHG5 gene (611101); HMNR5 (614881), caused by mutation in the DNAJB2 gene (604139); HMNR6 (620011), caused by mutation in the REEP1 gene (609139); HMNR7 (619216), caused by mutation in the VWA1 gene (611901); HMNR8 (618912), caused by mutation in the SORD gene (182500); HMNR9 (620402), caused by mutation in the COQ7 gene (601683); and HMRN10 (620542), caused by mutation in the VRK1 gene (602168).

D-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria is a neurometabolic disorder first described by Chalmers et al. (1980). Clinical symptoms include developmental delay, epilepsy, hypotonia, and dysmorphic features. Mild and severe phenotypes were characterized (van der Knaap et al., 1999). The severe phenotype is homogeneous and is characterized by early infantile-onset epileptic encephalopathy and, often, cardiomyopathy. The mild phenotype has a more variable clinical presentation. Genetic Heterogeneity of D-2-Hydroxyglutaric Aciduria D-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria-2 (D2HGA2; 613657) is caused by heterozygous mutation in the mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase-2 gene (IDH2; 147650) on chromosome 15q26.

The Nishimura type of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (SEDN) is characterized by disproportionate short stature with short limbs, small hands and feet, and midface hypoplasia with small nose. Radiologic hallmarks include mild spondylar dysplasia, delayed epiphyseal ossification of the hip and knee, and severe brachydactyly with cone-shaped phalangeal epiphyses (Grigelioniene et al., 2019).

Mitochondrial complex IV deficiency nuclear type 2 (MC4DN2) is an autosomal recessive multisystem metabolic disorder characterized by the onset of symptoms at birth or in the first weeks or months of life. Affected individuals have severe hypotonia, often associated with feeding difficulties and respiratory insufficiency necessitating tube feeding and mechanical ventilation. The vast majority of patients develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the first days or weeks of life, which usually leads to death in infancy or early childhood. Patients also show neurologic abnormalities, including developmental delay, nystagmus, fasciculations, dystonia, EEG changes, and brain imaging abnormalities compatible with a diagnosis of Leigh syndrome (see 256000). There may also be evidence of systemic involvement with hepatomegaly and myopathy, although neurogenic muscle atrophy is more common and may resemble spinal muscular atrophy type I (SMA1; 253300). Serum lactate is increased, and laboratory studies show decreased mitochondrial complex IV protein and activity levels in various tissues, including heart and skeletal muscle. Most patients die in infancy of cardiorespiratory failure (summary by Papadopoulou et al., 1999). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of mitochondrial complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase) deficiency, see 220110.