Disease ID | Source | Name | Description |
609033 | OMIM | Posterior column ataxia with retinitis pigmentosa (PCARP) | A neurodegenerative syndrome beginning in infancy with areflexia and retinitis pigmentosa. Nyctalopia (night blindness) and peripheral visual field loss are usually evident during late childhood or teenage years, with subsequent progressive constriction of the visual fields and loss of central retinal function over time. A sensory ataxia caused by degeneration of the posterior columns of the spinal cord results in a loss of proprioceptive sensation that is clinically evident in the second decade of life and gradually progresses. Scoliosis, camptodactyly, achalasia, gastrointestinal dysmotility, and a sensory peripheral neuropathy are variable features of the disease. Affected individuals have no clinical or radiological evidence of cerebral or cerebellar involvement. The disease is caused by variants affecting the gene represented in this entry. Defective neuronal heme transmembrane export due to FLVCR1 mutations may abrogate the neuroprotective effects of neuroglobin and initiate an apoptotic cascade that results in the selective degeneration of photoreceptors in the neurosensory retina and sensory neurons in the posterior spinal cord. |