Familial dysautonomia, which affects the development and survival of sensory, sympathetic, and parasympathetic neurons, is a debilitating disorder present from birth. Neuronal degeneration progresses throughout life. Affected individuals have gastrointestinal dysfunction, autonomic crises (i.e., hypertensive vomiting attacks), recurrent pneumonia, altered pain sensitivity, altered temperature perception, and blood pressure instability. Hypotonia contributes to delay in acquisition of motor milestones. Optic neuropathy results in progressive vision loss. Older individuals often have a broad-based and ataxic gait that deteriorates over time. Developmental delay / intellectual disability occur in about 21% of individuals. Life expectancy is decreased.

Sandhoff disease comprises a phenotypic continuum encompassing acute infantile, subacute juvenile, and late-onset disease. Although classification into these phenotypes is somewhat arbitrary, it is helpful in understanding the variation observed in the timing of disease onset, presenting manifestations, rate of progression, and life span. Acute infantile Sandhoff disease (onset age <6 months). Infants are generally normal at birth followed by progressive weakness and slowing of developmental progress, then developmental regression and severe neurologic impairment. Seizures are common. Death usually occurs between ages two and three years. Subacute juvenile Sandhoff disease (onset age 2-5 years). After attaining normal developmental milestones, developmental progress slows, followed by developmental regression and neurologic impairment (abnormal gait, dysarthria, and cognitive decline). Death (usually from aspiration) typically occurs in the early to late teens. Late-onset Sandhoff disease (onset older teen years or young adulthood). Nearly normal psychomotor development is followed by a range of neurologic findings (e.g., weakness, spasticity, dysarthria, and deficits in cerebellar function) and psychiatric findings (e.g., deficits in executive function and memory). Life expectancy is not necessarily decreased.

Occipital horn syndrome (OHS) is a rare connective tissue disorder characterized by hyperelastic and bruisable skin, hernias, bladder diverticula, hyperextensible joints, varicosities, and multiple skeletal abnormalities. The disorder is sometimes accompanied by mild neurologic impairment, and bony abnormalities of the occiput are a common feature, giving rise to the name (summary by Das et al., 1995).

Triple A syndrome is an inherited condition characterized by three specific features: achalasia, Addison disease, and alacrima. Achalasia is a disorder that affects the ability to move food through the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. It can lead to severe feeding difficulties and low blood glucose (hypoglycemia). Addison disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, is caused by abnormal function of the small hormone-producing glands on top of each kidney (adrenal glands). The main features of Addison disease include fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, low blood pressure, and darkening of the skin. The third major feature of triple A syndrome is a reduced or absent ability to secrete tears (alacrima). Most people with triple A syndrome have all three of these features, although some have only two.\n\nMany of the features of triple A syndrome are caused by dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. This part of the nervous system controls involuntary body processes such as digestion, blood pressure, and body temperature. People with triple A syndrome often experience abnormal sweating, difficulty regulating blood pressure, unequal pupil size (anisocoria), and other signs and symptoms of autonomic nervous system dysfunction (dysautonomia).\n\nPeople with this condition may have other neurological abnormalities, such as developmental delay, intellectual disability, speech problems (dysarthria), and a small head size (microcephaly). In addition, affected individuals commonly experience muscle weakness, movement problems, and nerve abnormalities in their extremities (peripheral neuropathy). Some develop optic atrophy, which is the degeneration (atrophy) of the nerves that carry information from the eyes to the brain. Many of the neurological symptoms of triple A syndrome worsen over time.\n\nPeople with triple A syndrome frequently develop a thickening of the outer layer of skin (hyperkeratosis) on the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet. Other skin abnormalities may also be present in people with this condition.\n\nAlacrima is usually the first noticeable sign of triple A syndrome, as it becomes apparent early in life that affected children produce little or no tears while crying. They develop Addison disease and achalasia during childhood or adolescence, and most of the neurologic features of triple A syndrome begin during adulthood. The signs and symptoms of this condition vary among affected individuals, even among members of the same family.

The Finnish type of systemic amyloidosis is characterized clinically by a unique constellation of features including lattice corneal dystrophy, and cranial neuropathy, bulbar signs, and skin changes. Some patients may develop peripheral neuropathy and renal failure. The disorder is usually inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern; however, homozygotes with a more severe phenotype have also been reported (Meretoja, 1973). Finnish hereditary amyloidosis, also known as Meretoja syndrome or AGel amyloidosis, is one of the most common diseases in the Finnish disease heritage. Symptoms commonly appear by age 40, with the first finding usually corneal lattice dystrophy (CLD), diagnosed by an ophthalmologist. Impaired vision, polyneuropathy, facial nerve paresis, and cutis laxa follow. These symptoms may develop slowly and simultaneously, since amyloid accumulates systemically at a constant rate (summary by Nikoskinen et al., 2015). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of hereditary systemic amyloidosis, see AMYLD1 (105210).

Most individuals with classic GBE1 adult polyglucosan body disease (GBE1-APBD) present after age 40 years with unexplained progressive neurogenic bladder, gait difficulties (i.e., spasticity and weakness) from mixed upper and lower motor neuron involvement, sensory loss predominantly in the distal lower extremities, autonomic dysfunction (associated with orthostatic hypotension and constipation), and mild cognitive difficulties (often executive dysfunction). Some affected individuals without classic GBE1-APBD have atypical phenotypes including Alzheimer disease-like dementia and axonal neuropathy, stroke-like episodes, and diaphragmatic failure; others may have a history of infantile liver disease.

Generally, Parkinson's disease that begins after age 50 is called late-onset disease. The condition is described as early-onset disease if signs and symptoms begin before age 50. Early-onset cases that begin before age 20 are sometimes referred to as juvenile-onset Parkinson's disease.\n\nParkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system. The disorder affects several regions of the brain, especially an area called the substantia nigra that controls balance and movement.\n\nParkinson's disease can also affect emotions and thinking ability (cognition). Some affected individuals develop psychiatric conditions such as depression and visual hallucinations. People with Parkinson's disease also have an increased risk of developing dementia, which is a decline in intellectual functions including judgment and memory.\n\nOften the first symptom of Parkinson's disease is trembling or shaking (tremor) of a limb, especially when the body is at rest. Typically, the tremor begins on one side of the body, usually in one hand. Tremors can also affect the arms, legs, feet, and face. Other characteristic symptoms of Parkinson's disease include rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and torso, slow movement (bradykinesia) or an inability to move (akinesia), and impaired balance and coordination (postural instability). These symptoms worsen slowly over time.

CMO type II deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a defect in the final biochemical step of aldosterone biosynthesis, the 18-hydroxylation of 18-hydroxycorticosterone (18-OHB) to aldosterone. This enzymatic defect results in decreased aldosterone and salt-wasting associated with an increased serum ratio of 18-OHB to aldosterone. In CMO II deficiency, aldosterone can be low or normal, but at the expense of increased secretion of 18-OHB. These patients have a low ratio of corticosterone to 18-OHB (Portrat-Doyen et al., 1998). The CYP11B2 gene product also catalyzes an earlier step in aldosterone biosynthesis: the 18-hydroxylation of corticosterone to 18-OHB. A defect in that enzymatic step results in CMO type I deficiency (204300), an allelic disorder with an overlapping phenotype but distinct biochemical features. In CMO I deficiency, aldosterone is undetectable, whereas its immediate precursor, 18-OHB, is low or normal (Portrat-Doyen et al., 1998).

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a distinct clinicopathologic entity that manifests as a progressive adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder causing parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia, and autonomic, urogenital, and pyramidal dysfunction in various combinations. Two main subtypes are recognized: 'subtype C,' characterized predominantly by cerebellar ataxia, and 'subtype P,' characterized predominantly by parkinsonism. MSA is characterized pathologically by the degeneration of striatonigral and olivopontocerebellar structures and glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs) that consist of abnormally phosphorylated alpha-synuclein (SNCA; 163890) or tau (MAPT; 157140) (Gilman et al., 1998; Gilman et al., 2008; Scholz et al., 2009). 'Subtype C' of MSA has been reported to be more prevalent than 'subtype P' in the Japanese population (65-67% vs 33-35%), whereas 'subtype P' has been reported to be more prevalent than 'subtype C' in Europe (63% vs 34%) and North America (60% vs 13%, with 27% of cases unclassified) (summary by The Multiple-System Atrophy Research Collaboration, 2013). MSA is similar clinically and pathologically to Parkinson disease (PD; 168600) and Lewy body dementia (127750). See also PARK1 (168601), which is specifically caused by mutation in the SNCA gene. Pure autonomic failure manifests as orthostatic hypotension and other autonomic abnormalities without other neurologic involvement. Although there is some phenotypic overlap, the relationship of pure autonomic failure to MSA is unclear (Vanderhaeghen et al., 1970; Schatz, 1996).

Lipodystrophies are rare disorders characterized by loss of body fat from various regions and predisposition to metabolic complications of insulin resistance and lipid abnormalities. FPLD7 is an autosomal dominant disorder with a highly variable phenotype. Additional features, including early-onset cataracts and later onset of spasticity of the lower limbs, have been noted in some patients (summary by Garg et al., 2015). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of familial partial lipodystrophy (FPLD), see 151660.

Any Parkinson disease in which the cause of the disease is a mutation in the CHCHD2 gene.

Alacrima, achalasia, and impaired intellectual development syndrome (AAMR) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by onset of these 3 main features at birth or in early infancy. More variable features include hypotonia, gait abnormalities, anisocoria, and visual or hearing deficits. The disorder shows similarity to the triple A syndrome (231550), but patients with AAMR do not have adrenal insufficiency (summary by Koehler et al., 2013). See also 300858 for a phenotypically similar disorder that shows X-linked inheritance.

Dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) deficiency is characterized by lack of sympathetic noradrenergic function but normal parasympathetic and sympathetic cholinergic function. Affected individuals exhibit profound deficits in autonomic regulation of cardiovascular function that predispose to orthostatic hypotension. Although DBH deficiency appears to be present from birth, the diagnosis is not generally recognized until late childhood. The combination of ptosis of the eyelids in infants and children, together with hypotension, is suggestive of the disease. In the perinatal period, DBH deficiency has been complicated by vomiting, dehydration, hypotension, hypothermia, and hypoglycemia requiring repeated hospitalization; children have reduced exercise capacity. By early adulthood, individuals have profound orthostatic hypotension, greatly reduced exercise tolerance, ptosis of the eyelids, and nasal stuffiness. Presyncopal symptoms include dizziness, blurred vision, dyspnea, nuchal discomfort, and chest pain; symptoms may worsen in hot environments or after heavy meals or alcohol ingestion. Life expectancy is unknown, but some affected individuals have lived beyond age 60 years.

Orthostatic hypotension-2 is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by severe orthostatic hypotension, recurrent hypoglycemia, and low norepinephrine levels. The disorder has onset in infancy or early childhood. Some patients may also have renal dysfunction and reduced life expectancy. The disorder results from a defect in the biosynthesis of norepinephrine from dopamine due to a cofactor deficiency. For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of ORTHYP, see ORTHYP1 (223360).

Autonomic bladder dysfunction with impaired pupillary reflex and secondary CAKUT (congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract) is an autosomal recessive neurogenic disorder with onset in utero or early childhood. Affected individuals have impaired neuronal bladder and ureteral innervation causing coordination defects that result in secondary structural defects of the renal system, including hydronephrosis, vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), and small kidneys, that may result in chronic kidney disease as well as recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Surgical treatment of VUR is not effective. Most individuals also have additional autonomic features, most commonly impaired pupillary reflex and sometimes orthostatic hypotension (summary by Mann et al., 2019).