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Abstract
Purpose of review: Down syndrome regression disorder (DSRD) is a symptom cluster consisting of neuropsychiatric regression without cause. Although knowledge of this condition has accelerated over the last decade, prior studies have been limited by heterogenous nomenclature, diagnostic approaches and therapeutic interventions. This review highlights recent advances in the diagnosis and clinical approach to DSRD and reviews the most up-to-date literature on therapeutic interventions for this condition.
Recent findings: Several multicentre studies have reported exciting findings on the presence of neurodiagnostic study abnormalities and responses to a variety of therapeutics, including psychotropics (including benzodiazepines), electroconvulsive therapy and immunotherapy. Differential response rates have been observed in the presence and absence of a variety of clinical and diagnostic factors.
Summary: Individuals with DSRD are responsive to a variety of psychiatric pharmacotherapy and immunotherapy underscoring this phenotype may have multiple causes. Multidisciplinary care is helpful in the evaluation and management of individuals with this condition.
Rosso M, Fremion E, Santoro SL, Oreskovic NM, Chitnis T, Skotko BG, Santoro JD. Down Syndrome Disintegrative Disorder: A Clinical Regression Syndrome of Increasing Importance. Pediatrics. 2020 Jun;145(6):e20192939. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-2939. PMID: 32471843.
Abstract
Down syndrome disintegrative disorder (DSDD), a developmental regression in children with Down syndrome (DS), is a clinical entity that is characterized by a loss of previously acquired adaptive, cognitive, and social functioning in persons with DS usually in adolescence to early adulthood. Initially reported in 1946 as "catatonic psychosis," there has been an increasing interest among the DS community, primary care, and subspecialty providers in this clinical area over the past decade. This condition has a subacute onset and can include symptoms of mood lability, decreased participation in activities of daily living, new-onset insomnia, social withdrawal, autistic-like regression, mutism, and catatonia. The acute phase is followed by a chronic phase in which baseline functioning may not return. No strict criteria or definitive testing is currently available to diagnose DSDD, although a comprehensive psychosocial and medical evaluation is warranted for individuals presenting with such symptoms. The etiology of DSDD is unknown, but in several hypotheses for regression in this population, psychological stress, primary psychiatric disease, and autoimmunity are proposed as potential causes of DSDD. Both psychiatric therapy and immunotherapies have been described as DSDD treatments, with both revealing potential benefit in limited cohorts. In this article, we review the current data regarding clinical phenotypes, differential diagnosis, neurodiagnostic workup, and potential therapeutic options for this unique, most disturbing, and infrequently reported disorder.
Santoro JD, Patel L, Kammeyer R, Filipink RA, Gombolay GY, Cardinale KM, Real de Asua D, Zaman S, Santoro SL, Marzouk SM, Khoshnood M, Vogel BN, Tanna R, Pagarkar D, Dhanani S, Ortega MDC, Partridge R, Stanley MA, Sanders JS, Christy A, Sannar EM, Brown R, McCormick AA, Van Mater H, Franklin C, Worley G, Quinn EA, Capone GT, Chicoine B, Skotko BG, Rafii MS. Assessment and Diagnosis of Down Syndrome Regression Disorder: International Expert Consensus. Front Neurol. 2022 Jul 15;13:940175. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.940175. PMID: 35911905; PMCID: PMC9335003.
Abstract
Objective: To develop standardization for nomenclature, diagnostic work up and diagnostic criteria for cases of neurocognitive regression in Down syndrome.
Background: There are no consensus criteria for the evaluation or diagnosis of neurocognitive regression in persons with Down syndrome. As such, previously published data on this condition is relegated to smaller case series with heterogenous data sets. Lack of standardized assessment tools has slowed research in this clinical area.
Methods: The authors performed a two-round traditional Delphi method survey of an international group of clinicians with experience in treating Down syndrome to develop a standardized approach to clinical care and research in this area. Thirty-eight potential panelists who had either previously published on neurocognitive regression in Down syndrome or were involved in national or international working groups on this condition were invited to participate. In total, 27 panelists (71%) represented nine medical specialties and six different countries reached agreement on preliminary standards in this disease area. Moderators developed a proposed nomenclature, diagnostic work up and diagnostic criteria based on previously published reports of regression in persons with Down syndrome.
Results: During the first round of survey, agreement on nomenclature for the condition was reached with 78% of panelists agreeing to use the term Down Syndrome Regression Disorder (DSRD). Agreement on diagnostic work up and diagnostic criteria was not reach on the first round due to low agreement amongst panelists with regards to the need for neurodiagnostic testing. Following incorporation of panelist feedback, diagnostic criteria were agreed upon (96% agreement on neuroimaging, 100% agreement on bloodwork, 88% agreement on lumbar puncture, 100% agreement on urine studies, and 96% agreement on "other" studies) as were diagnostic criteria (96% agreement).
Conclusions: The authors present international consensus agreement on the nomenclature, diagnostic work up, and diagnostic criteria for DSRD, providing an initial practical framework that can advance both research and clinical practices for this condition.
Santoro JD, Spinazzi NA, Filipink RA, Hayati-Rezvan P, Kammeyer R, Patel L, Sannar EA, Dwyer L, Banerjee AK, Khoshnood M, Jafarpour S, Boyd NK, Partridge R, Gombolay GY, Christy AL, Real de Asua D, Del Carmen Ortega M, Manning MA, Van Mater H, Worley G, Franklin C, Stanley MA, Brown R, Capone GT, Quinn EA, Rafii MS. Immunotherapy responsiveness and risk of relapse in Down syndrome regression disorder. Transl Psychiatry. 2023 Aug 8;13(1):276. doi: 10.1038/s41398-023-02579-z. PMID: 37553347; PMCID: PMC10409776.
Abstract
Down syndrome regression disorder (DSRD) is a clinical symptom cluster consisting of neuropsychiatric regression without an identifiable cause. This study evaluated the clinical effectiveness of IVIg and evaluated clinical characteristics associated with relapse after therapy discontinuation. A prospective, multi-center, non-randomized, observational study was performed. Patients met criteria for DSRD and were treated with IVIg. All patients underwent a standardized wean-off therapy after 9-12 months of treatment. Baseline, on-therapy, and relapse scores of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Total Score (NPITS), Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S), and the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS) were used to track clinical symptoms. Eighty-two individuals were enrolled in this study. Patients had lower BFCRS (MD: -6.68; 95% CI: -8.23, -5.14), CGI-S (MD: -1.27; 95% CI: -1.73, -0.81), and NPITS scores (MD: -6.50; 95% CI: -7.53, -5.47) while they were on therapy compared to baseline. Approximately 46% of the patients (n = 38) experienced neurologic relapse with wean of IVIg. Patients with neurologic relapse were more likely to have any abnormal neurodiagnostic study (χ2 = 11.82, P = 0.001), abnormal MRI (χ2 = 7.78, P = 0.005), and abnormal LP (χ2 = 5.45, P = 0.02), and a personal history of autoimmunity (OR: 6.11, P < 0.001) compared to patients without relapse. IVIg was highly effective in the treatment of DSRD. Individuals with a history of personal autoimmunity or neurodiagnostic abnormalities were more likely to relapse following weaning of immunotherapy, indicating the potential for, a chronic autoimmune etiology in some cases of DSRD.
Rachubinski AL, Patel LR, Sannar EM, Kammeyer RM, Sanders J, Enriquez-Estrada BA, Worek KR, Fidler DJ, Santoro JD, Espinosa JM. JAK inhibition in Down Syndrome Regression Disorder. J Neuroimmunol. 2024 Oct 15;395:578442. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2024.578442. Epub 2024 Aug 22. PMID: 39216159; PMCID: PMC11533451.
Abstract
Down Syndrome Regression Disorder (DRSD) is an uncommon but devastating condition affecting primarily adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome (DS). Individuals with DS display a dysregulated immune system associated with hyperactive interferon signaling, which is associated with a high incidence of autoimmune conditions. While the cause of DSRD is unknown, increasing evidence indicates that it may have an immune basis, and some individuals with DSRD have responded to intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. This case series describes three individuals with probable DSRD who received the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib and saw improvement in DSRD symptoms across multiple domains of neurological function.
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