Patient with Niemann-Pick disease type C: Over 20 years' follow-up

Abstract

We report a 37-year-old woman with Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) 1. At the age of 8 years, she presented slow running followed by both fingers dystonia at the age of 10 years. At the age of 16 years, she developed declined scholastic achievement. On her first visit at the age of 17 years, she showed dystonia, ataxic gait and vertical supranuclear gaze palsy. We suspected it was NPC. She presented atrophies in the frontal lobes, brainstem and cerebellum in a brain MRI. She presented hepatomegalies and splenomegalies in an abdominal CT. At the age of 26 years, she undertook perpetually tracheal fistula because of recurrent aspiration pneumonia. Diagnosis of NPC1 was made by filipin staining and existence of foamy cells in the bone marrow and NPC1 gene analysis. We obtained informed consent of genetic analysis. Miglustat therapy was started at the age of 32 years. Improvements in swallowing capacity and in muscle tonus were seen.