Journal article

HFE p.C282Y heterozygosity is associated with earlier disease onset in Friedreich ataxia

MB Delatycki, G Tai, L Corben, EM Yiu, MV Evans-Galea, SEM Stephenson, L Gurrin, KJ Allen, D Lynch, PJ Lockhart

Movement Disorders | Published : 2014

Abstract

Background: Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) generally results from reduced frataxin, a mitochondrial protein involved in iron metabolism. We assessed whether HFE p.C282Y and/or p.H63D heterozygosity modifies age at disease onset or disease severity in individuals with FRDA. Methods: One hundred seventy individuals with FRDA were assessed for the association of HFE p.C282Y and p.H63D with (1) age at disease onset and (2) Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale (FARS) score. Results: After adjusting for the smaller FXN GAA repeat size and sex, individuals with FRDA and heterozygous for p.C282Y had disease onset on average 3.72 years earlier than those homozygous for the wild-type amino acid (P=0.02). Neither ..

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