• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2001

The distal myopathies(DM) are clinically defined as inherited or sporadic primary muscle disorders characterized by progressive muscular weakness and atrophy beginning in the hands or feet and pathologically by myopathic changes in skeletal muscles. The pathologic changes are somewhat similar to those seen in chronic muscular dystrophy, but necrotic and regenerative processes are less prominent and creatine kinase levels are either normal or only mildly elevated. The most representative diseases are dominantly inherited Welander distal myopathy and tibial muscular dystrophy, and the recessively inherited distal myopathy with rimmed vacuoles and distal muscular dystrophy(Miyoshi myopathy). At present, further study is necessary to determine why rimmed vacuoles are so common in the DM, and what role they play in the pathogenesis of muscle fiber atrophy and loss, predominantly in the distal portions of the extremities.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.311-317
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• 2014

Distal myopathy with rimmed vacuoles (DMRV) or hereditary inclusion body myopathy 2 is an autosomal recessive muscular disorder characterized by early adult-onset weakness of distal muscles and rimmed vacuoles in muscle biopsy. Mutations in the UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/N-ace-tylmannosamine kinase (GNE) gene are associated with the development of DMRV. In this study, whole exome sequencing (WES) revealed compound heterozygous GNE mutations of p.Asp176Val and p.Val572Leu in a patient with distal limb weakness. Three hundred healthy controls did not show these mutations. All other variants found in distal myopathy-relevant genes were polymorphic. These findings confirmed that the patient had DMRV. This work underscores the usefulness of WES in improving the molecular diagnosis of myopathy.