FGF14 Repeat Expansion Testing

Description

Pathogenic GAA repeat expansions in the FGF14 gene have been associated with autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxia 27B (SCA27B), a late onset ataxia which is considered to be one of the most common SCAs, particularly in the French-Canadian population, though it is also found in other populations.

Pathogenicity is dependent upon GAA repeat length according to the following ranges 1-4:

Normal Alleles

Mutable Normal Alleles

Intermediate/Uncertain Alleles

Reduced Penetrance Alleles

Full Penetrance Alleles

179 or fewer*

-

180-249 uninterrupted

250-300 uninterrupted

301 or more uninterrupted

*Larger alleles with non-GAA interruptions are also considered normal and stable.

Note: As SCA27B is typically adult onset, FGF14 repeat expansions are not reported in minors in comprehensive analyses.

Additional Resources

Missed by Others, Found by Us

A 66-year-old male presented with symptoms of ataxia, gait imbalance, dysarthria and gazed-evoked nystagmus. Prior ataxia panel and exome testing was negative. Variantyx testing identified a biallelic FGF14 expansion.

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Same Symptoms, Different Diagnoses

Five patients ranging in age from 59-70 presented with similar symptoms of progressive cerebellar ataxia, gait imbalance, progressive sensory neuropathy and dysphagia and/or dysarthria. Each received a different diagnosis with Variantyx testing.

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Expanded STR Detection Capability Enables Variantyx to Diagnose Additional Genetic Disorders

Press release: Variantyx, a leader in genomic precision medicine, today announced that the set of short tandem repeat (STR) expansions detected by its Genomic Unity® line of whole genome-based tests has been expanded.

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