CLN10 disease

CLN10 disease is a severe disorder that primarily affects the nervous system. Individuals with this condition typically show signs and symptoms soon after birth. These signs and symptoms can include muscle rigidity, respiratory failure, and prolonged episodes of seizure activity that last several minutes (status epilepticus). It is likely that some affected individuals also have seizures before birth while in the womb. Infants with CLN10 disease have unusually small heads (microcephaly) with brains that may be less than half the normal size. There is a loss of brain cells in areas that coordinate movement (the cerebellum) and control thinking and emotions (the cerebral cortex). Nerve cells in the brain also lack a fatty substance called myelin, which protects them and promotes efficient transmission of nerve impulses. Infants with CLN10 disease often die hours to weeks after birth.

In some individuals with CLN10 disease, the condition does not appear until later in life, between late infancy and adulthood. These individuals have a gradual loss of brain cells and often develop problems with balance and coordination (ataxia), loss of speech, a progressive loss in intellectual functioning (cognitive decline), and vision loss. Individuals with later-onset CLN10 disease have a shortened lifespan, depending on when their signs and symptoms first started.

CLN10 disease is one of a group of disorders known as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs). All of these disorders affect the nervous system and typically cause progressive problems with vision, movement, and thinking ability. The different NCLs are distinguished by their genetic cause. Each disease type is given the designation "CLN," meaning ceroid lipofuscinosis, neuronal, and then a number to indicate its subtype.