Pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, is associated with changes in genes coding for the tRNA splicing endonuclease (TSEN). This multicomponent enzyme is involved in generating essential building blocks for protein synthesis, a process that is crucial to establish and maintain the function of healthy cells. TSEN is found in every cell of the human body but the effect of the PCH-linked mutations only manifests in specific regions of the brain; a phenomenon not understood at all yet.
The aim of the study “Natural course of pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 2A” by Sánchez-Albisua et al. was to describe the natural course of PCH2 using a uniform group of patients with the typical PCH2A mutation.
In their 2008 study “Mutations in the tRNA splicing endonuclease cause pontocerebellar hypoplasia”, Budde et al. demonstrated the genetic cause of PCH2 through genomic analysis. The underlying change is located on chromosome 17q25, specifically in the TSEN54 gene.
In their 1995 study “The syndrome of autosomal recessive pontocerebellar hypoplasia, microcephaly, and extrapyramidal dyskinesia (pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 2): Compiled data from 10 pedigrees”, Barth et al. collected data from 10 unrelated family pedigrees.
In their 1990 article “The inherited syndrome of microcephaly, dyskinesia and pontocerebellar hypoplasia: a systemic atrophy with early onset”, Barth et al. reported on a neurodegenerative disorder observed in seven children from five related families.
