Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A in Brazilian children.

Abstract

Calpainopathy is an autosomal recessive limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD2A) caused by mutations in CAPN3 gene. To present clinical and histological findings in six children with a molecular diagnosis of LGMD2A and additionally the MRI findings in two of them. We retrospectively assessed medical records of 6 patients with mutation on CAPN3 gene. All patients were female (three to 12 years). The mean of age of disease onset was 9 years. All of them showed progressive weakness with predominance in lower limbs. Other findings were scapular winging, joint contractures and calf hypertrophy. One female had a more severe phenotype than her dizygotic twin sister that was confirmed by muscle MRI. Muscle biopsies showed a dystrophic pattern in all patients. In this cohort of children with LGMD2A, the clinical aspects were similar to adults with the same disorder.