Genetic Analysis of Chinese Patients with Early-Onset Dementia Using Next-Generation Sequencing.

OBJECTIVE

Early-onset dementia (EOD) is a relatively uncommon form of dementia that afflicts people before age 65. Only a few studies analyzing the genetics of EOD have been performed in the Chinese Han population. Diagnosing EOD remains a challenge due to the diverse genetic and clinical heterogeneity of these diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic spectrum and clinical features of Chinese patients with EOD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 49 EOD patients were recruited. Targeted next-generation (NGS) analyses were performed to screen for all of the known genes associated with dementia. Possible pathogenic variants were confirmed by performing Sanger sequencing. The genetic spectrum and clinical features of the EOD patients were analyzed.

RESULTS

Seven previously reported pathogenic variants (p.I213T and p.W165C in ; p.D678N in ; c.1349_1352del in ; p.P301L and p.R406W in ; p.R110C in ) and two novel variants of uncertain significance (p.P436L in ; c.239-11G>A in ) were identified.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated the genetic spectrum and clinical features of EOD patients, and it reveals that genetic testing of known causal genes in EOD patients can help to make a precise diagnosis.