Mutations in the ATP6 gene of mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) have been shown to cause several different neurological disorders. The product of this gene is ATPase 6, an essential component of the F1F0-ATPase. In the present study we show that the function of the F1F0-ATPase is impaired in lymphocytes from ten individuals harbouring the mtDNA T8993G point mutation associated with NARP (neuropathy, at...

We have examined the specificity and the mechanism of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) accumulation at embryonic chick nerve-muscle contacts that form in culture. Spinal cord motoneurons were identified in vitro after labeling them in vivo with Lucifer Yellow-wheat germ agglutinin conjugates. All of their processes induced receptor clusters on contacted myotubes; after 24 to 48 hr of co-culture, t...

In this review, we comprehensively describe ophthalmic diseases with mitochondrial DNA mutation such as Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO) and Kearns-Sayre Syndrome (KSS). Ocular involvement is a prominent clinical feature of various mitochondrial diseases as well. The known mitochondrial disorders such as Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lact...

We thank Drs J. Finsterer and S. Zarrouk-Mahjoub [1] for their comments regarding our report [2] on the beneficial effects of low dose clozapine for management of psychotic symptoms in a patient with neurogenic ataxia-retinitis pigmentosa (NARP mutation, m.8993TNC, maternally inherited from asymptomatic carrier mother). We agree that clozapine has many side effects, some of them being potential...