Rapid Electroclinical Evolution in HECW2 ‐Related Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy: Report of a Likely Splicing Variant With Familial Transmission
- 5 August 2025
- journal article
- case report
- Published by Wiley in International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience
- Vol. 85 (5) , e70041
Abstract
The HECW2 gene, essential for neurodevelopment, plays a critical role in maintaining cellular homeostasis and regulating key pathways in the nervous system. Deleterious variants in the HECW2 gene have been associated with developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia and epilepsy, as well as dysmorphic features. We present the case of an infant with a novel variant in HECW2 with an unusual clinical presentation and a progressive disease course, showing three successive electroclinical patterns, consisting of burst suppression characteristic of early infantile developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, subcontinuous myoclonic seizures and infantile epileptic spasms syndrome without hypsarrhythmia, occurring over a short period of time. This case expands the clinical spectrum associated with this gene and highlights the intrafamilial phenotypic variability. It also underscores the importance of personalized therapeutic strategies, as demonstrated by the use of perampanel in this patient. These findings emphasize the need to include HECW2 as a possible aetiology in the diagnostic evaluation of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- A homozygous nonsense HECW2 variant is associated with neurodevelopmental delay and intellectual disabilityEuropean Journal of Medical Genetics, 2022
- A novel likely pathogenic heterozygous HECW2 missense variant in a family with variable expressivity of neurodevelopmental delay, hypotonia, and epileptiform EEG patternsAmerican Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, 2021
- De Novo HECW2 Mutation Associated With Epilepsy, Developmental Decline, and Intellectual Disability: Case Report and Review of LiteraturePediatric Neurology, 2018
- Perampanel, an AMPA receptor antagonist: From clinical research to practice in clinical settingsActa Neurologica Scandinavica, 2017
- Prevalence and architecture of de novo mutations in developmental disordersNature, 2017
- Safety, efficacy and outcome-related factors of perampanel over 12 months in a real-world setting: The FYDATA studyEpilepsy Research, 2016
- Excess of rare, inherited truncating mutations in autismNature Genetics, 2015
- The contribution of de novo coding mutations to autism spectrum disorderNature, 2014
- De Novo Mutations in Synaptic Transmission Genes Including DNM1 Cause Epileptic EncephalopathiesThe American Journal of Human Genetics, 2014
- Physiological functions of the HECT family of ubiquitin ligasesNature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 2009