Genetic Appraisal of Hereditary Muscle Disorders In A Cohort From Mumbai, India

BACKGROUND: Hereditary muscle disorders are clinically and genetically heterogeneous. Limited information is available on their genetic makeup and their prevalence in India. OBJECTIVE: To study the genetic basis of prevalent hereditary myopathies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study conducted at a tertiary care center. The study was approved by the institutional ethics board. The point of the collection was the genetic database. The genetic data of myopathy patients for the period of two and half years (2019 to mid-2021) was evaluated. Those with genetic diagnoses of DMD, FSHD, myotonic dystrophies, mitochondriopathies, and acquired myopathies were excluded. The main outcome measures were diagnostic yield and the subtype prevalence with their gene variant spectrum. RESULTS: The definitive diagnostic yield of the study was 39% (cases with two pathogenic variants in the disease-causing gene). The major contributing genes were GNE (15%), DYSF (13%), and CAPN3 (7%). Founder genes were documented in Calpainopathy and GNE myopathy. The uncommon myopathies identified were Laminopathy (0.9%), desminopathy (0.9%), and GMPPB-related myopathy (1.9%). Interestingly, a small number of patients showed pathogenic variants in more than one myopathy gene, the multigenic myopathies. CONCLUSION: This cohort study gives hospital-based information on the prevalent genotypes of myopathies (GNE, Dysferlinopathy, and calpainopathy), founder mutations, and also newly documents the curious occurrence of multigenicity in a small number of myopathies.