Two new putative susceptibility loci for ADNFLE

Autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (ADNFLE) has been up to now considered a simple Mendelian trait caused by mutations in neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit genes. We previously demonstrated that in a three-generation Italian family the disease was unlinked to all known ADNFLE loci as well as to all known brain-expressed nAChR subunits. The genome-wide linkage analysis here presented performed on this family points to the existence of two new putative ADNFLE loci on chromosomes 3p22-p24 and 8q11.2-q21.1. These findings, together with several ADNFLE characteristics, suggest that this epilepsy could be, at least in the above family, a complex disorder. In particular, we propose and discuss the hypothesis of a digenic transmission of the disease.