[A case of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy showing ophthalmoplegia, diabetes mellitus and hearing loss associated with the A3243G mutation of mitochondrial DNA].

We report a 47-year-old female patient showing clinical features of chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) without stroke-like episodes. Large scale deletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was not found in her biopsied muscle, whereas the A-->G transition at position 3243 (A3243G) was detected. The patient's mother had diabetes mellitus, suggesting maternal inheritance. This mutation is usually associated with MELAS, but wide clinical variety of the mutation has been recognized. Although several patients of CPEO with A3243G mutation (CPEO3243) have been found in the Western countries, only one case has been reported in detail in Japan. The CPEO3243 patients, including ours, show retinopathy less frequently, but diabetes mellitus and hearing loss more frequently than CPEO patients with deletions of mtDNA (CPEO delta). CPEO3243 is usually inherited maternally, but almost all CPEO delta is sporadic. With regard to COX activity of biopsied muscles, CPEO3243 resembles CPEO delta more than MELAS3243. This suggests that how the mutant mtDNA is distributed among cells or tissues may have more significant effect on clinical phenotype than what type of mtDNA mutation exists. The presence of such a CPEO3243 patient like ours could be an important suggestion toward further understanding of mitochondrial diseases.