Danon disease is an X-linked condition in which males are often more severely affected than females. A total of 146 molecularly confirmed affected individuals (90 males and 56 females) with Danon disease have been reported in the literature and the information below summarizes the findings in these individuals [Brambatti et al 2019] and in others who did not undergo clinical genetic testing.
Males
Males with Danon disease often present with the triad of severe cardiomyopathy, skeletal myopathy, and mild intellectual disability. Penetrance for cardiomyopathy approaches 100% in males, with 80%-90% of affected individuals experiencing some degree of skeletal muscle weakness and more than 70% experiencing some degree of cognitive impairment [D'Souza et al 2014].
Cardiac. The most striking and apparent clinical findings involve childhood onset of cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, and the progressive development of heart failure. Males are affected earlier (average age of first symptom 12.1 years) than females (average age of first symptom 19.0 years), although females show a wider phenotypic spectrum (see Females). Limited data are available on presenting clinical symptoms, although chest pain and palpitations have been reported as common symptoms at the time of diagnosis [Boucek et al 2011].
Cardiomyopathy. The typical early cardiac finding is concentric hypertrophy with persevered ejection fraction and normal heart cavity dimensions.
In contrast to many other forms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, progression to severe hypertrophy, heart failure, and an almost certain need for transplantation in the second and third decades of life is typically seen in Danon disease.
Reported ages of cardiac transplantation and death in males are 33.7 and 34.5 years, respectively [
Boucek et al 2011].
In a minority of affected males the cardiac features evolve to resemble dilated cardiomyopathy [
D'Souza et al 2014], although in rare affected males dilated cardiomyopathy may be the initial presentation without an apparent hypertrophic phase [
López-Sainz et al 2019].
Electrophysiology. Pre-excitation findings on EKG are present in more than 80% of affected males. Atrial and ventricular arrhythmias may also be detected.
Arrhythmias may cause clinical symptoms of palpitations or syncope.
In some instances a pre-excitation, Wolff-Parkinson-White pattern on electrocardiography may precede overt cardiomyopathy.
Cardiac imaging most commonly involves echocardiography.
Left-ventricular outflow obstruction is present in some individuals on exercise testing.
Increasingly, cardiac MRI is proving to be a useful tool to characterize hypertrophy and quantify the presence of late gadolinium enhancement as a measure of cardiac fibrosis.
Neuromuscular. Skeletal muscle myopathy most often presents as slowly progressive proximal muscle weakness in the neck, shoulders, and legs [D'Souza et al 2014]. Affected males have varying degrees of functional impairment due to muscle weakness and underlying deficits in muscle activation [Stevens-Lapsley et al 2010].
Although progression may occur, weakness is not typically disabling and most men retain the ability to ambulate. Because of this, the rehabilitation outcomes for men who undergo cardiac transplantation are generally good, although profound muscle weakness after cardiac transplantation has been rarely described [
D'Souza et al 2014,
Brambatti et al 2019].
Creatine kinase (CK) levels are elevated in most males (mean 944 U/L) [
Boucek et al 2011]. It is unknown if elevated CK levels are present in affected males at birth or if they slowly increase over time as the disease develops.
Delayed motor milestones are reported in approximately 20% of affected males [
Boucek et al 2011,
Brambatti et al 2019]. These deficits have not been well described in terms of gross and fine motor impairment or ages of onset.
Cognitive delays and behavioral issues. Clinical cognitive issues (learning disability or intellectual disability) probably affect close to 100% of males but have not been well characterized. Intellectual disability, most often in the mild range, has been reported in about 80% of affected males. Speech and language delays are common. Most affected males are able to [D'Souza et al 2014]:
Other neuropsychiatric issues that have been reported primarily in case reports or as part of small case series of affected individuals include [Hatz et al 2010, D'Souza et al 2014]:
Attention deficit disorder
Behavior problems
Psychiatric issues (e.g., severe depression, psychosis)
Due to the small number of individuals reported with these particular features, it is unclear whether these issues are directly related to Danon disease.
Retinopathy. The retinopathy described in variable detail in earlier reports (see commentary by Brodie [2012]) appears to be consistent with the cone-rod dystrophy described by Thiadens et al [2012] (see also Suggestive Findings).
While details regarding rate of vision decline in males are not available in the limited number of published reports in Danon disease,
Brambatti et al [2019] reported the risk of "vision abnormalities" from "retinopathy" as 10.9% in the 129 males and females on whom data were available.
Gastrointestinal. Gastrointestinal/hepatic disease is suspected in a majority of affected males [D'Souza et al 2014]. Features may include:
Respiratory disease is present in about half of affected males, with shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughing, and/or wheezing being reported most frequently [D'Souza et al 2014]. Respiratory muscle insufficiency and airway disease have not been characterized in detail.
Females
Overall, the phenotypic spectrum in females appears to be broader and more variable [Brambatti et al 2019]. Females develop symptoms later than males and are more apt to have a cardiac-restricted phenotype. Onset of symptoms in females is about ten to 15 years later than in affected males, with average age of onset of first symptom 19.0 years, average age of cardiac transplant 33.7 years, and average age of death 34.6 years [D'Souza et al 2014]. The proportion of heterozygous females who have evidence of cardiomyopathy is reported to be between 61% and 100%, whereas 12%-50% of heterozygous females are reported to have some degree of skeletal muscle weakness, and between 6% and 47% have been reported to have some degree of cognitive issues [D'Souza et al 2014]. Although some females appear to be nearly as severely affected as typically affected males, the average age of diagnosis in females is reported to be 27.9 years.
Cardiac features predominate in females with a heterozygous pathogenic variant in LAMP2, although some have no discernable clinical features [Stevens-Lapsley et al 2010].
Cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy affects more than 70% of females, with dilated cardiomyopathy being present in 30%-50% of females and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the remaining [
Boucek et al 2011,
Brambatti et al 2019]. In most instances a dilated cardiomyopathy is the presenting finding and evidence of preceding hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (that then converted to a dilated phenotype) is lacking.
Of the heterozygous females who develop cardiomyopathy, about 18% receive a cardiac transplantation, compared to almost all affected males [
D'Souza et al 2014]. However, as most data reported are cross-sectional, the prevalence of heart transplant in females may rise with age.
Pre-excitation with Wolff-Parkinson-White is identified in 32% of females at presentation [
Brambatti et al 2019].
With time, however, the prevalence of cardiac disease in females approaches that of males, with one comprehensive study of published case reports noting a composite outcome (death, heart transplant, or ventricular assist device) occurring in 37% of males and 37% of females [
Brambatti et al 2019].
Cardiac imaging most commonly involves echocardiography. In females with cardiac hypertrophy, imaging modalities and findings are similar to those in males, although the findings may be less severe in females (see
Males,
Cardiac imaging).
Neuromuscular. Skeletal muscle weakness is reported in 12%-50% of females with a heterozygous pathogenic variant in LAMP2 and appears to be milder than that of males [Boucek et al 2011, Brambatti et al 2019].
Cognitive delays. Some form of intellectual impairment has been reported in between 6% and 47% of affected females. Details on the definition or degree of intellectual impairment are largely lacking. The authors' collective experience is that females with Danon disease generally do not meet a formal definition of intellectual disability as defined by an IQ <70.
Eye. Retinal findings in females that are similar to but milder than those observed in males have been reported [Prall et al 2006, Schorderet et al 2007, Taylor et al 2007, Brambatti et al 2019]. It is unclear if Danon disease leads to legal blindness in females or to what degree the ocular phenotypes are progressive. Ophthalmic findings include changes to the peripheral retinal pigment epithelium that could lead to:
Gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms have been reported in females but are not well characterized to date (see information pertaining to Males).