Kearns-Sayre syndrome

Kearns-Sayre syndrome (abbreviated KSS) is a disease caused by a 5,000 base deletion in the mitochondrial DNA. As such, it is a rare genetic disease in that it can be heteroplasmic, that is, more than one genome can be in a cell at any given time. As with all mitochondrial diseases, it can only be maternally inherited.

Kearnes-Sayre syndrome starts before the age of 20.

Presentation
Its expression is systemic, but many of the most common expressions are in the eyes, with ophthalmoplegia and retinal degeneration, specifically retinitis pigmentosa, common features.

Other characteristic features of are dysphagia, proximal weakness, hearing loss, cerebellar ataxia and cardiac conduction defects.

Prognosis
There is no treatment for Kearnes-Sayre syndrome as of now. In general, only palliative medications are available to sufferers in order to help relieve the symptoms of the disease.

Eponym
It is named for Thomas Kearns and George Sayre.