Benign adult familial myoclonic epilepsy (BAFME) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by cortical tremors and seizures. Six types of BAFME, all caused by pentanucleotide repeat expansions in different genes, have been reported. However, several other BAFME cases remain with no molecular diagnosis.

We aim to characterize clinical features and identify the mutation causing BAFME in a large Malian family with 10 affected members.

Long‐read whole genome sequencing, repeat‐primed polymerase chain reaction and RNA studies were performed.

We identified TTTTA repeat expansions and TTTCA repeat insertions in intron 4 of the RAI1 gene that co‐segregated with disease status in this family. TTTCA repeats were absent in 200 Malian controls. In the affected individuals, we found a read with only nine TTTCA repeat units and somatic instability. The RAI1 repeat expansions cause the only BAFME type in which the disease‐causing repeats are in a gene associated with a monogenic disorder in the haploinsufficiency state (ie, Smith‐Magenis syndrome [SMS]). Nevertheless, none of the Malian patients exhibited symptoms related to SMS. Moreover, leukocyte RNA levels of RAI1 in six Malian BAFME patients were no different from controls.

These findings establish a new type of BAFME, BAFME8, in an African family and suggest that haploinsufficiency is unlikely to be the main pathomechanism of BAFME. © 2023 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.