Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere and Fazio Londe syndrome is associated with a riboflavin transporter defect mimicking mild MADD: a new inborn error of metabolism with potential treatment

We report on three patients (two siblings and one unrelated) presenting in infancy with progressive muscle weakness and paralysis of the diaphragm. Metabolic studies revealed a profile of plasma acylcarnitines and urine organic acids suggestive of a mild form of the multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenation defect (MADD, ethylmalonic/adipic acid syndrome). Subsequently, a profound flavin deficiency in spite of a normal dietary riboflavin intake was established in the plasma of all three children, suggesting a riboflavin transporter defect. Genetic analysis of these patients demonstrated mutations in the C20orf54 gene which encodes the human homolog of a rat riboflavin transporter. This gene was recently implicated in the Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere syndrome, a rare neurological disorder which may either present in infancy with neurological deterioration with hypotonia, respiratory insufficiency and early death, or later in life with deafness and progressive ponto-bulbar palsy. Supplementation of riboflavin rapidly improved the clinical symptoms as well as the biochemical abnormalities in our patients, demonstrating that high dose riboflavin is a potential treatment for the Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere syndrome as well as for the Fazio Londe syndrome which is considered to be the same disease entity without the deafnes

Plasma and Erythrocyte Fatty Acid Patterns in Patients with Recurrent Depression: A Matched Case-Control Study

The polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition of (nerve) cell membranes may be involved in the pathophysiology of depression. Studies so far, focussed mainly on omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs. In the present study, saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and PUFAs of the omega-3, -6 and -9 series in plasma and erythrocytes of patients with recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD-R) were compared with controls.We carried out a case-control study. The sample consisted of 137 patients with MDD-R and 65 matched non-depressed controls. In plasma and erythrocytes of patients with MDD-R the concentrations of most of the SFAs and MUFAs, and additionally erythrocyte PUFAs, all with a chain length > 20 carbon (C) atoms, were significantly lower than in the controls. In contrast, the concentrations of most of the shorter chain members (< or = 18C) of the SFAs and MUFAs were significantly higher in the patients. Estimated activities of several elongases in plasma of patients were significantly altered, whereas delta-9 desaturase activity for C14:0 and C18:0 was significantly higher.The fatty acid status of patients with MDD-R not only differs with regard to omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs, but also concerns other fatty acids. These alterations may be due to: differences in diet, changes in synthesizing enzyme activities, higher levels of chronic (oxidative) stress but may also result from adaptive strategies by providing protection against enhanced oxidative stress and production of free radicals

The Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere and Fazio Londe syndrome revisited: natural history, genetics, treatment and future perspectives

<p>Abstract</p> <p>The Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere syndrome is a rare neurological disorder which may present at all ages with sensorineural deafness, bulbar palsy and respiratory compromise. Fazio-Londe syndrome is considered to be the same disease entity. Recently it was demonstrated that in some patients the disease is caused by mutations in the <it>SLC52A3</it> gene which encodes the intestinal (hRFT2) riboflavin transporter. In these patients riboflavin deficiency is the cause of the BVVL/FL syndrome and supplementation of riboflavin proved a life saving treatment. Mutations in the <it>SLC52A2</it> gene and the <it>SLC52A1 (GPR172B)</it> gene, coding for human riboflavin transporters hRFT3 and hRFT1 have been associated with the BVVL syndrome as well. We performed a review of the literature, with emphasis on the natural history and the effects of treatment in these patients<b>.</b> A total of 35 publications were traced reporting on the clinical presentation of 74 patients who presented before age 18. The most prevalent symptoms were bulbar palsy, hearing loss, facial weakness and respiratory compromise. Death was reported in 28 of the 61 untreated patients, with a very low survival in patients presenting before age 4. All 13 patients who were treated with riboflavin survived, with a strong clinical improvement after days to months of treatment in eight patients. Three patients demonstrated a stable clinical course and treatment was stopped early in two patients. Abnormalities in plasma flavin levels and/or plasma acylcarnitine profiles were observed in some but not in all patients, and also patients with normal plasma flavin levels and acylcarnitine profiles demonstrated a striking clinical improvement on riboflavin supplementation. It is now clear that proper diagnosis requires mutation analysis of all three transporter genes and treatment should be started immediately without first awaiting results of molecular analysis. Clinical improvement may be rapid or gradual over a period of more than 12 months.</p

Disrupted dopaminergic neurotransmission in 22q11 deletion syndrome

22q11 Deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is associated with chromosome 22q11 microdeletions and high rates of psychiatric disorders. Susceptibility for these disorders could be explained by haploinsufficiency of the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene, which encodes an enzyme involved in dopamine (DA) breakdown. It is unknown how dopaminergic neurotransmission is affected in people with 22q11DS. To date, there have been no controlled studies investigating dopaminergic neurotransmission in people with 22q11DS. We report the results of a challenge study in high-functioning adults with 22q11DS and age- and gender-matched controls using neuro-endocrine and peripheral dopaminergic markers. At baseline, 22q11DS subjects compared to controls had higher urine DA levels and lower plasma levels of the predominant DA metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA). Following DA depletion, 22q11DS subjects showed lower urine and plasma HVA levels and a lower prolactin response than controls. The ratio of DA/HVA, a rough index of DA turnover, was significantly higher in the 22q11DS subjects at baseline and after DA depletion. Our results suggest that adults with 22q11DS have disrupted dopaminergic neurotransmission, which might explain their susceptibility for psychiatric disorder

Aromatic l-aminoacid decarboxylase deficiency: unusual neonatal presentation and additional findings in organic acid analysis

Aromatic l-aminoacid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency is a neurotransmitter defect leading to a combined deficiency of catecholamines and serotonin. Patients are usually detected in infancy due to developmental delay, hypotonia, and extrapyramidal movements. Diagnosis is based on an abnormal neurotransmitter metabolite profile in CSF and reduced AADC activity in plasma. An elevation of vanillactic acid (VLA) has been described as the only abnormality detected in organic acid analysis (OA) of urine. We report a patient who presented in the neonatal period with lethargy, hypotonia, metabolic acidosis, and hypoglycemia. Blood ammonia, lactic acid, and acylcarnitines were normal, but OA of a urine sample showed a small increase of VLA, raising the suspicion of AADC deficiency. The patient was lost to follow-up until the age of 8 months, when he presented with dystonia, abnormal movements, oculogyric crises, and hypothermia. Repeat OA showed not only increased levels of VLA, but also increased vanilpyruvic acid (VPA), N-acetyl-vanilalanine (AVA) and N-acetyl-tyrosine (NAT). Neurotransmitter analysis in CSF showed increased vanilalanine (1200 nmol/L, ref <100) with decreased levels of 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA, < 5 nmol/L; ref 152-462), homovanillic acid (HVA, 83 nmol/L; ref 302-845), and methoxy-hydroxy-phenyl-glycol ( <5 nmol/L; ref 51-112). AADC activity in plasma was nearly undetectable. In the urine, low excretion of vanilmandelic acid ( <0.3 micromol/mmol creat; ref 0.3-20) and 5-HIAA (0.9 micromol/mmol creat; ref 4-18), was found, but HVA was normal and dopamine even elevated. This contradictory phenomenon of hyperdopaminuria has been described earlier in AADC deficient patients. We postulate that VPA and AVA could originate from vanilalanine (through a transaminase and an acetylase respectively), while NAT could originate from tyrosine through an AA acetylase. This report expands the clinical presentation of AADC deficiency and adds new markers of the disease for OA analysis, improving detection of AADC deficient patients in general metabolic screening procedure

Sepiapterin reductase deficiency an autosomal recessive DOPA-responsive dystonia

The diagnosis of a 14-year-old girl with a new homoallelic mutation in the sepiapterin reductase (SR) gene is reported. Initially she presented at the age of 2 with hypotonia and mild cognitive developmental delay, and was diagnosed as having mild methylmalonic aciduria, which was recently identified as methylmalonylCoA racemase deficiency, a new defect in valine-isoleucine metabolism. After a 12-year progression of her neurologic condition, which had made her wheelchair-bound at the age of 6, dystonia with diurnal variation had become apparent. At the age of 14 this finding led to rapid diagnosis of SR deficiency. The diagnostic approach with CSF neurotransmitter and pterins analysis and combined phenylalanine/BH(4) loading test, and finally measurement of sepiapterin in CSF is illustrative for the diagnosis of SR deficiency. As in all other patients with this new defect, very low levels of homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and high levels of biopterin and sepiapterin in the CSF are the diagnostic hallmark. The girl improved dramatically on treatment with L-DOPA and 5-hydroxytryptophan. The initial diagnosis of methylmalonic aciduria may afterwards be considered to have not significantly contributed to her clinical condition and only has led to a long delay of the clinically relevant diagnosis of SR deficiency. Although the clinical condition of this recently recognized autosomal recessive defect in pterin metabolism is complex and many symptoms can occur in variable severity and time of onset, dystonia with diurnal variation is a characteristic finding, as shown in nearly all patients described so far. The rapid and favourable response on treatment with L-DOPA warrants the classification of SR deficiency as another autosomal recessive type of DOPA-responsive dystonia (DRD). This classification is important to improve the awareness of clinicians that more than one metabolic defect can underlie the phenotype of a DOPA-responsive dystonic disorder and that dystonia should always trigger a rapid diagnosis of the underlying neurotransmitter synthesis defect, in view of the excellent treatability of a DR

Dopamine metabolism in adults with 22q11 deletion syndrome, with and without schizophrenia--relationship with COMT Val¹⁰⁸/¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism, gender and symptomatology

22q11 Deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a major risk factor for schizophrenia. In addition, both conditions are associated with alterations of the dopaminergic system. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, located within the deleted region, encodes for the enzyme COMT that is important for degradation of catecholamines, including dopamine (DA). COMT activity is sexually dimorphic and its gene contains a functional polymorphism, Val¹⁰⁸/¹⁵⁸ Met; the Met allele is associated with lower enzyme activity. We report the first controlled catecholamine study in 22q11DS-related schizophrenia. Twelve adults with 22q11DS with schizophrenia (SCZ+) and 22 adults with 22q11DS without schizophrenia (SCZ-) were genotyped for the COMT Val¹⁰⁸/¹⁵⁸ Met genotype. We assessed dopaminergic markers in urine and plasma. We also correlated these markers with scores on the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). Contrary to our expectations, we found SCZ+ subjects to be more often Val hemizygous and SCZ- subjects more often Met hemizygous. Significant COMT cross gender interactions were found on dopaminergic markers. In SCZ+ subjects there was a negative correlation between prolactin levels and scores on the general psychopathology subscale of the PANSS scores. These findings suggest intriguing, but complex, interactions of the COMT Val¹⁰⁸/¹⁵⁸ Met polymorphism, gender and additional factors on DA metabolism, and its relationship with schizophreni

Sepiapterin reductase deWciency an autosomal recessive DOPA-responsive dystonia

Abstract The diagnosis of a 14-year-old girl with a new homoallelic mutation in the sepiapterin reductase (SR) gene is reported. Initially she presented at the age of 2 with hypotonia and mild cognitive developmental delay, and was diagnosed as having mild methylmalonic aciduria, which was recently identiWed as methylmalonylCoA racemase deWciency, a new defect in valine-isoleucine metabolism. After a 12-year progression of her neurologic condition, which had made her wheelchair-bound at the age of 6, dystonia with diurnal variation had become apparent. At the age of 14 this Wnding led to rapid diagnosis of SR deWciency. The diagnostic approach with CSF neurotransmitter and pterins analysis and combined phenylalanine/BH 4 loading test, and Wnally measurement of sepiapterin in CSF is illustrative for the diagnosis of SR deWciency. As in all other patients with this new defect, very low levels of homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and high levels of biopterin and sepiapterin in the CSF are the diagnostic hallmark. The girl improved dramatically on treatment with L-DOPA and 5-hydroxytryptophan. The initial diagnosis of methylmalonic aciduria may afterwards be considered to have not signiWcantly contributed to her clinical condition and only has led to a long delay of the clinically relevant diagnosis of SR deWciency. Although the clinical condition of this recently recognized autosomal recessive defect in pterin metabolism is complex and many symptoms can occur in variable severity and time of onset, dystonia with diurnal variation is a characteristic Wnding, as shown in nearly all patients described so far. The rapid and favourable response on treatment with L-DOPA warrants the classiWcation of SR deWciency as another autosomal recessive type of DOPA-responsive dystonia (DRD). This classiWcation is important to improve the awareness of clinicians that more than one metabolic defect can underlie the phenotype of a DOPA-responsive dystonic disorder and that dystonia should always trigger a rapid diagnosis of the underlying neurotransmitter synthesis defect, in view of the excellent treatability of a DRD