Progression of cardiovascular manifestations in adults and children with mucopolysaccharidoses with and without enzyme replacement therapy

Background: Cardiovascular involvement is among the main features of MPS disorders and it is also a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The range of manifestations includes cardiac valve disease, conduction abnormalities, left ventricular hypertrophy, and coronary artery disease. Here, we assessed the cardiovascular manifestations in a cohort of children and adults with MPS I, II, IV, and VI, as well as the impact of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) on those manifestations. Methods: We performed a chart review of 53 children and 23 adults with different types of MPS that had performed echocardiograms from January 2000 until October 2018. Standardized Z scores were obtained for heart chamber sizes according to the body surface area. When available, echocardiographic measurements that were performed before ERT and at least 18 months after that date were used for the assessment of pre- and post-treatment parameters. Results: Left side valvular disease was a frequent finding, with mitral and aortic thickening being reported in most patients in all four MPS types. Left atrium dilatation was present in 26% of the patients; 25% had increased relative wall thickness; 28% had pulmonary hypertension. The cardiovascular involvement was, in general, more prevalent and more severe in adults than in children, including conduction disorders (40 vs. 16%), mitral stenosis (26 vs. 6%), aortic stenosis (13 vs. 4%), and systolic dysfunction (observed in only one adult patient). ERT promoted a significant reduction of the left ventricular hypertrophy parameters, but failed to improve valve abnormalities, pulmonary hypertension, and left atrial dilatation. Conclusions: Adult patients with MPS may develop severe cardiovascular involvement, not commonly observed in children, and clinicians should be aware of the need for careful monitoring and timely management of those potentially life-threatening complications. Our results also confirm the impact of long-term ERT on left ventricular hypertrophy and its limitations in reversing other prevalent cardiovascular manifestations

Granulações de alder-reilly em pacientes com Mucopolissacaridose VI

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Tuberculous meningitis: evaluation of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a diagnostic tool – a pilot study.

Meningite é uma forma grave e potencialmente fatal de tuberculose. O diagnóstico envolve a detecção de bacilos álcool-ácido resistentes no líquido cefalorraquidiano por microscopia ou cultura. Entretanto, a dificuldade de detectar o organismo representa um desafio ao diagnóstico. O uso da reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR) na abordagem diagnóstica de meningite causada por Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) tem sido relatado como um método rápido e preciso, com diversos kits comerciais disponíveis. Como alternativa, algumas instituições vêm desenvolvendo testes in house com baixo custo. Em nossa instituição, usamos PCR in house para tuberculose. O desempenho de nossa PCR para o diagnóstico de meningite causada por MTB foi analisado em 148 pacientes consecutivos, usando a cultura do MBT como padrão-ouro. A sensibilidade da PCR no líquido cefalorraquidiano para o diagnóstico de meningite causada por MTB foi de 50%, especificidade de 98,6% e concordância coma cultura de 96% (kappa = 0,52). O desempenho de nossa PCR é semelhante ao obtido com os kits comerciais disponíveis.Meningitis is a severe and potentially fatal form of tuberculosis. The diagnostic workup involves detection of acid-fast bacilli in the cerebrospinal fluid by microscopy or culture. However the difficulty in detecting the organism poses a challenge to diagnosis. Use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnostic approach to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) meningitis has been reported as a fast and accurate method, with several commercial kits available. As an alternative, some institutions have been developing inexpensive in-house assays. In our institution, we use an in-house PCR for tuberculosis. The performance of our PCR for the diagnosis of MTB meningitis was analyzed in 148 consecutive patients, using MTB culture as the gold standard. Sensitivity of cerebrospinal fluid PCR for the diagnosis of MTB meningitis was 50%, specificity was 98.6%, and concordance with culture was 96% (kappa = 0.52). The performance of our PCR is similar to that obtained with the available commercial kits

The molar tooth sign and the bat wing appearance in Joubert syndrome

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Rare disease landscape in Brazil : report of a successful experience in inborn errors of metabolism

Brazil is a country of continental dimensions, with many social inequalities. The latter are reflected on its health system, which comprises a large public component called SUS, a small paid health insurance component and a third very small private component, in which patients pay personally for medical services. Seventy five percent of the population depends on SUS, which thus far does not provide adequate coverage for genetic medical procedures. In 2014, SUS introduced the “Policy for the Integral Attention to Subjects with Rare Diseases”, establishing guidelines for offering diagnosis and treatment. The policy defines the two main axes, genetic and non-genetic rare diseases. In this fashion, public genetic services in SUS will be installed and funded not by themselves, but as part of the more general policy of rare diseases. Unfortunately, up to now this policy is still depending on financial allowances to be effectively launched. In this article, our intention was to describe activities developed in the area of inborn errors of metabolism by a Brazilian reference center. In spite of the lack of support of SUS, thousands of Brazilian families affected by rare genetic metabolic disorders, and many health professionals from all regions of Brazil, already have benefited from the services, training programs and research projects provided by this comprehensive center

c.G2114A MYH9 mutation (DFNA17) causes non-syndromic autosomal dominant hearing loss in a Brazilian family

We studied a family presenting 10 individuals affected by autosomal dominant deafness in all frequencies and three individuals affected by high frequency hearing loss. Genomic scanning using the 50k Affymetrix microarray technology yielded a Lod Score of 2.1 in chromosome 14 and a Lod Score of 1.9 in chromosome 22. Mapping refinement using microsatellites placed the chromosome 14 candidate region between markers D14S288 and D14S276 (8.85 cM) and the chromosome 22 near marker D22S283. Exome sequencing identified two candidate variants to explain hearing loss in chromosome 14 [PTGDR - c.G894A:p.R298R and PTGER2 - c.T247G:p.C83G], and one in chromosome 22 [MYH9, c.G2114A:p.R705H]. Pedigree segregation analysis allowed exclusion of the PTGDR and PTGER2 variants as the cause of deafness. However, the MYH9 variant segregated with the phenotype in all affected members, except the three individuals with different phenotype. This gene has been previously described as mutated in autosomal dominant hereditary hearing loss and corresponds to DFNA17. The mutation identified in our study is the same described in the prior report. Thus, although linkage studies suggested a candidate gene in chromosome 14, we concluded that the mutation in chromosome 22 better explains the hearing loss phenotype in the Brazilian family.We thank Dr. Erika Freitas and Dr. Carla Rosenberg for performing the array-CGH studies. We also thank Maria Teresa Balester de Mello Auricchio for technical assistance. We thank the Laboratório Multiusuários Centralizado de Genômica Funcional Aplicada à Agropecuária e Agroenergia - EASALQ-USP Piracicaba-SP-Brasil for providing the sequencing facilities. We thank CEPID - FAPESP and CAPES for financial support

Precision medicine for lysosomal disorders

Precision medicine (PM) is an emerging approach for disease treatment and preventionthat accounts for the individual variability in the genes, environment, and lifestyle of each person.Lysosomal diseases (LDs) are a group of genetic metabolic disorders that include approximately70 monogenic conditions caused by a defect in lysosomal function. LDs may result from primarylysosomal enzyme deficiencies or impairments in membrane-associated proteins, lysosomal enzymeactivators, or modifiers that affect lysosomal function. LDs are heterogeneous disorders, and thephenotype of the affected individual depends on the type of substrate and where it accumulates,which may be impacted by the type of genetic change and residual enzymatic activity. LDs areindividually rare, with a combined incidence of approximately 1:4000 individuals. Specific therapiesare already available for several LDs, and many more are in development. Early identification mayenable disease course prediction and a specific intervention, which is very important for clinicaloutcome. Driven by advances in omics technology, PM aims to provide the most appropriatemanagement for each patient based on the disease susceptibility or treatment response predictionsfor specific subgroups. In this review, we focused on the emerging diagnostic technologies that mayhelp to optimize the management of each LD patient and the therapeutic options available, as well asin clinical developments that enable customized approaches to be selected for each subject, accordingto the principles of PM

Lysosomal diseases : overview on current diagnosis and treatment

Lysosomal diseases (LDs), also known as lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs), are a heterogeneous group of conditions caused by defects in lysosomal function. LDs may result from deficiency of lysosomal hydrolases, membrane-associated transporters or other non-enzymatic proteins. Interest in the LD field is growing each year, as more conditions are, or will soon be treatable. In this article, we review the diagnosis of LDs, from clinical suspicion and screening tests to the identification of enzyme or protein deficiencies and molecular genetic diagnosis. We also cover the treatment approaches that are currently available or in development, including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, enzyme replacement therapy, small molecules, and gene therapy