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There is currently no cure for Costeff syndrome. Treatment is supportive, and thus focuses on management of the symptoms. The resulting visual impairment, spasticity, and movement disorders are treated in the same way as similar cases occurring in the general population.
The long-term prognosis of Costeff syndrome is unknown, though it appears to have no effect on life expectancy at least up to the fourth decade of life. However, as mentioned previously, movement problems can often be severe enough to confine individuals to a wheelchair at an early age, and both visual acuity and spasticity tend to worsen over time.
SR deficiency is currently being treated using a combination therapy of levodopa and carbidopa. These treatments are also used for individuals suffering from Parkinson's. The treatment is noninvasive and only requires the patient to take oral tablets 3 or 4 times a day, where the dosage of levodopa and carbidopa is determined by the severity of the symptoms. Levodopa is in a class of medications called central nervous system agents where its main function is to become dopamine in the brain. Carbidopa is in a class of medications called decarboxylase inhibitors and it works by preventing levodopa from being broken down before it reaches the brain. This treatment is effective in mitigating motor symptoms, but it does not totally eradicate them and it is not as effective on cognitive problems. Patients who have been diagnosed with SR deficiency and have undergone this treatment have shown improvements with most motor impairments including oculogyric crises, dystonia, balance, and coordination.
Baclofen (β-p-chlorophenyl-GABA) has some analgesic properties and has been traditionally used for spasticity. Its pharmacological effects primarily take place via presynaptic GABA receptors in the spinal cord, simultaneously releasing excitatory neurotransmitters onto motor neurons. Because the number and function of GABA receptors has been shown to progressively diminish in Aldh5a1-/- mice, such a therapy may prove to be useful. However, no data on the efficacy of baclofen on Aldh5a1-/- mice or human patients has been reported.
The GABA antagonist CGP-35348 (3-amino-propyl-(diethoxymethyl) phosphinic acid) has been used in Aldh5a1-/- mice with strong results. It has shown to reduce the frequency of absence seizures, though there have been some cases in which it worsened convulsive seizures.
Long term management is by use of anticonvulsant medication, principally valproate, stiripentol, topiramate or clobazam. Ketogenic diet has also been found useful in certain cases
Management of breakthrough seizures is by benzodiazepine such as midazolam.
Canakinumab has been approved for treatment of HIDS and has shown to be effective. The immunosuppressant drugs etanercept and anakinra have also shown to be effective. Statin drugs might decrease the level of mevalonate and are presently being investigated. A recent single case report highlighted bisphosphonates as a potential therapeutic option.
The treatment of 2-Hydroxyglutaric aciduria is based on seizure control, the prognosis depends on how severe the condition is.
CGL patients have to maintain a strict diet for life, as their excess appetite will cause them to overeat. Carbohydrate intake should be restricted in these patients. To avoid chylomicronemia, CGL patients with hypertriglyceridemia need to have a diet very low in fat. CGL patients also need to avoid total proteins, trans fats, and eat high amounts of soluble fiber to avoid getting high levels of cholesterol in the blood.
Metformin is the main drug used for treatment, as it is normally used for patients with hyperglycemia. Metformin reduces appetite and improves symptoms of hepatic steatosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. Leptin can also be used to reverse insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis, to cause reduced food intake, and decrease blood glucose levels.
The conversion of tryptophan to serotonin and other metabolites depends on vitamin B. If tryptophan catabolism has any impact on brain glutaric acid and other catabolite levels, vitamin B levels should be routinely assayed and normalized in the course of the treatment of GA1.
Dietary control may help limit progression of the neurological damage.
During an acute hyperammonemic episode, oral proteins must be avoided and intravenous (I.V.) lipids, glucose and insulin (if needed) should be given to promote anabolism. I.V. nitrogen scavenging therapy (with sodium benzoate and/or sodium phenylacetate) should normalize ammonia levels, but if unsuccessful, hemodialysis is recommended. Long-term management involves dietary protein restriction as well as arginine supplementation. In those with frequent episodes of metabolic decompensation or with hyperammonemia even when following a protein-restricted diet, daily oral nitrogen scavenging therapy may be successful. Orthotopic liver transplantation offers long-term relief of hyperammonemia but does not seem to sufficiently correct neurological complications. Arterial hypertension can be treated by restoring nitric oxide deficiency
Patients with propionic acidemia should be started as early as possible on a low protein diet. In addition to a protein mixture that is devoid of methionine, threonine, valine, and isoleucine, the patient should also receive -carnitine treatment and should be given antibiotics 10 days per month in order to remove the intestinal propiogenic flora. The patient should have diet protocols prepared for him with a “well day diet” with low protein content, a “half emergency diet” containing half of the protein requirements, and an “emergency diet” with no protein content. These patients are under the risk of severe hyperammonemia during infections that can lead to comatose states.
Liver transplant is gaining a role in the management of these patients, with small series showing improved quality of life.
Treatment consists of frequent blood transfusions and chelation therapy. Potential cures include bone marrow transplantation and gene therapy.
There is a deficiency of malate in patients because fumarase enzyme can't convert fumarate into it therefore treatment is with oral malic acid which will allow the krebs cycle to continue, and eventually make ATP.
The treatment of primary immunodeficiencies depends foremost on the nature of the abnormality. Somatic treatment of primarily genetic defects is in its infancy. Most treatment is therefore passive and palliative, and falls into two modalities: managing infections and boosting the immune system.
Reduction of exposure to pathogens may be recommended, and in many situations prophylactic antibiotics or antivirals may be advised.
In the case of humoral immune deficiency, immunoglobulin replacement therapy in the form of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) or subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIG) may be available.
In cases of autoimmune disorders, immunosuppression therapies like corticosteroids may be prescribed.
The first line of treatment are corticosteroids and other medicines used to suppress the immune system such as tacrolimus and sirolimus.
A intravenous nutrition such as total parenteral nutrition and/or a special diet may be necessary. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may be curative.
Treatment of Sydenham's Chorea is based on the following principles:
1. The first tenet of treatment is to eliminate the streptococcus at a primary, secondary and tertiary level. Strategies involve the adequate treatment of throat and skin infections, with a course of penicillin when Sydenham's Chorea is newly diagnosed, followed by long-term penicillin prophylaxis. Behavioural and emotional changes may precede the movement disorders in a previously well child.
2. Treatment of movement disorders. Therapeutic efforts are limited to palliation of the movement disorders. Haloperidol is frequently used because of its anti-dopaminergic effect. It has serious potential side-effects, e.g., tardive dyskinesia. In a study conducted at the RFC, 25 out of 39 patients on haloperidol reported side-effects severe enough to cause the physician or parent to discontinue treatment or reduce the dose. Other medications which have been used to control the movements include pimozide, clonidine, valproic acid, carbamazepine and phenobarbitone.
3. Immunomodulatory interventions include steroids, intravenous immunoglobulins, and plasma exchange. Patients may benefit from treatment with steroids; controlled clinical trials are indicated to explore this further.
4. There are several historical case series reporting successful treatment of Sydenham's Chorea by inducing fever.
Bone marrow transplant may be possible for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency and other severe immunodeficiences.
Virus-specific T-Lymphocytes (VST) therapy is used for patients who have received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation that has proven to be unsuccessful. It is a treatment that has been effective in preventing and treating viral infections after HSCT. VST therapy uses active donor T-cells that are isolated from alloreactive T-cells which have proven immunity against one or more viruses. Such donor T-cells often cause acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a subject of ongoing investigation. VSTs have been produced primarily by ex-vivo cultures and by the expansion of T-lymphocytes after stimulation with viral antigens. This is carried out by using donor-derived antigen-presenting cells. These new methods have reduced culture time to 10–12 days by using specific cytokines from adult donors or virus-naive cord blood. This treatment is far quicker and with a substantially higher success rate than the 3–6 months it takes to carry out HSCT on a patient diagnosed with a primary immunodeficiency. T-lymphocyte therapies are still in the experimental stage; few are even in clinical trials, none have been FDA approved, and availability in clinical practice may be years or even a decade or more away.
The diagnosis of sepiapterin reductase deficiency in a patient at the age of 14 years was delayed by an earlier diagnosis of an initially unclassified form of methylmalonic aciduria at the age of 2. At that time the hypotonia and delayed development were not considered to be suggestive of a neurotransmitter defect. The clinically relevant diagnosis was only made following the onset of dystonia with diurnal variation, when the patient was a teenager. Variability in occurrence and severity of other symptoms of the condition, such as hypotonia, ataxia, tremors, spasticity, bulbar involvement, oculogyric crises, and cognitive impairment, is comparable with autosomal dominant GTPCH and tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency, which are both classified as forms of DOPA-responsive dystonia.
Barth syndrome (BTHS), also known as 3-Methylglutaconic aciduria type II, is an X-linked genetic disorder. The disorder, which affects multiple body systems, is diagnosed almost exclusively in males. It is named after Dutch pediatric neurologist Masa Barth.
Initial treatment is supportive, with the use of agents to treat cholestasis and pruritus, including the following:
- Ursodeoxycholic acid
- Cholestyramine
- Rifampin
- Naloxone, in refractory cases
The partial external biliary diversion (PEBD) procedure is a surgical approach that diverts bile from the gallbladder externally into an ileostomy bag.
Patients should be supplemented with fat-soluble vitamins, and occasionally medium-chain triglycerides in order to improve growth.
When liver synthetic dysfunction is significant, patients should be listed for transplantation. Family members should be tested for PFIC mutations, in order to determine risk of transmission.
Administration of cytidine monophosphate and uridine monophosphate reduces urinary orotic acid and ameliorates the anemia.
Administration of uridine, which is converted to UMP, will bypass the metabolic block and provide the body with a source of pyrimidine.
Uridine triacetate is a drug approved by FDA to be used in the treatment of hereditary orotic aciduria.
The GM1 gangliosidoses (or GM1 gangliosidos"i"s) are caused by a deficiency of beta-galactosidase, with resulting abnormal storage of acidic lipid materials in cells of the central and peripheral nervous systems, but particularly in the nerve cells.
GM1 Gangliosidoses are inherited, autosomal recessive sphingolipidoses, resulting from marked deficiency of Acid Beta Galactosidase.