The prevalence of Molybdenum co-factor deficiency is estimated as being between 1 in 100 000 and 1 in 200 000. To date more than 100 cases have been reported. However, this may significantly under represent cases.

A 2005 study on rats suggested that hyperprolininemia causes cognitive dysfunction.

In 2009, Monash Children's Hospital at Southern Health in Melbourne, Australia reported that a patient known as Baby Z became the first person to be successfully treated for molybdenum cofactor deficiency type A. The patient was treated with cPMP, a precursor of the molybdenum cofactor. Baby Z will require daily injections of cyclic pyranopterin monophosphate (cPMP) for the rest of her life.

This disorder, epidemiologically speaking, is thought to affect approximately 1 in 50,000 newborns according to Jethva, et al. While in the U.S. state of California there seems to be a ratio of 1 in 35,000.

Babies with this disorder are usually healthy at birth. The signs and symptoms may not appear until later in infancy or childhood and can include poor feeding and growth (failure to thrive), a weakened and enlarged heart (dilated cardiomyopathy), seizures, and low numbers of red blood cells (anemia). Another feature of this disorder may be very low blood levels of carnitine (a natural substance that helps convert certain foods into energy).

Isobutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency may be worsened by long periods without food (fasting) or infections that increase the body's demand for energy. Some individuals with gene mutations that can cause isobutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency may never experience any signs and symptoms of the disorder.

Short-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (SCADD), also called ACADS deficiency and SCAD deficiency, is an autosomal recessive fatty acid oxidation disorder which affects enzymes required to break down a certain group of fats called short chain fatty acids.

Mutations in the "HADH" gene lead to inadequate levels of an enzyme called 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase. Medium-chain and short-chain fatty acids cannot be metabolized and processed properly without sufficient levels of this enzyme. As a result, these fatty acids are not converted to energy, which can lead to characteristic features of this disorder, such as lethargy and hypoglycemia. Medium-chain and short-chain fatty acids or partially metabolized fatty acids may build up in tissues and damage the liver, heart, and muscles, causing more serious complications.

This condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, which means two copies of the gene in each cell are altered. Most often, the parents of an individual with an autosomal recessive disorder each carry one copy of the altered gene but do not show signs and symptoms of the disorder.

PNP-deficiency is extremely rare. Only 33 patients with the disorder in the United States have been documented. In the United Kingdom only one child has been diagnosed with this disorder.

Xanthinuria, also known as xanthine oxidase deficiency, is a rare genetic disorder causing the accumulation of xanthine. It is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme xanthine oxidase.

It was first formally characterized in 1954.

Hyperprolinemia type II results in proline levels in the blood between 10 and 15 times higher than normal, and high levels of a related compound called pyrroline-5-carboxylate. This rare form of the disorder may appear benign at times, but often involves seizures, convulsions, and intellectual disability.

Hyperprolinemia can also occur with other conditions, such as malnutrition or liver disease. In particular, individuals with conditions that cause elevated levels of lactic acid in the blood, such as lactic acidemia, are likely to have elevated proline levels, because lactic acid inhibits the breakdown of proline.

Isobutyryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency, commonly known as IBD deficiency, is a rare metabolic disorder in which the body is unable to process certain amino acids properly.

People with this disorder have inadequate levels of an enzyme that helps break down the amino acid valine, resulting in a buildup of valine in the urine, a symptom called valinuria.

D-Bifunctional protein deficiency (officially called 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase IV deficiency) is an autosomal recessive peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation disorder. Peroxisomal disorders are usually caused by a combination of peroxisomal assembly defects or by deficiencies of specific peroxisomal enzymes. The peroxisome is an organelle in the cell similar to the lysosome that functions to detoxify the cell. Peroxisomes contain many different enzymes, such as catalase, and their main function is to neutralize free radicals and detoxify drugs, such as alcohol. For this reason peroxisomes are ubiquitous in the liver and kidney. D-BP deficiency is the most severe peroxisomal disorder, often resembling Zellweger syndrome.

Characteristics of the disorder include neonatal hypotonia and seizures, occurring mostly within the first month of life, as well as visual and hearing impairment. Other symptoms include severe craniofacial disfiguration, psychomotor delay, and neuronal migration defects. Most onsets of the disorder begin in the gestational weeks of development and most affected individuals die within the first two years of life.

There is no specific treatment beyond maintaining a high fluid intake and avoiding foods that are high in purine.

Typically, initial signs and symptoms of this disorder occur during infancy or early childhood and can include poor appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, hypoglycemia, hypotonia, liver problems, and abnormally high levels of hyperinsulinism. Insulin controls the amount of sugar that moves from the blood into cells for conversion to energy. Individuals with 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency are also at risk for complications such as seizures, life-threatening heart and breathing problems, coma, and sudden unexpected death.

Problems related to 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency can be triggered by periods of fasting or by illnesses such as viral infections. This disorder is sometimes mistaken for Reye syndrome, a severe disorder that may develop in children while they appear to be recovering from viral infections such as chicken pox or flu. Most cases of Reye syndrome are associated with the use of aspirin during these viral infections.

The term fatty acid oxidation disorder (FAOD) is sometimes used, especially when there is an emphasis on the oxidation of the fatty acid.

In addition to the fetal complications, they can also cause complications for the mother during pregnancy.

Examples include:

- trifunctional protein deficiency

- MCADD, LCHADD, and VLCADD

Increased consumption of zinc is another cause of copper deficiency. Zinc is often used for the prevention or treatment of common colds and sinusitis (inflammation of sinuses due to an infection), ulcers, sickle cell disease, celiac disease, memory impairment and acne. Zinc is found in many common vitamin supplements and is also found in denture creams. Recently, several cases of copper deficiency myeloneuropathy were found to be caused by prolonged use of denture creams containing high quantities of zinc.

Metallic zinc is the core of all United States currency coins, including copper coated pennies. People who ingest a large number of coins will have elevated zinc levels, leading to zinc-toxicity-induced copper deficiency and the associated neurological symptoms. This was the case for a 57-year-old woman diagnosed with schizophrenia. The woman consumed over 600 coins, and started to show neurological symptoms such as unsteady gait and mild ataxia.

Incomplete list of various fatty-acid metabolism disorders.

- Carnitine Transport Defect

- Carnitine-Acylcarnitine Translocase (CACT) Deficiency

- Carnitine Palmitoyl Transferase I & II (CPT I & II) Deficiency

- 2,4 Dienoyl-CoA Reductase Deficiency

- Electron Transfer Flavoprotein (ETF) Dehydrogenase Deficiency (GAII & MADD)

- 3-Hydroxy-3 Methylglutaryl-CoA Lyase (HMG) Deficiency

- Very long-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCAD deficiency)

- Long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (LCHAD deficiency)

- Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (MCAD deficiency)

- Short-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (SCAD deficiency)

- 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (M/SCHAD deficiency)

It is rarely suggested that excess iron supplementation causes copper deficiency myelopathy.

Another rarer cause of copper deficiency is Coeliac disease, probably due to malabsorption in the intestines.

Still, a large percentage, around 20%, of cases have unknown causes.

Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (abbreviated as GAPDH or less commonly as G3PDH) () is an enzyme of ~37kDa that catalyzes the sixth step of glycolysis and thus serves to break down glucose for energy and carbon molecules. In addition to this long established metabolic function, GAPDH has recently been implicated in several non-metabolic processes, including transcription activation, initiation of apoptosis, ER to Golgi vesicle shuttling, and fast axonal, or axoplasmic transport. In sperm, a testis-specific isoenzyme GAPDHS is expressed.

A deficiency of vitamin B alone is relatively uncommon and often occurs in association with other vitamins of the B complex. The elderly and alcoholics have an increased risk of vitamin B deficiency, as well as other micronutrient deficiencies. Evidence exists for decreased levels of vitamin B in women with type 1 diabetes and in patients with systemic inflammation, liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and those infected with HIV. Use of oral contraceptives and treatment with certain anticonvulsants, isoniazid, cycloserine, penicillamine, and hydrocortisone negatively impact vitamin B status. Hemodialysis reduces vitamin B plasma levels.

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency, often called PNP-deficiency, is a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder which results in immunodeficiency.

The most commonly seen form of PDCD is caused by mutations in the X-linked E1 alpha gene and is approximately equally prevalent in both males and females. However, a greater severity of symptoms tends to affect males more often than heterozygous females. This can be explained by x-inactivation, as females carry one normal and one mutant gene. Cells with a normal allele active can metabolize the lactic acid that is released by the PDH deficient cells. They cannot, however, supply ATP to these cells and, therefore, phenotype depends largely on the nature/severity of the mutation.

In South Africa, the prevalence of variegate porphyria is approximately 1 in 300. In Finland, the prevalence is approximately 1 in 75.000.

When it does occur in other populations (such as Switzerland), it can be with different mutations than in South Africa.

It is also found in Argentina, Sweden, and Australia.

Pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency (also known as pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency or PDCD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders associated with abnormal mitochondrial metabolism. PDCD is an X-linked disease that shows heterogeneous characteristics in both clinical presentation and biochemical abnormality. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) is a multi-enzyme complex that plays a vital role as a key regulatory step in the central pathways of energy metabolism in the mitochondria.

Variegate porphyria, also known by several other names, is an autosomal dominant porphyria that can have acute (severe but usually not long-lasting) symptoms along with symptoms that affect the skin. The disorder results from low levels of the enzyme responsible for the seventh step in heme production. Heme is a vital molecule for all of the body's organs. It is a component of hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen in the blood.