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SLOS can present itself differently in different cases, depending on the severity of the mutation and other factors. Originally, SLOS patients were classified into two categories (classic and severe) based on external behaviours, physical characteristics, and other clinical features. Since the discovery of the specific biochemical defect responsible for SLOS, patients are given a severity score based on their levels of cerebral, ocular, oral, and genital defects. It is then used to classify patients as having mild, classical, or severe SLOS.
Tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency (THBD, BHD), also called THB or BH deficiency, is a rare metabolic disorder that increases the blood levels of phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is an amino acid obtained through the diet. It is found in all proteins and in some artificial sweeteners. If tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency is not treated, excess phenylalanine can build up to harmful levels in the body, causing intellectual disability and other serious health problems.
High levels of phenylalanine are present from infancy in people with untreated tetrahydrobiopterin (THB, BH) deficiency. The resulting signs and symptoms range from mild to severe. Mild complications may include temporary low muscle tone. Severe complications include intellectual disability, movement disorders, difficulty swallowing, seizures, behavioral problems, progressive problems with development, and an inability to control body temperature.
It was first characterized in 1975.
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.
The most common facial features of SLOS include microcephaly, bitemporal narrowing (reduced distance between temples), ptosis, a short and upturned nose, micrognathia, epicanthal folds, and capillary hemangioma of the nose. Other physical characteristics include:
- low-set and posteriorly rotated ears
- high-arched, narrow, hard palate
- cleft lip/palate
- agenesis or hypoplasia of the corpus callosum
- cerebellar hypoplasia
- increased ventricular size
- decreased frontal lobe size
- polydactyly of hands or feet
- short, proximally placed thumb
- other finger malformations
- syndactyly of second and third toes
- ambiguous or female-like male genitalia
- congenital heart defects
- renal, pulmonary, liver and eye abnormalities
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
A broad classification for genetic disorders that result from an inability of the body to produce or utilize one enzyme that is required to oxidize fatty acids. The enzyme can be missing or improperly constructed, resulting in it not working. This leaves the body unable to produce energy within the liver and muscles from fatty acid sources.
The body's primary source of energy is glucose; however, when all the glucose in the body has been expended, a normal body digests fats. Individuals with a fatty-acid metabolism disorder are unable to metabolize this fat source for energy, halting bodily processes. Most individuals with a fatty-acid metabolism disorder are able to live a normal active life with simple adjustments to diet and medications.
If left undiagnosed many complications can arise. When in need of glucose the body of a person with a fatty-acid metabolism disorder will still send fats to the liver. The fats are broken down to fatty acids. The fatty acids are then transported to the target cells but are unable to be broken down, resulting in a build-up of fatty acids in the liver and other internal organs.
Fatty-acid metabolism disorders are sometimes classified with the lipid metabolism disorders, but in other contexts they are considered a distinct category.
The presentation of mitochondrial trifunctional protein deficiency may begin during infancy, features that occur are: low blood sugar, weak muscle tone, and liver problems. Infants with this disorder are at risk for heart problems, breathing difficulties, and pigmentary retinopathy. Signs and symptoms of mitochondrial trifunctional protein deficiency that may begin "after" infancy include hypotonia, muscle pain, a breakdown of muscle tissue, and a loss of sensation in the extremities called peripheral neuropathy. Some who have MTP deficiency show a progressive course associated with myopathy, and recurrent rhabdomyolysis.
This disorder usually appears within the first year of life. The signs and symptoms of HMG-CoA lyase deficiency include vomiting, dehydration, lethargy, convulsions, and coma. When episodes occur in an infant or child, blood sugar becomes extremely low (hypoglycemia), and harmful compounds can build up and cause the blood to become too acidic (metabolic acidosis). These episodes are often triggered by an infection, fasting, strenuous exercise, or sometimes other types of stress.
Onset of late infantile GM1 is typically between ages 1 and 3 years.
Neurological symptoms include ataxia, seizures, dementia, and difficulties with speech.
3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA lyase deficiency also referred to as HMG-CoA lyase deficiency or Hydroxymethylglutaric aciduria, is an uncommon inherited disorder in which the body cannot properly process the amino acid leucine. Additionally, the disorder prevents the body from making ketones, which are used for energy during fasting.
People with methylmalonyl CoA mutase deficiency exhibit many symptoms similar to other diseases involving inborn errors of metabolism. Sometimes the symptoms appear shortly after birth, but other times the onset of symptoms is later.
Newborn babies experience with vomiting, acidosis, hyperammonemia, hepatomegaly (enlarged livers), hyperglycinemia (high glycine levels), and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Later, cases of thrombocytopenia and neutropenia can occur.
In some cases intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as autism, were noted with increased frequency in populations with methylmalonyl-CoA mutase deficiency.
Onset of adult GM1 is between ages 3 and 30.
Symptoms include muscle atrophy, neurological complications that are less severe and progress at a slower rate than in other forms of the disorder, corneal clouding in some patients, and dystonia (sustained muscle contractions that cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures). Angiokeratomas may develop on the lower part of the trunk of the body. Most patients have a normal size liver and spleen.
Prenatal diagnosis is possible by measurement of Acid Beta Galactosidase in cultured amniotic cells.
17β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase III deficiency is a rare disorder of sexual development, or intersex condition, affecting testosterone biosynthesis by 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase III (17β-HSD III), which can produce impaired virilization (historically termed male pseudohermaphroditism) of genetically male infants and children and excessive virilization of female adults. It is an autosomal recessive condition and is one of the few disorders of sexual development that can affect the primary and/or secondary sex characteristics of both males and females.
Mitochondrial trifunctional protein deficiency is an autosomal recessive fatty acid oxidation disorder that prevents the body from converting certain fats to energy, particularly during periods without food. People with this disorder have inadequate levels of an enzyme that breaks down a certain group of fats called long-chain fatty acids.
Initially, the symptoms of biliary atresia are indistinguishable from those of neonatal jaundice, a usually harmless condition commonly seen in infants. Distinctive symptoms of biliary atresia are usually evident between one and six weeks after birth. Infants and children with biliary atresia develop progressive cholestasis, a condition in which bile is unable to leave the liver and builds up inside of it. When the liver is unable to excrete bilirubin through the bile ducts in the form of bile, bilirubin begins to accumulate in the blood, causing symptoms. These symptoms include yellowing of the skin, itchiness, poor absorption of nutrients (causing delays in growth), pale stools, dark urine, and a swollen abdomen. Eventually, cirrhosis with portal hypertension will develop. If left untreated, biliary atresia can lead to liver failure. Unlike other forms of jaundice, however, biliary-atresia-related cholestasis mostly does not result in kernicterus, a form of brain damage resulting from liver dysfunction. This is because in biliary atresia, the liver, although diseased, is still able to conjugate bilirubin, and conjugated bilirubin is unable to cross the blood–brain barrier.
Porphyria cutanea tarda (commonly referred to as PCT) is recognized as the most prevalent subtype of porphyritic diseases.
The disease is characterized by onycholysis and blistering of the skin in areas that receive higher levels of exposure to sunlight. The primary cause of this disorder is a deficiency of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD), a cytosolic enzyme that is a step in the enzymatic pathway that leads to the synthesis of heme. While a deficiency in this enzyme is the direct cause leading to this disorder, there are a number of both genetic and environmental risk factors that are associated with PCT.
Typically, patients who are ultimately diagnosed with PCT first seek treatment following the development of photosensitivities in the form of blisters and erosions on commonly exposed areas of the skin. This is usually observed in the face, hands, forearms, and lower legs. It heals slowly and with scarring. Though blisters are the most common skin manifestations of PCT, other skin manifestations like hyperpigmentation (as if they are getting a tan) and hypertrichosis (mainly on top of the cheeks) also occur. PCT is a chronic condition, with external symptoms often subsiding and recurring as a result of a number of factors. In addition to the symptomatic manifestation of the disease in the skin, chronic liver problems are extremely common in patients with the sporadic form of PCT. These include hepatic fibrosis (scarring of the liver), cirrhosis, and inflammation. However, liver problems are less common in patients with the inherited form of the disease. Additionally, patients will often void a wine-red color urine with an increased concentration of uroporphyrin I due to their enzymatic deficiency.
17-β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase III deficiency is clinically characterized by either ambiguous external genitalia or complete female external genitalia at birth; as a consequence of impaired male sexual differentiation in 46,XY individuals, as well as:
- Hypothyroidism
- Cryptorchidism
- Infertility
- Abnormality of metabolism
Methylmalonyl-CoA mutase is a mitochondrial homodimer apoenzyme (EC. 5. 4.99.2) that focuses on the catalysis of methylmalonyl CoA to succinyl CoA. The enzyme is bound to adenosylcobalamin, a hormonal derivative of vitamin B12 in order to function. Methylmalonyl-CoA mutase deficiency is caused by genetic defect in the MUT gene responsible for encoding the enzyme. Deficiency in this enzyme accounts for 60% of the cases of methylmalonic acidemia.
Biliary atresia, also known as extrahepatic ductopenia and progressive obliterative cholangiopathy, is a childhood disease of the liver in which one or more bile ducts are abnormally narrow, blocked, or absent. It can be congenital or acquired. As a birth defect in newborn infants, it has an incidence of one in 10,000–15,000 live births in the United States, and a prevalence of one in 16,700 in the British Isles. Biliary atresia is most common in East Asia, with a frequency of one in 5,000.
The causes of biliary atresia are not well understood. Congenital biliary atresia has been associated with certain genes, while acquired biliary atresia is thought to be a result of an autoimmune inflammatory response, possibly due to a viral infection of the liver soon after birth. The only effective treatments are surgeries such as the Kasai procedure and liver transplantation.
Tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency can be caused by a deficiency of the enzyme dihydrobiopterin reductase (DHPR), whose activity is needed to replenish quinonoid-dihydrobiopterin back into its tetrahydrobiopterin form. Those with this deficiency may produce sufficient levels of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) but, since tetrahydrobiopterin is a cofactor for PAH activity, deficient dihydrobiopterin reductase renders any PAH produced unable to use phenylalanine to produce tyrosine. Tetrahydrobiopterin is a cofactor in the production of L-DOPA from tyrosine and 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan from tryptophan, which must be supplemented as treatment in addition to the supplements for classical PKU.
Other underlying causes of tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency are:
- 6-Pyruvoyl tetrahydropterin synthase (PTPS) deficiency
- Autosomal recessive guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH) deficiency
- Pterin-4alpha-carbinolamine dehydratase (PCD) deficiency
Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is the most common subtype of porphyria. The disease is named because it is a porphyria that often presents with skin manifestations later in life. The disorder results from low levels of the enzyme responsible for the fifth 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.
Hepatoerythropoietic porphyria has been described as a homozygous form of porphyria cutanea tarda, although it can also be caused if two different mutations occur at the same locus.
Office of Rare Diseases listed Lyngstadaas syndrome as a "rare disease". This means that Lyngstadaas syndrome, or a subtype of Lyngstadaas syndrome, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Orphanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when if affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Lyngstadaas syndrome as a "rare disease".
Lyngstadaas Syndrome, also known as severe dental aberrations in familial steroid dehydrogenase deficiency , is a rare autosomal recessive liver disease involving an enzyme (steroid dehydrogenase) deficiency and dental anomalies. The disease is named after the Norwegian professor Ståle Petter Lyngstadaas.
Nuclear factor-kappa B Essential Modulator (NEMO) deficiency syndrome is a rare type of primary immunodeficiency disease that has a highly variable set of symptoms and prognoses. It mainly affects the skin and immune system but has the potential to affect all parts of the body, including the lungs, urinary tract and gastrointestinal tract. It is a monogenetic disease caused by mutation in the IKBKG gene (IKKγ, also known as the NF-κB essential modulator, or NEMO). NEMO is the modulator protein in the IKK inhibitor complex that, when activated, phosphorylates the inhibitor of the NF-κB transcription factors allowing for the translocation of transcription factors into the nucleus.
The link between IKBKG mutations and NEMO deficiency was identified in 1999. IKBKG is located on the X chromosome and is X-linked therefore this disease predominantly affects males, However females may be genetic carriers of certain types of mutations. Other forms of the syndrome involving NEMO-related pathways can be passed on from parent to child in an autosomal dominant manner – this means that a child only has to inherit the faulty gene from one parent to develop the condition. This autosomal dominant type of NEMO deficiency syndrome can affect both boys and girls.
The precise symptoms of a primary immunodeficiency depend on the type of defect. Generally, the symptoms and signs that lead to the diagnosis of an immunodeficiency include recurrent or persistent infections or developmental delay as a result of infection. Particular organ problems (e.g. diseases involving the skin, heart, facial development and skeletal system) may be present in certain conditions. Others predispose to autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks the body's own tissues, or tumours (sometimes specific forms of cancer, such as lymphoma). The nature of the infections, as well as the additional features, may provide clues as to the exact nature of the immune defect.