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Proximal RTA (pRTA) is caused by a failure of the proximal tubular cells to reabsorb filtered bicarbonate from the urine, leading to urinary bicarbonate wasting and subsequent acidemia. The distal intercalated cells function normally, so the acidemia is less severe than dRTA and the alpha intercalated cells can produce H to acidify the urine to a pH of less than 5.3. pRTA also has several causes, and may occasionally be present as a solitary defect, but is usually associated with a more generalized dysfunction of the proximal tubular cells called Fanconi syndrome, in which there is also phosphaturia, glycosuria, aminoaciduria, uricosuria, and tubular proteinuria.
The principle feature of Fanconi syndrome is bone demineralization (osteomalacia or rickets) due to phosphate wasting.
An overview of types 1, 2, and 4 is presented below (type 3 is usually excluded from modern classifications):
Because renal excretion is the primary means of eliminating acid from the body, there is consequently a tendency towards acidemia.
This leads to the clinical features of dRTA:
- Normal anion gap metabolic acidosis/acidemia
- Hypokalemia
- Urinary stone formation (related to alkaline urine, hypercalciuria, and low urinary citrate).
- Nephrocalcinosis (deposition of calcium in the substance of the kidney)
- Bone demineralisation (causing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults)
The symptoms and sequelae of dRTA are variable and range from being completely asymptomatic, to loin pain and hematuria from kidney stones, to failure to thrive and severe rickets in childhood forms as well as possible renal failure and even death.
dRTA commonly leads to sodium loss and volume contraction, which causes a compensatory increase in blood levels of aldosterone. Aldosterone causes increased resorption of sodium and loss of potassium in the collecting duct of the kidney, so these increased aldosterone levels cause the hypokalemia which is a common symptom of dRTA.
Proximal renal tubular acidosis (pRTA) or Type 2 Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) is a type of RTA caused by a failure of the proximal tubular cells to reabsorb filtered bicarbonate from the urine, leading to urinary bicarbonate wasting and subsequent acidemia. The distal intercalated cells function normally, so the acidemia is less severe than dRTA and the urine can acidify to a pH of less than 5.3. pRTA also has several causes, and may occasionally be present as a solitary defect, but is usually associated with a more generalised dysfunction of the proximal tubular cells called Fanconi syndrome where there is also phosphaturia, glycosuria, aminoaciduria, uricosuria and tubular proteinuria.
Patients with type 2 RTA are also typically hypokalemic due to a combination of secondary hyperaldosteronism, and potassium urinary losses - though serum potassium levels may be falsely elevated because of acidosis. Administration of bicarbonate prior to potassium supplementation might lead to worsened hypokalemia, as potassium shifts intracellularly with alkanization.
The principal feature of Fanconi syndrome is bone demineralization (osteomalacia or rickets) due to phosphate and vitamin D wasting.
Distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) or Type 1 renal tubular acidosis (RTA) is the classical form of RTA, being the first described. Distal RTA is characterized by a failure of acid secretion by the alpha intercalated cells of the cortical collecting duct of the distal nephron. This failure of acid secretion may be due to a number of causes, and it leads to an inability to acidify the urine to a pH of less than 5.3.
Familial disorders
- Cystinosis
- Galactosemia
- Glycogen storage disease (type I)
- Hereditary fructose intolerance
- Lowe syndrome
- Tyrosinemia
- Wilson's disease
Acquired disorders
- Amyloidosis
- Multiple myeloma
- Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
- Toxins, such as HAART, ifosfamide, lead, and cadmium
The combination of muscular hypotonia and fixed dilated pupils in infancy is suspicious of Gillespie syndrome. Early onset partial aniridia, cerebellar ataxia, and mental retardation are hallmark of syndrome. The iris abnormality is specific and seems pathognomonic of Gillespie syndrome. The aniridia consisting of a superior coloboma and inferior iris hypoplasia, foveomacular dysplasia.
Atypical Gillespie syndrome associated with bilateral ptosis, exotropia, correctopia, iris hypoplasia, anterior capsular lens opacities, foveal hypoplasia, retinal vascular tortuosity, and retinal hypopigmentation.
Neurological signs ar nystagmus, mild craniofacial asymmetry, axial hypotonia, developmental delay, and mild mental retardation. Mariën P did not support the prevailing view of a global mental retardation as a cardinal feature of Gillespie syndrome but primarily reflect cerebellar induced neurobehavioral dysfunctions following disruption of the cerebrocerebellar anatomical circuitry that closely resembles the "cerebellar cognitive and affective syndrome" (CeCAS).
Congenital pulmonary stenosis and helix dysplasia can be associated.
Gillespie syndrome, also called aniridia, cerebellar ataxia and mental deficiency. is a rare genetic disorder. The disorder is characterized by partial aniridia (meaning that part of the iris is missing), ataxia (motor and coordination problems), and, in most cases, intellectual disability. It is heterogeneous, inherited in either an autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive manner. Gillespie syndrome was first described by American ophthalmologist Fredrick Gillespie in 1965.
Centronuclear myopathies (CNM) are a group of congenital myopathies where cell nuclei are abnormally located in skeletal muscle cells. In CNM the nuclei are located at a position in the center of the cell, instead of their normal location at the periphery.
Symptoms of CNM include severe hypotonia, hypoxia-requiring breathing assistance, and scaphocephaly. Among centronuclear myopathies, the X-linked myotubular myopathy form typically presents at birth, and is thus considered a congenital myopathy. However, some centronuclear myopathies may present later in life.
As with other myopathies, the clinical manifestations of MTM/CNM are most notably muscle weakness and associated disabilities. Congenital forms often present with neonatal low muscle tone, severe weakness, delayed developmental milestones (particularly gross motor milestones such as head control, crawling, and walking) and pulmonary complications (presumably due to weakness of the muscles responsible for respiration). While some patients with centronuclear myopathies remain ambulatory throughout their adult life, others may never crawl or walk and may require wheelchair use for mobility. There is substantial variability in the degree of functional impairment among the various centronuclear myopathies. Although this condition only affects the voluntary muscles, several children have suffered from cardiac arrest, possibly due to the additional stress placed on the heart.
Other observed features have been high arched palate, long digits, bell shaped chest and long face.
Myotubular myopathy only affects muscles and does not impact intelligence in any shape or form.
X-linked myotubular myopathy was traditionally a fatal condition of infancy, with life expectancy of usually less than two years. There appears to be substantial variability in the clinical severity for different genetic abnormalities at that same MTM1 gene. Further, published cases show significant differences in clinical severity among relatives with the same genetic abnormality at the MTM1 gene. Most truncating mutations of MTM1 cause a severe and early lethal phenotype, while some missense mutations are associated with milder forms and prolonged survival (up to 54 years).
Centronuclear myopathies typically have a milder presentation and a better prognosis. Recently, researchers discovered mutations at the gene dynamin 2 (DNM2 on chromosome 19, at site 19p13.2), responsible for the autosomal dominant form of centronuclear myopathy. This condition is now known as dynamin 2 centronuclear myopathy (abbreviated DNM2-CNM). Research has indicated that patients with DNM2-CNM have a slowly progressive muscular weakness usually beginning in adolescence or early adulthood, with an age range of 12 to 74 years.
Individuals with 5-ARD are born with male gonads, including testicles and Wolffian structures. They can have normal male external genitalia, ambiguous genitalia, or normal female genitalia, but usually tend towards a female appearance. As a consequence, they are often raised as girls, but usually have a male gender identity.
The development of the genital tubercle tissue (which by week 9 of a fetus' gestation becomes either a clitoris or a penis) tends towards a size qualifying it as an ambiguous macroclitoris/micropenis (large clitoris/small penis), and the urethra may attach to the phallus.
If the condition has not already been diagnosed, it usually becomes apparent at puberty around age twelve with primary amenorrhoea and virilization. This may include descending of the testes, hirsutism (facial/body hair considered normal in males - not to be confused with hypertrichosis), deepening of the voice, and enlargement of the clitoris into what would then be classed as a penis.
In adulthood, individuals do not experience male-pattern baldness. As DHT is a far more potent androgen than testosterone alone, virilization in those lacking DHT may be absent or reduced compared to males with functional 5-AR. It is hypothesized that rising testosterone levels at the start of puberty are able to generate sufficient levels of DHT either by the action of 5α-reductase type I (active in the adult liver, non-genital skin and some brain areas) or through the expression of low levels of 5α-reductase type II in the testes.
5-ARD is associated with an increased risk of cryptorchidism and testicular cancer.
Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), also known as Kennedy's disease, is a severe neurodegenerative syndrome that is associated with a particular mutation of the androgen receptor's polyglutamine tract called a trinucleotide repeat expansion. SBMA results when the length of the polyglutamine tract exceeds 40 repetitions.
Although technically a variant of MAIS, SBMA's presentation is not typical of androgen insensitivity; symptoms do not occur until adulthood and include neuromuscular defects as well as signs of androgen inaction. Neuromuscular symptoms include progressive proximal muscle weakness, atrophy, and fasciculations. Symptoms of androgen insensitivity experienced by men with SBMA are also progressive and include testicular atrophy, severe oligospermia or azoospermia, gynecomastia, and feminized skin changes despite elevated androgen levels. Disease onset, which usually affects the proximal musculature first, occurs in the third to fifth decades of life, and is often preceded by muscular cramps on exertion, tremor of the hands, and elevated muscle creatine kinase. SBMA is often misdiagnosed as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).
The symptoms of SBMA are thought to be brought about by two simultaneous pathways involving the toxic misfolding of proteins and loss of AR functionality. The polyglutamine tract in affected pedigrees tends to increase in length over generations, a phenomenon known as "anticipation", leading to an increase in the severity of the disease as well as a decrease in the age of onset for each subsequent generation of a family affected by SBMA.
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.
The presence of presenile cataract, noticeable in galactosemic infants as young as a few days old, is highly associated with two distinct types of galactosemia: GALT deficiency and to a greater extent, GALK deficiency.
An impairment or deficiency in the enzyme, galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (GALT), results in classic galactosemia, or Type I galactosemia. Classic galactosemia is a rare (1 in 47,000 live births), autosomal recessive disease that presents with symptoms soon after birth when a baby begins lactose ingestion. Symptoms include life-threatening illnesses such as jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly (enlarged spleen and liver), hypoglycemia, renal tubular dysfunction, muscle hypotonia (decreased tone and muscle strength), sepsis (presence of harmful bacteria and their toxins in tissues), and cataract among others. The prevalence of cataract among classic galactosemics is markedly less than among galactokinase-deficient patients due to the extremely high levels of galactitol found in the latter. Classic galactosemia patients typically exhibit urinary galactitol levels of only 98 to 800 mmol/mol creatine compared to normal levels of 2 to 78 mmol/mol creatine.
Galactokinase (GALK) deficiency, or Type II galactosemia, is also a rare (1 in 100,000 live births), autosomal recessive disease that leads to variable galactokinase activity levels: ranging from high GALK efficiency to undetectably-low GALK efficiency. The early onset of cataract is the main clinical manifestation of Type II galactosemics, most likely due to the high concentration of galactitol found in this population. GALK deficient patients exposed to high-galactose diets show extreme levels of galactitol in blood and urine. Studies on galactokinase-deficient patients have shown that nearly two-thirds of ingested galactose can be accounted for by galactose and galactitol levels in the urine. Urinary levels of galactitol in these subjects approach 2500 mmol/mol creatine as compared to 2 to 78 mmol/mol creatine in control patients.
A decrease in activity in the third major enzymes of galactose metabolism, UDP galactose-4'-epimerase (GALE), is the cause of Type III galactosemia. GALE deficiency is an extremely rare, autosomal recessive disease that appears to be most common among the Japanese population (1 in 23,000 live births among Japanese population). While the link between GALE deficiency and cataract prevalence seems to be ambiguous, experiments on this topic have been conducted. A recent 2000 study in Munich, Germany analyzed the activity levels of the GALE enzyme in various tissues and cells in patients with cataract. The experiment concluded that while patients with cataract seldom exhibited an acute decrease in GALE activity in blood cells, "the GALE activity in the lens of cataract patients was, on the other hand, significantly decreased". The study's results are depicted below. The extreme decrease in GALE activity in the lens of cataract patients seems to suggest an irrefutable connection between Type III galactosemia and cataract development.
A galactosemic cataract is cataract which is associated with the consequences of galactosemia.
5α-Reductase deficiency (5-ARD) is an autosomal recessive intersex condition caused by a mutation of the 5α reductase type II gene.
Estrogen insensitivity syndrome (EIS), or estrogen resistance, is a form of congenital estrogen deficiency or hypoestrogenism which is caused by a defective estrogen receptor (ER) – specifically, the estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) – that results in an inability of estrogen to mediate its biological effects in the body. Congenital estrogen deficiency can alternatively be caused by a defect in aromatase, the enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of estrogens, a condition which is referred to as aromatase deficiency and is similar in symptomatology to EIS.
EIS is an extremely rare occurrence. As of 2016, there have been three published reports of EIS, involving a total of five individuals. The reports include a male case published in 1994, a female case published in 2013, and a familial case involving two sisters and a brother which was published in 2016.
EIS is analogous to androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), a condition in which the androgen receptor (AR) is defective and insensitive to androgens, such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The functional opposite of EIS is hyperestrogenism, for instance that seen in aromatase excess syndrome.
The most common symptom is dizziness or syncope which often occurs during exercise or as a response to emotional stress.
Individuals with mild (or minimal) androgen insensitivity syndrome (grade 1 on the Quigley scale) are born phenotypically male, with fully masculinized genitalia; this category of androgen insensitivity is diagnosed when the degree of androgen insensitivity in an individual with a 46,XY karyotype is great enough to impair virilization or spermatogenesis, but is not great enough to impair normal male genital development. MAIS is the mildest and least known form of androgen insensitivity syndrome.
The existence of a variant of androgen insensitivity that solely affected spermatogenesis was theoretical at first. Cases of phenotypically normal males with isolated spermatogenic defect due to AR mutation were first detected as the result of male infertility evaluations. Until then, early evidence in support of the existence of MAIS was limited to cases involving a mild defect in virilization, although some of these early cases made allowances for some degree of impairment of genital masculinization, such as hypospadias or micropenis. It is estimated that 2-3% of infertile men have AR gene mutations.
Examples of MAIS phenotypes include isolated infertility (oligospermia or azoospermia), mild gynecomastia in young adulthood, decreased secondary terminal hair, high pitched voice, or minor hypospadias repair in childhood. The external male genitalia (penis, scrotum, and urethra) are otherwise normal in individuals with MAIS. Internal genitalia, including Wolffian structures (the epididymides, vasa deferentia, and seminal vesicles) and the prostate, is also normal, although the bitesticular volume of infertile men (both with and without MAIS) is diminished; male infertility is associated with reduced bitesticular volume, varicocele, retractile testes, low ejaculate volume, male accessory gland infections (MAGI), and mumps orchitis. The incidence of these features in infertile men with MAIS is similar to that of infertile men without MAIS. MAIS is not associated with Müllerian remnants.
Primary immunodeficiencies are disorders in which part of the body's immune system is missing or does not function normally. To be considered a "primary" immunodeficiency, the cause of the immune deficiency must not be secondary in nature (i.e., caused by other disease, drug treatment, or environmental exposure to toxins). Most primary immunodeficiencies are genetic disorders; the majority are diagnosed in children under the age of one, although milder forms may not be recognized until adulthood. While there are over 100 recognized PIDs, most are very rare. About 1 in 500 people in the United States are born with a primary immunodeficiency. Immune deficiencies can result in persistent or recurring infections, autoinflammatory disorders, tumors, and disorders of various organs. There are currently no cures for these conditions; treatment is palliative and consists of managing infections and boosting the immune system.
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), also called familial polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (FPVT) or catecholamine-induced polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, is a disorder characterized by an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia). Thought to affect as many as one in ten thousand people, it is estimated to cause 15% of all unexplained sudden cardiac deaths in young people.
First recognized in 1975, this condition is due to mutations in genes encoding a calcium channel or proteins related to this channel. All mutated proteins participate in the regulation of calcium ion flow in and out of the sarcoplasmatic reticulum of cardiac cells. Therefore, reduced electrical stability of cardiomyocytes may cause the heart to enter a life-threatening state of ventricular arrhythmia as response to the natural release of catecholamines from nerve endings on the heart muscle and from the adrenal glands into the circulation. This rhythm disturbance prevents the heart from pumping blood appropriately. Ventricular tachycardia may self-terminate or degenerate into ventricular fibrillation, causing sudden death unless immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation is applied.
Individuals with SBMA have muscle cramps and progressive weakness due to degeneration of motor neurons in the brain stem and spinal cord. Ages of onset and severity of manifestations in affected males vary from adolescence to old age, but most commonly develop in middle adult life. The syndrome has neuromuscular and endocrine manifestations.
Early signs often include weakness of tongue and mouth muscles, fasciculations, and gradually increasing weakness of limb muscles with muscle wasting. Neuromuscular management is supportive, and the disease progresses very slowly, but can eventually lead to extreme disability. Further signs and symptoms include:
In medicine, pulsus bisferiens, also bisferious pulse or biphasic pulse, is a sign where, on palpation of the pulse, a double peak per cardiac cycle can be appreciated. "Bisferious" means striking twice. Classically, it is detected when aortic insufficiency exists in association with aortic stenosis, but may also be found in isolated but severe aortic insufficiency, and hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.
Normally, arterial pulses are best felt in radial arteries but character is better assessed in carotid artery. Pulsus bisferiens is best felt in brachial and femoral arteries. Another pulse which can be confused with bisferiens is pulsus alternans which is felt better in peripheral arteries. The first lift is due to "percussion wave"(P) and the second lift is due to tidal wave (T).
- If P>T - AR>AS
- If T>P - AS>AR
Characteristic causes:
1. Aortic regurgitation (AR)
2. Aortic regurgitation with Aortic Stenosis (AR+AS)
3. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Individuals with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (grades 6 and 7 on the Quigley scale) are born phenotypically female, without any signs of genital masculinization, despite having a 46,XY karyotype. Symptoms of CAIS do not appear until puberty, which may be slightly delayed, but is otherwise normal except for absent menses and diminished or absent secondary terminal hair. Axillary hair (i.e. armpit hair) fails to develop in one third of all cases. External genitalia is normal, although the labia and clitoris are sometimes underdeveloped. The vaginal depth varies widely, but is typically shorter than unaffected women; one study of eight women with CAIS measured the average vaginal depth to be 5.9 cm (vs. 11.1 ± 1.0 cm for unaffected women ). In some extreme cases, the vagina has been reported to be aplastic (resembling a "dimple"), though the exact incidence of this is unknown.
The gonads in these women are not ovaries, but instead, are testes; during the embryonic stage of development, testes form in an androgen-independent process that occurs due to the influence of the SRY gene on the Y chromosome. They may be located intra-abdominally, at the internal inguinal ring, or may herniate into the labia majora, often leading to the discovery of the condition. Testes in affected women have been found to be atrophic upon gonadectomy. Testosterone produced by the testes cannot be directly used due to the mutant androgen receptor that characterizes CAIS; instead, it is aromatized into estrogen, which effectively feminizes the body and accounts for the normal female phenotype observed in CAIS.
Immature sperm cells in the testes do not mature past an early stage, as sensitivity to androgens is required in order for spermatogenesis to complete. Germ cell malignancy risk, once thought to be relatively high, is now thought to be approximately 2%. Wolffian structures (the epididymides, vasa deferentia, and seminal vesicles) are typically absent, but will develop at least partially in approximately 30% of cases, depending on which mutation is causing the CAIS. The prostate, like the external male genitalia, cannot masculinize in the absence of androgen receptor function, and thus remains in the female form.
The Müllerian system (the fallopian tubes, uterus, and upper portion of the vagina) typically regresses due to the presence of anti-Müllerian hormone originating from the Sertoli cells of the testes. These women are thus born without fallopian tubes, a cervix, or a uterus, and the vagina ends "blindly" in a pouch. Müllerian regression does not fully complete in approximately one third of all cases, resulting in Müllerian "remnants". Although rare, a few cases of women with CAIS and fully developed Müllerian structures have been reported. In one exceptional case, a 22-year-old with CAIS was found to have a normal cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes. In an unrelated case, a fully developed uterus was found in a 22-year-old adult with CAIS.
Other subtle differences that have been reported include slightly longer limbs and larger hands and feet due to a proportionally greater stature than unaffected women, larger teeth, minimal or no acne, well developed breasts, and a greater incidence of meibomian gland dysfunction (i.e. dry eye syndromes and light sensitivity).