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As with several other metabolic conditions, OTC deficiency can have variable presentations, regarding age of onset and the severity of symptoms. This compounded when considering heterozygous females and the possibility of non-random X-inactivation. In the classic and most well-known presentation, a male infant appears well initially, but by the second day of life they are irritable, lethargic and stop feeding. A metabolic encephalopathy develops, and this can progress to coma and death without treatment. Ammonia is only toxic to the brain, other tissues can handle elevated ammonia concentrations without problems.
Later onset forms of OTC deficiency can have variable presentations. Although late onset forms of the disease are often considered milder than the classic infantile presentation, any affected individual is at risk for an episode of hyperammonemia that could still be life-threatening, if presented with the appropriate stressors. These patients will often present with headaches, nausea, vomiting, delayed growth and a variety of psychiatric symptoms (confusion, delirium, aggression, or self-injury). A detailed dietary history of an affected individual with undiagnosed OTC deficiency will often reveal a history of protein avoidance.
The prognosis of a patient with severe OTC deficiency is well correlated with the length of the hyperammonemic period rather than the degree of hyperammonemia or the presence of other symptoms, such as seizures. Even for patients with late onset forms of the disease, their overall clinical picture is dependent on the extent of hyperammonemia they have experienced, even if it has remained unrecognized.
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.
The low incidence of this syndrome is often related to aldolase A's essential glycolytic role along with its exclusive expression in blood and skeletal muscle. Early developmental reliance and constitutive function prevents severe mutation in successful embryos. Infrequent documentation thus prevents clear generalisation of symptoms and causes. However five cases have been well described. ALDOA deficiency is diagnosed through reduced aldoA enzymatic activity, however, both physiological response and fundamental causes vary.
Signs and symptoms of CTLN1 in infants are caused by increasing levels of ammonia in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid and include excessive vomiting, anorexia, refusal to eat, irritability, increased intracranial pressure, and worsening lethargy, seizures, hypotonia, respiratory distress, hepatomegaly, and cerebral edema. These symptoms appear within days of birth in the more severe forms of the disease with complete deficiency of the enzyme. As ammonia accumulates further, the affected infant may enter a hyperammonemic coma, which indicates neurological damage and can cause developmental delays, cognitive disabilities, cerebral palsy, hypertonia, spasticity, ankle clonus, seizures, and liver failure.
Milder forms of the disease are caused by partial arginosuccinate synthetase deficiency and may manifest in childhood or in adulthood. Symptoms of mild CTLN1 include failure to thrive, avoidance of high-protein foods, ataxia, worsening lethargy, and vomiting. Hyperammonemic coma can still develop in these people. CTLN1 can also develop in the perinatal period.
Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency also known as OTC deficiency is the most common urea cycle disorder in humans. Ornithine transcarbamylase, the defective enzyme in this disorder is the final enzyme in the proximal portion of the urea cycle, responsible for converting carbamoyl phosphate and ornithine into citrulline. OTC deficiency is inherited in an X-linked recessive manner, meaning males are more commonly affected than females.
In severely affected individuals, ammonia concentrations increase rapidly causing ataxia, lethargy and death without rapid intervention. OTC deficiency is diagnosed using a combination of clinical findings and biochemical testing, while confirmation is often done using molecular genetics techniques.
Once an individual has been diagnosed, the treatment goal is to avoid precipitating episodes that can cause an increased ammonia concentration. The most common treatment combines a low protein diet with nitrogen scavenging agents. Liver transplant is considered curative for this disease. Experimental trials of gene therapy using adenoviral vectors resulted in the death of one participant, Jesse Gelsinger, and have been discontinued.
Mucolipidosis II (ML II) is a particularly severe form of ML that has a significant resemblance to another mucopolysaccharidoses called Hurler syndrome. Generally only laboratory testing can distinguish the two as the presentation is so similar. There are high plasma levels of lysosomal enzymes and are often fatal in childhood. Typically, by the age of 6 months, failure to thrive and developmental delays are obvious symptoms of this disorder. Some physical signs, such as abnormal skeletal development, coarse facial features, and restricted joint movement, may be present at birth. Children with ML II usually have enlargement of certain organs, such as the liver (hepatomegaly) or spleen (splenomegaly), and sometimes even the heart valves. Affected children often have stiff claw-shaped hands and fail to grow and develop in the first months of life. Delays in the development of their motor skills are usually more pronounced than delays in their cognitive (mental processing) skills. Children with ML II eventually develop a clouding on the cornea of their eyes and, because of their lack of growth, develop short-trunk dwarfism (underdeveloped trunk). These young patients are often plagued by recurrent respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia, otitis media (middle ear infections), bronchitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Children with ML II generally die before their seventh year of life, often as a result of congestive heart failure or recurrent respiratory tract infections.
Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I deficiency often becomes evident in the first few days of life. An infant with this condition may be lacking in energy (lethargic) or unwilling to eat, and have a poorly controlled breathing rate or body temperature. Some babies with this disorder may experience seizures or unusual body movements, or go into a coma. Complications of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I deficiency may include developmental delay and mental retardation.
In some affected individuals, signs and symptoms of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I deficiency may be less severe, and may not appear until later in life.
Generally, the majority of individuals with creatine transporter defect express the following symptoms with varying levels of severity: developmental delay and regression, mental retardation, and abnormalities in expressive and cognitive speech. However, several studies have shown a wider variety of symptoms including, but not limited to attention deficit and hyperactivity with impulsivity, myopathy, hypotonia, semantic-pragmatic language disorder, oral dyspraxia, extrapyramidal movement disorder, constipation, absent speech development, seizures, and epilepsy. Furthermore, symptoms can significantly vary between hemizygous males and heterozygous females, although, symptoms are generally more severe in hemizygous males. Hemizygous males more commonly express seizures, growth deficiency, severe mental retardation, and severe expressive language impairment. Heterozygous females more commonly express mild retardation, impairments to confrontational naming and verbal memory, and learning and behavior problems.
Phosphofructokinase deficiency also presents in a rare infantile form. Infants with this deficiency often display floppy infant syndrome (hypotonia), arthrogryposis, encephalopathy and cardiomyopathy. The disorder can also manifest itself in the central nervous system, usually in the form of seizures. PFK deficient infants also often have some type of respiratory issue. Survival rate for the infantile form of PFK deficiency is low, and the cause of death is often due to respiratory failure.
Transaldolase deficiency is a disease characterised by abnormally low levels of the Transaldolase enzyme. It is a metabolic enzyme involved in the pentose phosphate pathway. It is caused by mutation in the transaldolase gene (TALDO1). It was first described by Verhoeven et al. in 2001.
The defining characteristic of this form of the disorder is hemolytic anemia, in which red blood cells break down prematurely. Muscle weakness and pain are not as common in patients with hemolytic PFK deficiency.
The symptoms are visible within the first week of life and if not detected and diagnosed correctly immediately consequences are fatal.
In undiagnosed and untreated children, the accumulation of precursor metabolites due to the deficient activity of galactose 1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (GALT) can lead to feeding problems, failure to thrive, liver damage, bleeding, and infections. The first presenting symptom in an infant is often prolonged jaundice. Without intervention in the form of galactose restriction, infants can develop hyperammonemia and sepsis, possibly leading to shock. The accumulation of galactitol and subsequent osmotic swelling can lead to cataracts which are similar to those seen in galactokinase deficiency. Long-term consequences of continued galactose intake can include developmental delay, developmental verbal dyspraxia, and motor abnormalities. Galactosemic females frequently suffer from ovarian failure, regardless of treatment in the form of galactose restriction.
Symptoms of congenital Type III Galactosemia are apparent from birth, but vary in severity depending on whether the peripheral or generalized disease form is present. Symptoms may include:
- Infantile jaundice
- Infantile hypotonia
- Dysmorphic features
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Impaired growth
- Cognitive deficiencies
- Depletion of cerebellar Purkinje cells
- Ovarian failure (POI) and hypertrophic hypergonadism
- Liver failure
- Renal failure
- Splenomegaly
- Cataracts
Studies of Type III galactosemia symptoms are mostly descriptive, and precise pathogenic mechanisms remain unknown. This is largely due to a lack of functional animal models of classic galactosemia. The recent development of a "Drosophila melanogaster" GALE mutant exhibiting galactosemic symptoms may yield a promising future animal model.
In non-contiguous patients an aggravated form of adolase-a deficiency has been seen to manifest in muscular deterioration. This is often recognized initially through signs of muscle weakness and exercise intolerance, suggesting rapid muscular fatigue and damage, likely directly related to ATP depletion. This breakdown of muscular fibers or, rhabdomyolysis, can lead to detectable blood creatine phosphate level elevation and potentially exaggerated hyperkalemia.
This defect leads to a multi-systemic disorder of the connective tissue, muscles, central nervous system (CNS), and cardiovascular system. Homocystinuria represents a group of hereditary metabolic disorders characterized by an accumulation of the amino acid homocysteine in the serum and an increased excretion of homocysteine in the urine. Infants appear to be normal and early symptoms, if any are present, are vague.
Signs and symptoms of homocystinuria that may be seen include the following:
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.
Citrullinemia type I (CTLN1), also known as arginosuccinate synthetase deficiency, is a rare disease caused by a deficiency in argininosuccinate synthetase, an enzyme involved in excreting excess nitrogen from the body. There are mild and severe forms of the disease, which is one of the urea cycle disorders.
Creatine transporter defect (CTD) is an inborn error of creatine metabolism in which creatine is not properly transported to the brain and muscles due to defective creatine transporters. CTD is an X-linked disorder caused by mutations in the SLC6A8 gene. The SLC6A8 gene is located on the short arm of the sex chromosome, Xq28. Hemizygous males with CTD express speech and behavior abnormalities, intellectual disabilities, development delay, seizures, and autistic behavior. Heterozygous females with CTD generally express fewer, less severe symptoms. CTD is one of three different types of cerebral creatine deficiency (CCD). The other two types of CCD are guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency and deficiency. Clinical presentation of CTD is similar to that of GAMT and AGAT deficiency. CTD was first identified in 2001 with the presence of a hemizygous nonsense mutation in the SLC6A8 gene in a male patient.
Glycerol Kinase Deficiency causes the condition known as hyperglycerolemia, an accumulation of glycerol in the blood and urine. This excess of glycerol in bodily fluids can lead to many more potentially dangerous symptoms. Common symptoms include vomiting and lethargy. These tend to be the only symptoms, if any, present in adult GKD which has been found to present with fewer symptoms than infant or juvenile GKD. When GKD is accompanied by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Adrenal Hypoplasia Congenita, also caused by mutations on the Xp21 chromosome, the symptoms can become much more severe. Symptoms visible at or shortly after birth include:
- cryptorchidism
- strabismus
- seizures
Some other symptoms that become more noticeable with time would be:
- metabolic acidosis
- hypoglycemia
- adrenal cortex insufficiency
- learning disabilities
- osteoporosis
- myopathy
Many of the physically visible symptoms, such as cryptorchidism, strabismus, learning disabilities, and myopathy, tend to have an added psychological effect on the subject due to the fact that they can set him or her apart from those without GKD. Cryptorchidism, the failure of one or both of the testes to descend to the scrotum, has been known to lead to sexual identity confusion amongst young boys because it is such a major physiological anomaly. Strabismus is the misalignment of one’s eyes. Typically, one is focused but the other is “lazy” and is directed inward or out ward (up and down is less common but does occur).
Triosephosphate isomerase deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder which was initially described in 1965.
It is a unique glycolytic enzymopathy that is characterized by chronic haemolytic anaemia, cardiomyopathy, susceptibility to infections, severe neurological dysfunction, and, in most cases, death in early childhood. The disease is exceptionally rare with fewer than 100 patients diagnosed worldwide.
Galactokinase deficiency, also known as Galactosemia type 2 or GALK deficiency, is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder marked by an accumulation of galactose and galactitol secondary to the decreased conversion of galactose to galactose-1-phosphate by galactokinase. The disorder is caused by mutations in the GALK1 gene, located on chromosome 17q24. Galactokinase catalyzes the first step of galactose phosphorylation in the Leloir pathway of intermediate metabolism. Galactokinase deficiency is one of the three inborn errors of metabolism that lead to hypergalactosemia. The disorder is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Unlike classic galactosemia, which is caused by deficiency of galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase, galactokinase deficiency does not present with severe manifestations in early infancy. Its major clinical symptom is the development of cataracts during the first weeks or months of life, as a result of the accumulation, in the lens, of galactitol, a product of an alternative route of galactose utilization. The development of early cataracts in homozygous affected infants is fully preventable through early diagnosis and treatment with a galactose-restricted diet. Some studies have suggested that, depending on milk consumption later in life, heterozygous carriers of galactokinase deficiency may be prone to presenile cataracts at 20–50 years of age.
2,4 Dienoyl-CoA reductase deficiency is an inborn error of metabolism resulting in defective fatty acid oxidation caused by a deficiency of the enzyme 2,4 Dienoyl-CoA reductase. Lysine degradation is also affected in this disorder leading to hyperlysinemia. The disorder is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, meaning an individual must inherit mutations in "NADK2," located at 5p13.2 from both of their parents. NADK2 encodes the mitochondrial NAD kinase. A defect in this enzyme leads to deficient mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate levels. 2,4 Dienoyl-CoA reductase, but also lysine degradation are performed by NADP-dependent oxidoreductases explaining how NADK2 deficiency can lead to multiple enzyme defects.
2,4-Dienoyl-CoA reductase deficiency was initially described in 1990 based on a single case of a black female who presented with persistent hypotonia. Laboratory investigations revealed elevated lysine, low levels of carnitine and an abnormal acylcarnitine profile in urine and blood. The abnormal acylcarnitine species was eventually identified as 2-trans,4-cis-decadienoylcarnitine, an intermediate of linoleic acid metabolism. The index case died of respiratory failure at four months of age. Postmortem enzyme analysis on liver and muscle samples revealed decreased 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase activity when compared to normal controls. A second case with failure to thrive, developmental delay, lactic acidosis and severe encephalopathy was reported in 2014.
2,4-Dienoyl-CoA reductase deficiency was included as a secondary condition in the American College of Medical Genetics Recommended Uniform Panel for newborn screening. Its status as a secondary condition means there was not enough evidence of benefit to include it as a primary target, but it may be detected during the screening process or as part of a differential diagnosis when detecting conditions included as primary target. Despite its inclusion in newborn screening programs in several states for a number of years, no cases have been identified via neonatal screening.
Galactose epimerase deficiency, also known as GALE deficiency, Galactosemia III and UDP-galactose-4-epimerase deficiency, is a rare, autosomal recessive form of galactosemia associated with a deficiency of the enzyme "galactose epimerase".
I-cell disease is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of GlcNAc phosphotransferase, which phosphorylates mannose residues to mannose-6-phosphate on N-linked glycoproteins in the Golgi apparatus within the cell. Without mannose-6-phosphate to target them to the lysosomes, the enzymes are transported from the Golgi to the extracellular space, resulting in large intracellular inclusions of molecules requiring lysosomal degradation in patients with the disease (hence the name of the disorder). Hydrolases secreted into the blood stream cause little problem as they are deactivated in the neutral pH of the blood.
It can be associated with GNPTA.
In a case report, it was complicated by severe dilative cardiomyopathy(DCM)
Though rare, a deficiency of phosphodiesterase which would cleave GlcNAc from the Mannose 6 Phosphate tag will also cause I-Cell. The presence of lipids, glycosaminoglycans (GAG's) and carbohydrates in the blood provide for the distinguishing characteristic to separate I-Cell from Hurlers Syndrome, in Hurlers, only glycosaminoglycans would be present.