In galactosaemia, a strict galactose-free diet is necessary to prevent or resolve acute symptoms in infants. However, because the body produces up to 10 times more galactose than is found in a ...galactose-restricted diet, excessively restrictive diets should be avoided in children and adults to prevent nutritional deficiencies. Since cheese is a nutritional source of the calcium necessary for bone health, the latest international guidelines on the management of classical galactosaemia (2017) allow the consumption of cured cheeses with less than 25 mg of galactose/100 g and recommend that each country verifies the adequacy of the cheeses, since most mature cheeses do not always have a lower galactose content. In total, 32 cheese samples were purchased (19 Spanish and 13 international cheeses), and their lactose and galactose contents were analysed using ion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (IC-PAD). Five Spanish cheeses contained less than 25 mg of galactose/100 g: García Baquero semi-cured cheese; Hacendado, Gran Reserva and Mahón cured cheeses; and García Baquero Reserva 12-month cured cheese. In addition, eight international cheeses were confirmed as suitable: Comté, Gouda, Gruyere, Maasdam, Parmigiano, Edam, Emmental, and some samples of Cheddar. In addition to the well-known low-galactose Swiss and Dutch cheeses, according to the current results, five Spanish cheeses can be safely consumed. The greater availability of types of cheese favours better bone health in patients with galactosaemia.
Objectives Hyperinsulinemic hypoglucemia (HH) is characterized by a dysregulation of insulin secretion from pancreatic β cells. Congenital hyperinsulinism has been associated with specific genes in ...monogenic forms and also with other diseases with a yet unknown genetic cause. In 2017, Rubio Cabezas et al. described the association of HH and autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) with a promoter mutation in the PMM2 gene. They found that all the patients carried a promoter mutation (c-167G>T) in PMM2, either homozygous or in trans with a second PMM2 coding mutation. Methods We performed the study of the PMM2 gene in six patients from four unrelated families, previously diagnosed with ARPKD and HH. Results All these patients had in common the heterozygous variant c-167G>T in the promoter region for PMM2. Additionally, each patient carried a compound heterozygote for a second missense mutation in this gene (p.Arg141His, p.Asp148Asn or p.Phe157Ser), previously reported as pathogenic for congenital disorder of glycosylation type Ia, with an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. Unlike the previous published article, two of our patients showed altered type 1 pattern and one of them with rectal bleeding that could be a sign of PMM2-congenital disorders of glycosylation. Conclusion We propose the study of this gene when carrying out the diagnosis of patients with HH, especially in the neonatal period and when a recessive polycystic kidney disease without alterations in PKDH1 is diagnosed.
The determination of acylcarnitines (AC) in dried blood spots (DBS) by tandem mass spectrometry in newborn screening (NBS) programs has enabled medium-chain acyl-coA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) ...to be identified in presymptomatic newborns. Nevertheless, different confirmatory tests must be performed to confirm the diagnosis. In this work, we have collected and analyzed the NBS results and confirmatory test results (plasma AC, molecular findings, and lymphocyte MCAD activity) of forty individuals, correlating them with clinical outcomes and treatment, with the aim of obtaining useful diagnostic information that could be applied in the follow-up of the patients. Our results led us to classify patients into two groups. The first group (14 cases) had high increased octanoylcarnitine (C8) levels, biallelic pathogenic variants, and severe impaired enzyme activity (<10% of the intra-assay control (IAC)); all of these cases received nutritional therapy and required carnitine supplementation during follow-up, representing the most severe form of the disease. The second group (16 patients) was a heterogeneous group presenting moderate increases in C8, biallelic likely pathogenic/pathogenic variants, and intermediate activity (<41% IAC). All of them are currently asymptomatic and could be considered as having a milder form of the disease. Finally, eight cases presented a normal−mild increase in plasma C8, with only one pathogenic variant detected, and high−intermediate residual activity (15−100%). Based on our results, we confirm that combined evaluation of acylcarnitine profiles, genetic findings, and residual enzyme activities proves useful in predicting the risk of future metabolic decompensation, in making decisions regarding future treatment or follow-up, and also in confirming the clinical effects of unknown clinical variants.
The present work describes the value of genetic analysis as a confirmatory measure following the detection of suspected inborn errors of metabolism in the Spanish newborn mass spectrometry screening ...program. One hundred and forty-one consecutive DNA samples were analyzed by next-generation sequencing using a customized exome sequencing panel. When required, the Illumina extended clinical exome panel was used, as was Sanger sequencing or transcriptional profiling. Biochemical tests were used to confirm the results of the genetic analysis. Using the customized panel, the metabolic disease suspected in 83 newborns (59%) was confirmed. In three further cases, two monoallelic variants were detected for two genes involved in the same biochemical pathway. In the remainder, either a single variant or no variant was identified. Given the persistent absence of biochemical alterations, carrier status was assigned in 39 cases. False positives were recorded for 11. In five cases in which the biochemical pattern was persistently altered, further genetic analysis allowed the detection of two variants affecting the function of BCAT2, ACSF3, and DNAJC12, as well as a second, deep intronic variant in ETFDH or PTS. The present results suggest that genetic analysis using extended next-generation sequencing panels can be used as a confirmatory test for suspected inborn errors of metabolism detected in newborn screening programs. Biochemical tests can be very helpful when a diagnosis is unclear. In summary, simultaneous genomic and metabolomic analyses can increase the number of inborn errors of metabolism that can be confirmed following suggestive newborn screening results.
Despite a strict dietary control, patient with hyperphenylalaninemia or phenylketonuria may show cognitive and/or behavioral disorders. These comorbid deficits are of great concern to patients, ...families, and health organizations. However, biomarkers capable of detecting initial stages of neurological damage are not commonly employed. The pathogenesis of phenylketonuria is complex in nature. Increasingly, the role of oxidative stress has gained acceptance and biomarkers reflecting oxidative damage to the brain and easily accessible in peripheral biofluids have been validated using mass spectrometry techniques. In the present review, the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of phenylketonuria and hyperphenylalaninemia has been updated. Moreover, we report on newly validated brain-specific lipid peroxidation biomarkers and inform on their relevance in the detection and monitoring of neurological damage in phenylketonuric patients. In preliminary studies, a correlation between lipid peroxidation biomarkers and neurological dysfunction in patients with PKU was reported. However, there is a need of adequately powered trials to confirm the validity of these biomarkers for early detection of brain damage, initiation of treatment, and reliably monitor evolving disease both in phenylketonuria and hyperphenylalaninemia.
Abstract The protein encoded by COQ7 is required for CoQ 10 synthesis in humans, hydroxylating 3‐demethoxyubiquinol (DMQ 10 ) in the second to last steps of the pathway. COQ7 mutations lead to a ...primary CoQ 10 deficiency syndrome associated with a pleiotropic neurological disorder. This study shows the clinical, physiological, and molecular characterization of four new cases of CoQ 10 primary deficiency caused by five mutations in COQ7 , three of which have not yet been described, inducing mitochondrial dysfunction in all patients. However, the specific combination of the identified variants in each patient generated precise pathophysiological and molecular alterations in fibroblasts, which would explain the differential in vitro response to supplementation therapy. Our results suggest that COQ7 dysfunction could be caused by specific structural changes that affect the interaction with COQ9 required for the DMQ 10 presentation to COQ7, the substrate access to the active site, and the maintenance of the active site structure. Remarkably, patients' fibroblasts share transcriptional remodeling, supporting a modification of energy metabolism towards glycolysis, which could be an adaptive mechanism against CoQ 10 deficiency. However, transcriptional analysis of mitochondria‐associated pathways showed distinct and dramatic differences between patient fibroblasts, which correlated with the extent of pathophysiological and neurological alterations observed in the probands. Overall, this study suggests that the combination of precise genetic diagnostics and the availability of new structural models of human proteins could help explain the origin of phenotypic pleiotropy observed in some genetic diseases and the different responses to available therapies.
Newborn Screening Programs (NSP) in Spain were born in the
city of Granada in 1968. Till the 1980s, they were developed around
the so-called “National Plan for Preventing Subnormality”, covering
up ...to 30% of the Spanish newborns. From 1982, when the health
system management was transferred to the different autonomous regions,
the NSP began to expand, and the bases to transform them into
an organized and multidisciplinary activity, integrated and coordinated
from the National Health System were settled. Despite this expansion,
it is not until the 1990s when their coverage reaches almost
100% newborns in Spain.
NSP grew up asymmetrically across the different autonomous
regions. In 2005 and 2006 the scientific societies SEQC (Spanish
Society of Clinical Chemistry) and AECNE (Spanish Society of
Newborn Screening), coordinated by the Health Promotion Area of
the General Directorate of Public Health, gathered together the necessary
information to elaborate a report on the NSP in Spain addressed
to the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System. In July
2013, that Council approved the seven diseases that should be part of
each region newborn screening panel, being the first step towards the
NSP harmonization in Spain. Currently, the NSP include between 8
and 29 diseases in their panels, thus more still more efforts are needed
in order to achieve a higher uniformity.
Los Programas de Cribado Neonatal (PCN) nacen en España en
Granada en el año 1968. Posteriormente, y hasta los años 80, se fueron
desarrollando en torno al llamado “Plan Nacional de Prevención
de la Subnormalidad” con una cobertura cercana al 30% de los recién
nacidos españoles. A partir de 1982, con el inicio de la gestión de
la sanidad a las comunidades autónomas (CCAA), los PCN se expandieron
y se comenzaron a sentar las bases para que éstos se convirtieran
en una actividad organizada y multidisciplinar, integrados y
coordinados desde el Sistema de Salud. A pesar de dicha expansión
no es hasta el inicio de la década de los 90 cuando se consigue una
cobertura próxima al 100% de los RN en España.
Los PCN fueron creciendo de forma muy asimétrica en las diferentes
CCAA y en los años 2005 y 2006 las Sociedades Científicas
SEQC (Sociedad Española de Química Clínica) y AECNE
(Asociación Española de Cribado Neonatal), con la coordinación
del Área de Promoción de la Salud de la Dirección General de Salud
Pública, recopilaron la información y elaboraron un informe, sobre
los PCN en España para el Consejo Interterritorial del sistema
Nacional de Salud (CISNS). En julio de 2013 este Consejo aprobó
las siete enfermedades que debían formar parte del panel de detección
de los PCN territoriales, primer paso hacia la armonización de
estos programas. Actualmente, los PCN incluyen entre 8 y 29 enfermedades
por lo que es necesario seguir trabajando para conseguir una
mayor uniformidad.
We report citrin deficiency in a neonatal non-East-Asian patient, the ninth Caucasian reported with this disease. The association of intrahepatic cholestasis, galactosuria, very high ...alpha-fetoprotein and increased plasma and urine citrulline, tyrosine, methionine and threonine levels suggested citrin deficiency. Identification of a protein-truncating mutation (c.1078C>T; p.Arg360*) in the SLC25A13 gene confirmed the diagnosis. An immediate response to a high-protein, lactose-free, low-carbohydrate formula was observed. Our report illustrates the need for awareness on citrin deficiency in Western countries.
•Neonatal cholestasis with jaundice, and failure to thrive, were presenting manifestations.•Determination of blood amino acids was essential to suggest the diagnosis.•Genetic analysis of SLC25A13 confirmed the diagnosis and was easy and cheap.•Replacement of breast milk by lactose-free protein-rich formula was very effective.•Citrin deficiency should always be considered in Western neonates with cholestasis.
Objectives: This study assesses the cost-effectiveness of adding sickle-cell disease (SCD) to the Spanish newborn screening (NBS) program, and explores the sensitivity of the results to key model ...parameters.
Methods: A discrete event simulation model was developed that compared NBS for SCD versus clinical detection. The model followed a simulated cohort of newborns for 10 years, and estimated the impact in costs and life expectancy of prophylactic treatments established after early detection. Probabilistic, one-way and two-way sensitivity analysis were performed.
Results: NBS was found to be more costly and more effective than clinical detection of SCD. The estimated incremental cost per life year (LY) gained was 34,169.46 €/LY. This result was very sensitive to the cost of the screening test, the birth prevalence and the proportion of severe cases among the affected children.
Conclusions: There is uncertainty regarding the cost-effectiveness of NBS for SCD in the Spanish context. Our base case estimate of the cost per LY gained lies near the 30,000€/LY commonly cited in Spain.
Abstract
Objectives
Hyperinsulinemic hypoglucemia (HH) is characterized by a dysregulation of insulin secretion from pancreatic
β
cells. Congenital hyperinsulinism has been associated with specific ...genes in monogenic forms and also with other diseases with a yet unknown genetic cause. In 2017, Rubio Cabezas et al. described the association of HH and autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) with a promoter mutation in the
PMM
2 gene. They found that all the patients carried a promoter mutation (c-167G>T) in
PMM
2, either homozygous or in trans with a second
PMM
2 coding mutation.
Methods
We performed the study of the
PMM
2 gene in six patients from four unrelated families, previously diagnosed with ARPKD and HH.
Results
All these patients had in common the heterozygous variant c-167G>T in the promoter region for
PMM
2. Additionally, each patient carried a compound heterozygote for a second missense mutation in this gene (p.Arg141His, p.Asp148Asn or p.Phe157Ser), previously reported as pathogenic for congenital disorder of glycosylation type Ia, with an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. Unlike the previous published article, two of our patients showed altered type 1 pattern and one of them with rectal bleeding that could be a sign of PMM2-congenital disorders of glycosylation.
Conclusion
We propose the study of this gene when carrying out the diagnosis of patients with HH, especially in the neonatal period and when a recessive polycystic kidney disease without alterations in PKDH1 is diagnosed.
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