Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019209 (hepatomegaly)
 5,798 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We describe a relatively new syndrome in four children with characteristic facial dysmorphism, sensorineural hearing loss, severe visual impairment with retinitis pigmentosa, hypotonia, hepatomegaly, and severe developmental delay. Two patients had intracranial hemorrhage secondary to a vitamin K-responsive clotting defect; both had steatorrhea. Liver biopsy specimens in two children showed an accentuated lobular architecture with prominent fibrous bands in the portal area. In one, the ultrastructure showed accumulation of abnormal substances and occasional trilaminar structures in hepatocytes and other cells. All four patients had elevated serum phytanic acid concentrations (0.3 to 2.7 mg/dl, normal less than 0.2 mg/dl) and deficient fibroblast phytanic acid oxidase activity (0.1 to 6.7 pmol/mg protein/hr, normal 23 to 87 pmol/mg protein/hr). Serum pipecolic acid was 7 to 55 times normal, and the ratio of C26/C22 very long chain fatty acids was increased (0.10 to 0.22; normal less than 0.03). This characteristic syndrome has been described in several children and called infantile Refsum disease or phytanic acid storage disease. Its relationship to neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy, hyperpipecolic acidemia, and Zellweger syndrome is discussed.
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PMID:Dysmorphic syndrome with phytanic acid oxidase deficiency, abnormal very long chain fatty acids, and pipecolic acidemia: studies in four children. 241 87

Nine cases of neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy are described. All patients had abnormal facial features, moderate to severe hypotonia, hepatomegaly, and retinitis pigmentosa. The clinical course was rapidly progressive in six cases and more protracted in three others. Biological signs of adrenal insufficiency were present in five cases. CT scan showed a demyelinating process in four patients. Trilamellar inclusions were found in the liver of four cases and dark and complex lipidic inclusions in three other cases. In the three necropsied patients there was severe alteration of the white matter involving particularly the cerebellum in two cases. Gyral and cytoarchitectonic disturbances were absent in all three cases. Increased plasma levels of very long chain fatty acids (8/8), phytanic acid (7/8) and bile fluid trihydroxycoprostanic acid (2/4) confirmed the deficiency of multiple peroxisomal enzymes. Clinical, histopathological and biochemical findings of these nine cases are compared to those reported in other neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy cases and to those of other neonatal peroxisomal disorders, that is cerebro-hepato-renal syndrome of Zellweger and infantile Refsum's disease.
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PMID:Neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy. 242 Sep 40

We report on five girls (including monozygotic twins) with a newly recognized disease comprising severe neurologic disturbances, variable hepatomegaly, abnormal subcutaneous fat distribution and skeletal anomalies. The neurologic picture was characterized by moderate to severe psychomotor retardation, alternating internal strabismus , hypotonia, hyporeflexia and ataxia. Biochemical investigations showed a number of abnormalities such as tubular proteinuria, slightly increased serum transaminases, hypoalbuminemia, hypo-beta-lipoproteinemia and decreased serum thyroxine-binding globulin. Moreover there was retinitis pigmentosa, cerebellar hypotrophy and electrophysiologic evidence for a peripheral neuropathy. However, histologic examination of a nerve biopsy in one of the patients failed to show myelin abnormalities. On the other hand, abnormal lamellar inclusions were found in the lysosomes of some Schwann cells and of liver tissue as well. Additional investigations in four patients revealed a deficiency of sialic acid, galactose and N-acetylglucosamine of plasma glycoproteins. Enzymatic analysis of serum suggested a deficiency of an N-acetyl-glucosaminyltransferase. Remarkably, the (healthy) fathers but not the mothers presented the same carbohydrate deficiencies of plasma glycoproteins albeit to a much lesser degree. The mode of hereditary transmission of this disease remains unclear; the possibility of X-linked inheritance is under investigation.
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PMID:[A not-previously described hereditary neurological disease with a deficiency of sialic acid, galactose and N-acetylglucosamine of plasma glycoproteins]. 260 46

A male infant with glutaric aciduria II secondary to electron transfer flavoprotein: ubiquinone oxidoreductase deficiency is compared to previously reported cases of glutaric aciduria II. A common pattern of anomalies in patients with malformations (8/16) includes macrocephaly, large anterior fontanelle, high forehead, flat nasal bridge, telecanthus, and malformed ears. Abnormalities such as hypotonia, cerebral gliosis, heterotopias, hepatomegaly, hepatic periportal necrosis, polycystic kidneys, and genital defects in glutaric aciduria II are reminiscent of those in Zellweger syndrome, whereas elevations of glutaric, ethylmalonic, adipic, and isovaleric acids are quite distinctive. A unique ultrastructural alteration of the glomerular basement membrane was observed in the proposita. This manifestation may represent an early stage in renal cyst formation and provide a diagnostic criterion for glutaric aciduria II when enzyme studies are unavailable.
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PMID:Glutaric aciduria type II: review of the phenotype and report of an unusual glomerulopathy. 265 91

We reported two siblings of Leber's congenital amaurosis associated with increased level of very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) in blood. Case 1, a 3 1/2-year-old boy had congenital blindness, severe psychomotor retardation, hepatomegaly, profound hypotonia, loss of deep tendon reflexes, muscular atrophy and weakness, and non-convulsive status epilepticus characterized by a sudden respiratory failure, and also showed a flat electroretinogram, non-pigmentary retinal degeneration, severe atrophy of the brain stem and cerebellum, hepatic fibrosis, decreased motor and sensory conduction velocities and atlanto-axial instability. Sural nerve biopsy revealed severely decreased number of total myelinated fibers without remarkable demyelination or remyelination. Case 2, an elder sister of case 1, with pigmentary retinal degeneration, hepatomegaly and pericarditis had died at 3 months. Autopsy revealed hypomyelination and heterotopy of the cerebral white matter, hepatic fibrosis, renal microcysts and normal adrenal cytoarchitecture. In case 1, the level of VLCFA was increased twofold and sevenfold of controls in serum and in red cell membrane, respectively. Phytanic or trihydroxycholestanoic acid was not detected in the serum and bile. Normal shaped peroxisomes were definitely recognized in biopsied liver by means of electronmicroscopic histochemistry. From the above findings, these patients was thought to be a new variant of peroxisomal disorders relating to degradation of VLCFA, other than Zellweger syndrome, infantile Refsum disease and infantile adrenoleukodystrophy. It was concluded that peroxisomal functions should be studied in cases of Leber's congenital amaurosis.
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PMID:[Two siblings of Leber's congenital amaurosis with an increase in very long chain fatty acid in blood: relationship between peroxisomal disorders and Leber's congenital amaurosis]. 278 58

A male infant with typical clinical and biochemical findings of Zellweger syndrome, but in whom hepatic peroxisomes were detected by electron microscopy, had profound hypotonia, hepatomegaly, typical facial appearance including large fontanelle and frontal bossing, convulsions, panaminoaciduria, and hyperammonemia. He died of liver failure at age 5 months. There were increased levels of very long chain fatty acids and trihydroxycoprostanic acid in serum, and increased excretion of dicarboxylic acids and tyrosine metabolites in the urine. Levels of peroxisomal enzymes, acyl coenzyme A oxidase, bifunctional protein, 3-ketoacyl coenzyme A thiolase, and dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase in the liver tissue from the patient were all deficient, findings consistent with Zellweger syndrome. However, immunocytochemical study and electron microscopic examination of the liver at autopsy revealed that hepatic peroxisomes were present at a level similar to that in a control subject. These observations suggest further heterogeneity in Zellweger syndrome and a different pathogenesis in this variant case.
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PMID:Zellweger-like syndrome with detectable hepatic peroxisomes: a variant form of peroxisomal disorder. 318 38

Patients with the cerebrohepatorenal syndrome of Zellweger lack peroxisomes and certain peroxisomal enzymes such as dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase in their tissues. Deficiency of this enzyme, which is necessary for glycerol ether lipid synthesis, provides a biochemical method for recognizing patients with subtle manifestations of Zellweger syndrome and suggests the utility of exogenous ether lipid precursors as a therapeutic strategy for these children. We describe the results of glycerol ether lipid supplementation to two children, one with classic Zellweger syndrome and 9% of control fibroblast dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase activity, and one with mild facial manifestations, wide sutures, hypotonia, developmental delay, hepatomegaly, peripheral retinal pigmentation, and 50% of control fibroblast dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase activity. An increase in erythrocyte plasmalogen levels following therapy was clearly demonstrated in the milder patient, and neither patient showed evidence of toxicity. Evaluation of therapy by comparison to the usual clinical course of Zellweger syndrome was not helpful because of the variability and incomplete documentation of 90 previously reported cases. The literature survey did provide criteria for classic Zellweger syndrome, which include hypotonia with or without deformation of limbs, large fontanels and split sutures, prominent forehead, flattened facial profile with hypoplastic supraorbital ridges, anteverted nares, highly arched palate, cryptorchidism or labial hypoplasia, hepatomegaly or elevated liver enzymes, peripheral pigmentation of the retina, renal cortical cysts, and characteristic neuropathology involving decreased myelinization, abnormal neuronal migration, and sudanophilic macrophages. Less severe patients, as exemplified by our case 2 and others from the literature, will not have all the classic features and can be recognized only by a growing panel of biochemical indicators. Our patient studies illustrate the complexity of designing comprehensive therapy for Zellweger-like conditions, suggest other diseases that may involve peroxisomal alterations, and emphasize the need for multicenter, collaborative studies to evaluate biochemical heterogeneity and therapy of peroxisomal disorders.
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PMID:Zellweger syndrome: diagnostic assays, syndrome delineation, and potential therapy. 370 14

Three children from unrelated families presented in early childhood with hypoglycemia and cardiorespiratory arrests associated with fasting. Significant hepatomegaly, cardiomegaly, and hypotonia were present at the time of initial presentation. Ketones were not present in the urine at the time of hypoglycemia in any patient; however, dicarboxylic aciduria was documented in one patient at the time of the acute episode and in two patients during fasting studies. Total plasma carnitine concentration was low with an increased esterified carnitine fraction. These findings suggested a defect in mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, and specific assays were performed for the acyl coenzyme A (CoA) dehydrogenases. These analyses showed that the activity of the long-chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase was less than 10% of control values in fibroblasts, leukocytes, and liver tissue. Activities of the medium-chain, short-chain, and isovaleryl CoA dehydrogenases were not different from control values. With cultured fibroblasts, CO2 evolution from long-chain fatty acids was significantly reduced, while CO2 evolution from medium-chain and short-chain fatty acids was comparable to control values--findings consistent with a defect early in the beta-oxidation sequence. Studies of acyl CoA dehydrogenase activities in fibroblasts and leukocytes from parents of the patients showed levels of long-chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase activity intermediate between affected and control values and indicated an autosomal recessive form of inheritance of this enzymatic defect.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Long-chain acyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency: an inherited cause of nonketotic hypoglycemia. 402 72

A newborn female, the second child of consanguineous parents, exhibited general muscle hypotonia, apathy, hepatomegaly and failure to thrive from birth and signs of craniofacial dysmorphia were present. Pipecolic and trihydroxicoprostanoic acid were excreted in the urine and serum transferrin, ferritin and iron were markedly elevated. At the age of 7 weeks the baby died of respiratory insufficiency. Besides malformations of the brain, renal cysts, liver damage with hypoplastic intrahepatic bile ducts and cholestasis, increased storage of iron and cytochemically proven deficiency of peroxisomes in liver and kidney, morphological studied provided evidence of a mitochondrial myopathy in striated muscle with the accumulation of enlarged bizarre mitochondria, showing only minor structural abnormalities. No defects of NADH-reductase, succinate-dehydrogenase or cytochrome-c-oxidase were demonstrated histochemically. Cytochemical-ultrastructural investigation of mitochondrial ATPase revealed activation of the ATP-synthesising enzyme even before the addition of an uncoupler, this indicating loosely coupled oxidative phosphorylation. In addition a high rate of subcellular autophagy with segregation of mitochondria and focal loss of fibrils was present. Muscle damage in Zellweger syndrome appears to be the consequence of complex, interacting metabolic processes. The mitochondrial myopathy thereby induced allows a better understanding of general muscle hypotonia, one of the leading symptoms of this disorder.
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PMID:Mitochondrial myopathy with loosely coupled oxidative phosphorylation in a case of Zellweger syndrome. A cytochemical-ultrastructural study. 614 41

Fatal infantile mitochondrial myopathy with lactic acidosis, morphologically abnormal mitochondria, deficient cytochromes aa3 and b, and a Fanconi-like aminoaciduria has been described. We report two infants, second cousins, with a similar fatal mitochondrial disorder, the cytochrome deficiency limited to skeletal muscle in one child and to liver in the other. The first child at 3 months of age had weight loss, hypotonia, external ophthalmoplegia, and a severe lactic acidosis with a high lactate/pyruvate ratio. Electron microscopy of muscle showed marked proliferation of enlarged mitochondria, many containing concentric rings of cristae. In skeletal muscle mitochondria, cytochromes aa3 and b were not detectable but cytochrome cc was found to be normal by spectroscopy. Cytochrome c oxidase activity was less than 1% of normal. Mitochondria from kidney, liver, heart, lung, and brain examined postmortem had normal cytochromes and preserved cytochrome c oxidase activity. The second cousin at 5 months of age had weight loss and hepatomegaly but no systemic lactic acidosis. Liver biopsy showed hepatocytes packed with enlarged mitochondria. The liver mitochondria showed deficient cytochromes aa3 and b postmortem, and cytochrome c oxidase activity was less than 10% of normal. Kidney mitochondria had normal cytochromes. Muscles was not studied. The mitochondrial abnormality in the two cousins presumably is related. Unexplained are the mode of genetic transmission or environmental exposure and the apparent involvement of a single different organ in each child.
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PMID:Mitochondrial cytochrome deficiency presenting as a myopathy with hypotonia, external ophthalmoplegia, and lactic acidosis in an infant and as fatal hepatopathy in a second cousin. 631 75


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