Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019214 (hepatosplenomegaly)
 4,408 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Congenital hepatic fibrosis (CHF) is probably the most common cause of non-icteric hepatosplenomegaly and is encountered mainly in children and young adults. We describe here two brothers from healthy, non-consanguineous parents. The patients showed early hepatosplenomegaly, portal hypertension, and no apparent kidney involvement. Clinical and laboratory findings were similar in both patients. Liver biopsies showed the presence of broad septa of fibrous tissue containing abundant bile ducts, portal tracts enlarged by fibrosis, and preserved lobular architecture. The histological findings were suggestive of CHF. Ophthalmological assessment demonstrated visual impairment with mild exotropia, nystagmus, and oculomotor apraxia. Neurological examination showed moderate mental retardation and cerebellar ataxia. Brain MRI confirmed cerebellar malformation with inferior vermis hypoplasia. This pattern of defects is consistent with COACH syndrome (Cerebellar vermis hypoplasia, Oligophrenia, congenital Ataxia, Coloboma, Hepatic fibrocirrhosis) which has previously been reported in five other cases. Our report may contribute to a better delineation of the COACH syndrome phenotype in the spectrum of oculo-encephalohepato-renal disorders.
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PMID:COACH syndrome: report of two brothers with congenital hepatic fibrosis, cerebellar vermis hypoplasia, oligophrenia, ataxia, and mental retardation. 886 32

Niemann-Pick type C (NP-C) disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the inappropriate accumulation of unesterified cholesterol in lysosomes [1]. NP-C patients show various defects including hepatosplenomegaly, ataxia, dystonia and dementia. Most cases of NP-C are associated with inactivating mutations of the NPC1 gene [2], which encodes a protein implicated in the retrograde transport of sterols and other cargo from lysosomes [3]. Furthermore, localization of the NPC1 protein to lysosomal/endosomal compartments is essential for proper transport [4]. To create a model of NP-C disease in a simple, genetically tractable organism, we generated deletion mutations in two Caenorhabditis elegans homologs of the human NPC1 gene, designated npc-1 and npc-2. Animals mutant for npc-1 developed slowly, laid eggs prematurely, and were hypersensitive to cholesterol deprivation. Furthermore, npc-1; npc-2 double-mutant animals inappropriately formed dauer larvae under favorable growth conditions. These phenotypes in C. elegans provide a model system for both genetic and chemical suppressor screening that could identify promising drug targets and leads for NP-C disease.
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PMID:A model for niemann-pick type C disease in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. 1080 41

Juvenile parkinsonism (JP) is a clinically and etiologically heterogeneous entity. Unlike in the adult form, secondary causes, hereditary and metabolic conditions, are the predominant causes of JP. Idiopathic Parkinson's disease is very rare in this age group. In most cases of JP, parkinsonism is accompanied by other neurologic features, such as dystonia, cognitive impairment, seizures, oculomotor and visual dysfunction, and ataxia. Systemic findings, such as liver dysfunction or hepatosplenomegaly, may be present depending on the cause. This review article describes the clinical characteristics, classification, genetic basis, pathophysiology, biochemistry, pathology, and treatment of JP.
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PMID:Juvenile parkinsonism. 1278 49

Lysosomal sialidase (EC 3.2.1.18) has a dual physiological function; it participates in intralysosomal catabolism of sialylated glycoconjugates and is involved in cellular immune response. Mutations in the sialidase gene NEU1, located on chromosome 6p21.3, result in autosomal recessive disorder, sialidosis, which is characterized by the progressive lysosomal storage of sialylated glycopeptides and oligosaccharides. Sialidosis type I is a milder, late-onset, normosomatic form of the disorder. Type I patients develop visual defects, myoclonus syndrome, cherry-red macular spots, ataxia, hyperreflexia, and seizures. The severe early-onset form, sialidosis type II, is also associated with dysostosis multiplex, Hurler-like phenotype, mental retardation, and hepatosplenomegaly. We summarize information on the 34 unique mutations determined so far in the sialidase gene, including four novel missense and one novel nonsense mutations found in two Czech and two French sialidosis patients. The analysis of sialidase mutations in sialidosis revealed considerable molecular heterogeneity, reflecting the diversity of clinical phenotypes that make molecular diagnosis difficult. The majority of sialidosis patients have had missense mutations, many of which have been expressed; their effects on activity, stability, intracellular localization, and supramolecular organization of sialidase were studied. A structural model of sialidase allowed us to localize mutations in the sialidase molecule and to predict their impact on the tertiary structure and biochemical properties of the enzyme.
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PMID:Molecular pathology of NEU1 gene in sialidosis. 1451 45

Leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter, also called "childhood ataxia with central nervous system hypomyelination," is the first human disease related to mutations in any of the five genes encoding subunits of eukaryotic initiation factor eIF2B or any translation factor at all. eIF2B is essential in all cells of the body for protein synthesis and the regulation of this protein synthesis under different stress conditions. It is surprising that mutations in the eIF2B genes have been reported to lead to abnormalities of the white matter of the brain only, although it has been shown recently that ovarian failure may accompany the leukoencephalopathy. Another surprising observation is that the onset of the disease varies from early childhood to adulthood, with the exception of Cree leukoencephalopathy, a disease related to a particular mutation in one of the eIF2B genes, which invariably has its onset within the first year of life. We analyzed the eIF2B genes of nine patients with an antenatal- or early-infantile-onset encephalopathy and an early demise and found mutations in eight of the patients. In addition to signs of a serious encephalopathy, we found oligohydramnios, intrauterine growth retardation, cataracts, pancreatitis, hepatosplenomegaly, hypoplasia of the kidneys, and ovarian dysgenesis. Until now, no evidence had been found for a genotype-phenotype correlation, but the consistently severe phenotype in affected siblings among our patients and in Cree encephalopathy patients suggests an influence of the genotype on the phenotype.
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PMID:eIF2B-related disorders: antenatal onset and involvement of multiple organs. 1456 5

Niemann-Pick type C disease is an autosomal-recessive, inherited neurovisceral lipid storage disorder. This disease results from either protein NPC1 or HE1 deficiency, which leads to cholesterol metabolism disturbance and is characterized by early hepatosplenomegaly and progressive ataxia, dystonia, cataplexy, dysarthria, and dementia. We describe a 3 1/2-year-old patient with Niemann-Pick type C disease, who presented with regression in both cognitive and motor domains. Almost 10 months before admission to the hospital, the child developed progressive speech and behavioral changes, as well as gait disturbances with frequent falls. The examination demonstrated hepatosplenomegaly, ataxia, and vertical gaze palsy. Nerve conduction velocities demonstrated mild demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. Bone marrow examination revealed foam cells, and cholesterol esterification studies found massive accumulation of unesterified cholesterol and very low intracellular esterification of exogenous lipoprotein-derived cholesterol. These results indicate Niemann-Pick type C disease. Peripheral neuropathy is a rare complication in patients with Niemann-Pick type C disease, which certainly contributes to their neurologic deterioration.
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PMID:Niemann-Pick type C disease associated with peripheral neuropathy. 1462 10

The case report describes a young boy with renal, retinal, hepatic and cerebellar involvement in a rare syndrome. He had polyuria, deranged renal functions and cystic lesions in kidneys, which led to the diagnosis of nephronophthisis (NPH). Extra-renal involvement with night blindness, truncal ataxia, mental retardation and hepatosplenomegaly. Thus, every patient with NPH should be carefully examined for extra-renal involvement.
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PMID:Nephronophthisis: a variant. 1592 46

Mevalonic aciduria (MVA) and hyperimmunoglobulinemia D syndrome (HIDS) represent the two ends of a clinical spectrum of disease caused by deficiency of mevalonate kinase (MVK), the first committed enzyme of cholesterol biosynthesis. At least 30 patients with MVA and 180 patients with HIDS have been reported worldwide. MVA is characterized by psychomotor retardation, failure to thrive, progressive cerebellar ataxia, dysmorphic features, progressive visual impairment and recurrent febrile crises. The febrile episodes are commonly accompanied by hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, abdominal symptoms, arthralgia and skin rashes. Life expectancy is often compromised. In HIDS, only febrile attacks are present, but a subgroup of patients may also develop neurological abnormalities of varying degree such as mental retardation, ataxia, ocular symptoms and epilepsy. A reduced activity of MVK and pathogenic mutations in the MVK gene have been demonstrated as the common genetic basis in both disorders. In MVA, the diagnosis is established by detection of highly elevated levels of mevalonic acid excreted in urine. Increased levels of immunoglobulin D (IgD) and, in most patients of immunoglobulin A (IgA), in combination with enhanced excretion of mevalonic acid provide strong evidence for HIDS. The diagnosis is confirmed by low activity of mevalonate kinase or by demonstration of disease-causing mutations. Genetic counseling should be offered to families at risk. There is no established successful treatment for MVA. Simvastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, and anakinra have been shown to have beneficial effect in HIDS.
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PMID:Mevalonate kinase deficiencies: from mevalonic aciduria to hyperimmunoglobulinemia D syndrome. 1672 36

A neuronal storage disease affecting 5 captive Humboldt penguins is described. One bird died after 3 days of lethargy and anorexia. The 4 remaining birds died after a slowly progressing course of disease with signs that included lethargy, weakness, and neurologic dysfunction. Neurologic signs included dysphagia and ataxia. Gross lesions in the first animal to die consisted of hepatosplenomegaly indicative of avian malaria, which was confirmed histologically. The 4 remaining animals were mildly to moderately emaciated. Moderate to marked vacuolation of the neuronal perikarya was observed in Purkinje cells, neurons of the brainstem nuclei, and motorneurons of the spinal cord in all birds. By electron microscopy the vacuoles represented multilayered concentric lamellar structures. These findings were indicative of sphingolipidosis. All animals had been prophylactically treated for avian malaria, aspergillosis, and possible bacterial infections with chloroquine, itraconazole, and enrofloxacin. Circumstantial evidence implicates chloroquine therapy as the possible cause of the storage disease.
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PMID:Neuronal storage disease in a group of captive Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti). 1709 67

Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1) disease is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized clinically by neonatal jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, vertical gaze palsy, ataxia, dystonia, and progressive neurodegeneration. The present study provides basic clinical and health information from the National Niemann-Pick C1 disease database that was obtained using a clinical questionnaire of 83 questions mailed to families affected by NPC1 disease living in the United States. The study was conducted over a 1-year period, during which time parents/caregivers and physicians completed the clinical questionnaire. Sixty-four percent (87/136) of the questionnaires were returned, with 53% and 47% representing male and female NPC1 patients, respectively. The average age of diagnosis for NPC1 disease was 10.4 years, with one-half of patients being diagnosed before the age of 6.9 years. The average age of death for NPC1 disease was 16.2 years, with one-half of patients dying before the age of 12.5 years. A common clinical symptom reported at birth was neonatal jaundice (52%), followed by enlargement of the spleen (36%) and liver (31%); ascites (19%) and neonatal hypotonia (6%) were much less frequent. With respect to developmental difficulties, the most common findings included clumsiness (87%), learning difficulties (87%), ataxia (83%), dysphagia (80%), and vertical gaze palsy (81%). Together, these findings confirm and extend previous reports investigating the clinical features associated with NPC1 disease.
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PMID:The National Niemann-Pick C1 disease database: report of clinical features and health problems. 1749 24


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