Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Childhood cerebral X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease typically presenting from age 4 to 8 years in males. We report 2 cases of X-ALD in boys. The diagnosis of Addison's disease was made before the development of neurological symptoms in both cases. The first patient had hyperpigmentation of the lips and an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level higher than 1250 pg/mL when he was 7 years 3 months old. The initial diagnosis was Addison's disease, but X-ALD was diagnosed at age 8 years 8 months, when his motor and mental function deteriorated. The second boy had hypoglycemia, skin pigmentation, and an ACTH level of 1086 pg/mL when he was 4 years 6 months old, but the diagnosis was changed from Addison's disease to X-ALD owing to deterioration in speech at age 7 years. Since both bone marrow transplantation and Lorenzo's oil are beneficial only at the early stage of disease and idiopathic Addison's disease is very rare in children, it is important to test for very-long-chain fatty acids in boys suspected of having Addison's disease.
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PMID:Adrenoleukodystrophy initially diagnosed as idiopathic Addison's disease in two patients: the importance of early testing. 1451 92

Defects of adrenoleukodystrophy protein (ALDP) lead to X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), a disorder mainly affecting the nervous system white matter and the adrenal cortex. In the present study, we examine the expression of ALDP in various human tissues and cell lines by multiple-tissue RNA expression array analysis, Western blot analysis, and immunohistochemistry. ALDP-encoding mRNA is most abundant in tissues with high energy requirements such as heart, muscle, liver, and the renal and endocrine systems. ALDP selectively occurs in specific cell types of brain (hypothalamus and basal nucleus of Meynert), kidney (distal tubules), skin (eccrine gland, hair follicles, and fibroblasts), colon (ganglion cells and epithelium), adrenal gland (zona reticularis and fasciculata), and testis (Sertoli and Leydig cells). In pituitary gland, ALDP is confined to adrenocorticotropin-producing cells and is significantly reduced in individuals receiving long term cortisol treatment. This might indicate a functional link between ALDP and proopiomelanocortin-derived peptide hormones.
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PMID:Distribution and cellular localization of adrenoleukodystrophy protein in human tissues: implications for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy. 1776 26

We report the case of a young man with a history of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and mild cognitive impairment who presented with chronic fatigue, anorexia and progressive darkening of the skin. On laboratory testing, severely depressed concentrations of morning cortisol, along with highly elevated values of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) revealed primary adrenal insufficiency as the primary cause of the patient's symptomatology. Imaging of the brain showed altered signal intensities in the parieto-occipital regions of the brain. The demonstration of increased very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) established the diagnosis of adolescent X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). Presenting at an advanced yet slowly progressive stage the patient was not a suitable candidate for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and treatment focused on hormone replacement therapy, family counselling and supportive care. On follow-up visits within the following year, fatigue had diminished and there was no evidence of progressive neurological deficits. However, exacerbation of the psychiatric symptomatology resulted in admittance to a psychiatric ward.
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PMID:X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy presenting as Addison's disease. 2275

Childhood cerebral X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (XALD) typically manifests with symptoms of adrenocortical insufficiency and a variety of neurocognitive and behavioral abnormalities. A major diagnostic clue is the characteristic neuroinflammatory parieto-occipital white matter lesions on magnetic resonance imaging. This study reports a 5-year 10-month old boy presenting with generalized skin hyperpigmentation since 3 years of age. Over the past 9 months, he had developed right-sided hemiparesis and speech and behavioral abnormalities, which had progressed over 5 months to bilateral hemiparesis. Retrospective analyses of serial brain magnetic resonance images revealed an unusual pattern of lesions involving the internal capsules, corticospinal tracts in the midbrain and brainstem, and cerebellar white matter. The clinical diagnosis of childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy was confirmed by elevated basal levels of adrenocorticotropin hormone and plasma very long chain fatty acid levels. Additionally, sequencing of the ABCD1 gene revealed a novel mutation. The only specific palliative therapy that could be offered after diagnosis was dietary intervention. The patient died within 16 months of onset of neurological symptoms. Awareness that childhood cerebral XALD can present with atypical neuroimaging patterns early in its course may aid diagnosis at a stage when definitive treatment can be attempted and timely genetic counseling be offered to the family.
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PMID:Childhood cerebral X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy with atypical neuroimaging abnormalities and a novel mutation. 2938 16