Research progress in Menkes disease / 国际儿科学杂志

Menkes Disease (MD) is a multisystemic disorder of impaired copper metabolism with an X-linked recessive inheritance,which is caused by defects in ATP7A gene encoding a copper-transporting AT-Pase.It is characterized by infantile onset,peculiar curls and facial changes,mental retardation with progressive neurodegeneration,as well as hypotonia and connective tissue abnormalities.Many intermediate phenotypes have been found in recent years,the mildest form of which is occipital horn syndrome (OHS).Its clinical variants show a broad spectrum from chromosome abnormalities to single-nucleotide mutation.Early copper-histidine supplementation is still the most crucial treatment at present,and L-DOPS combination therapy may benefit some patients clinically.This article reviews the pathogenesis,clinical features and the progress of diagnosis and treatment of MD.

Urological Problems in Patients with Menkes Disease

BACKGROUND: Menkes disease (MD) is a rare X-linked hereditary multisystemic disorder that is caused by dysfunction of copper metabolism. Patients with MD typically present with progressive neurodegeneration, some connective tissue abnormalities, and characteristic “kinky” hair. In addition, various types of urological complications are frequent in MD because of underlying connective tissue abnormalities. In this study, we studied the clinical features and outcomes of MD, focusing on urological complications. METHODS: A total of 14 unrelated Korean pediatric patients (13 boys and 1 girl) with MD were recruited, and their phenotypes and genotypes were analyzed by retrospective review of their medical records. RESULTS: All the patients had early-onset neurological deficit, including developmental delay, seizures, and hypotonia. The girl patient showed normal serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels as well as milder symptoms. Mutational analysis of the ATP7A gene revealed 11 different mutations in 12 patients. Bladder diverticula was the most frequent urological complication: 8 (57.1%) in the 14 patients or 8 (72.7%) in the 11 patients who underwent urological evaluation. Urological imaging studies were performed essentially for the evaluation of accompanying urinary tract infections. Four patients had stage II chronic kidney disease at the last follow-up. CONCLUSION: Urologic problems occurred frequently in MD, with bladder diverticula being the most common. Therefore, urological imaging studies and appropriate management of urological complications, which may prevent or reduce the development of urinary tract infections and renal parenchymal damage, are required in all patients with MD.

Clinical Findings of Menkes Disease and the Treatment of Epilepsy / 대한소아신경학회지

Menkes disease (also known as kinky hair disease) is an X-linked recessive neurodegenerative disorder caused by diverse mutations in a copper-transport gene, ATP7A. Affected patients are characterized by kinky hair, hypotonia, and generalized myoclonic seizures. Here, we report a case of Menkes disease in which the patient presented with progressive hypotonia and intractable seizures. A 4-month-old male infant visited our pediatric clinic for focal seizures with blinking eyes. He was generally hypotonic and suffered from malnutrition. The focal seizures became more frequent, and the patient became intractable to anti-seizure medications. An electroencephalogram (EEG) indicated diffuse cerebral dysfunction with focal seizure, and a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed tortuous and ectatic intracranial arteries, as well as several ischemic lesions. A genetic analysis was performed, and a c.2473_2474del (p.Leu825fsX1) of the ATP7A gene was detected.

A Case of Menkes Disease First Manifested as Severe Vesicoureteral Reflux Caused by a Novel Mutation in ATP7A Gene / 대한소아신경학회지

Menkes disease is a rare, neurodegenerative, copper metabolism disorder characterized by mutations in ATP7A gene. Clinical symptoms include epilepsy, growth delay, reduced muscle strength, skin hyperextension, hair deformation and urologic abnormalities. However, since these clinical symptoms occur 2–3 months after birth, early diagnosis of Menkes disease is very difficult for clinicians. We report here the case of a patient who initially presented urinary tract infection followed by neurologic symptoms of Menkes disease; he was accurately diagnosed via ATP7A genetic analysis and found to harbor a novel mutation. Although neurological symptoms are the primary diagnostic feature of Menkes disease, clinicians should take into account urinary abnormalities as well, which may be an important clue to the early diagnosis of these patients.

Clinical and laboratory features and gene diagnosis of Menkes disease / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To explore the clinical and laboratory features,and gene diagnosis method of Menkes disease (MD).Methods The clinical and laboratory features and gene diagnosis method of 2 infants with MD were reviewed.Results (1) Clinical features:both infants mentioned in this article were male.Their clinical manifestations were both began at 3-4 months age,including peculiar kinky hair,pale skin,pudgy cheeks,inguinal hernia,vessel abnormality,epilepsy and mental retardation.(2) Laboratory features:the ceruloplasmin concentrations significantly reduced to be ＜ 20 mg/L and 47 mg/L,respectively.The magnetic resonance angiogram images of case 1 showed the abnormal tortuosity of his intracranial vessels.The magnetic resonance images of case 2 showed a rapid progress from normal to severe brain atrophy within half a year.(3) Gene diagnosis:the sequencing of ATP7A gene in case 1 showed a nonsense mutation of c.2110 C ＞ T.The pathogenicity of this mutation had not been reported previously at home and abroad.The sequencing of the gene panel without pathogenic mutation was detected in case 2.But the multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification test showed a gross deletion of ATP7A gene containing 8-12 exons.This mutation had been documented as a pathogenic mutation of MD.Both mothers of 2 patients were heterozygous mutation carriers of normal phenotype.Conclusions MD is a multisystemic disease caused by ATP7A gene mutation resulting in copper metabolism disorder.MD is inherited as an X-linked recessive trait.MD is characterized by kinky hair,connective tissue abnormalities and progressive neurodegeneration.Clinical diagnosis can be made on the basis of clinical features,findings of blood biochemical examination,and radiological findings.Gene sequencing and multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification test are the main technique widely used for genetic diagnosis.

A case of Menkes disease caused by novel mutation in the ATP7A gene with infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis / 대한소아신경학회지

Menkes disease is caused by mutations in the ATP7A gene that lead to intracellular copper transport defects and characterized by brownish twisted (kinky) hair accompanied by growth retardation and intellectual disability. Reduced nitric oxide (NO) production contributes to infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) because NO plays an important role in smooth muscle relaxation. Here we describe a case of Menkes disease and IHPS in a 72-day-old male patient with severe persistent vomiting and convulsions with a novel ATP7A mutation.

Identification of a Novel Mutation in the ATP7A Gene in a Korean Patient with Menkes Disease

Menkes disease is an infantile-onset X-linked recessive neurodegenerative disorder caused by diverse mutations in a copper-transport gene, ATP7A. Affected patients are characterized by progressive hypotonia, seizures, failure to thrive and death in early childhood. Here, we report a case of Menkes disease presented by intractable seizures and infantile spasms. A 3-month-old male infant had visited our pediatric clinic for lethargy, floppy muscle tone, poor oral intake and partial seizures. His hair was kinky, brown colored and fragile. Partial seizures became more frequent, generalized and intractable to antiseizure medications. An EEG showed frequent posteriorly dominant generalized spikes that were consistent with a generalized seizure. From a genetic analysis, a c.2743C>T (p.Gln915X) mutation was detected and diagnosed as Menkes disease. The mutation is a novel one that has not been previously reported as a cause of Menkes disease.

A case of Menkes disease with unusual hepatomegaly / 소아과

Menkes disease is an X-linked recessive copper transport disorder characterized by neurological deterioration, connective-tissue damage, and abnormal hair growth. It is caused by the mutation of the ATP7A gene. This report describes a four-month-old boy with neurological symptoms typical of Menkes disease plus unusual liver involvement. He developed seizures at three months of age and exhibited hypotonia, cephalhematoma, a sagging face, redundant and hypopigmented skin, and abnormal hair growth. In addition, he had unexplained hepatomegaly and high hepatic transaminase. We confirmed the diagnosis of Menkes disease by mutation analysis of the ATP7A gene. To exclude other possible causes for the hepatic abnormalities, a liver biopsy was performed, revealing intracytoplasmic cholestasis, focal spotty necrosis, and minimal lobular activity. The patient's liver involvement may be an underestimated complication of Menkes disease.

A Case of Menkes disease with Infantile Spasm / 대한소아신경학회지

Menkes disease, so called kinky-hair syndrome, is a rare, genetic and progressive neurodegenerative disorder. It is caused by a mutation in the ATP7A gene, which codes for the copper transporting ATPase in the cell organelles. The dysfunction of many copper-dependent enzymes results in low concentration of copper in some tissues and accumulation of copper in others. We report a boy presented with kinky hairs, developmental delay, hypotonia and connective tissue abnormalities at the age of 4 months. Despite the treatment with various antiepileptic drugs, atonic seizures still persisted. At the age of 7 months, his atonic seizures was changed into extensor spasms with modified hypsarrhythmia for some years. The seizure were controlled by topiramate and vigabatrin. At the age of 22 months, serum copper and ceruloplasmin rechecked as 17 ug/dL(80-150 ug/dL) and 7.3 mg/dL(20-46 mg/ dL) respectively. The gene study showed ATP7A mutation and the patient was diagnosed as Menkes disease so that copper-histidine was daily injected. We experienced a case of a 4-month-old boy with Menkes disease and infantile spasm, confirmed by ATP7A mutation.

3-year Follow-up of a Menkes Disease Patient / 대한소아신경학회지

Menkes disease is a rare fatal X-linked recessive disorder characterized by a generalized defect in intracelluar copper transport. The clinical features which arise from copper deficiency include progressive neurologic deterioration, epilepsy, hair and connective tissue abnormalities. Menkes disease is caused by mutations in the gene encoding the Menkes protein(ATP7A, copper transporting P-type ATPase), which is located on the long arm 13 of the X-chromosome. ATP7A mutations are found in 60 to 70% of the patients. We have experienced a case of Menkes disease in a 6-month-old male who showed developmental delay, myoclonic seizures and kinky hair. The serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels were low and the missense mutation(c.3352G>A, resulting in p.G1118S) in exon 17 of ATP7A gene was found. During 3-year follow-up, he regressed developmentally and showed brain atrophy, multiple bladder deverticula, and bony deformities.

Clinical and Gene Diagnosis on Menkes Disease in Two Families / 实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To detect the mutation of ATP7A gene in 2 families with Menkes disease.Met-hods Genomic DNA of 6 members from 2 families were extracted with salt fractionation.The encoding exons and 2 sides flanking intron of ATP7A gene were amplified from genomic DNA of the probands and their parents by PCR and directly sequence.Light microscope was used to test the hair of probands and normal healthy children.Results Proband 1 had a deletion mutation of c.3 045del T in exon 14 of ATP7A gene and resulted in a stop codon just several nucleotides behind the deletion site.His mother was a heterozygote of the mutation and had normal phenotype.Proband 2 had a nonsense mutation of c.2 956 in exon 14 of ATP7A gene and resulted in a stop of amino acid synthesis.His mother was not a heterozygote of the mutation.Genetype and phenotype in fathers of the 2 probands were normal.Hair of the probands in light microscope were tenuity,midheaven,the color of hair also turned to light.Conclusions The c.3 045del T mutation of ATP7A gene cause the phenotype of Menkes disease in proband 1.His mother is a heterozygote of the disease without symptoms and he is of familial inheritance.The c.2 956 nonsense mutation of ATP7A gene cause the phenotype of Menkes disease in proband 2.His mother is not a heterozygote of the disease and he is not of familial inheritance.