Mielinolisis extrapontina en una paciente embarazada, con hiperémesis e hiponatremia. Reporte de un caso / Extrapontine myelinolysis in a pregnant with hyperemesis and hyponatremia. A case report

Resumen: ANTECEDENTES: La mielinolisis extrapontina forma parte del síndrome de desmielinización osmótica que lesiona los oligodendrocitos y ocasiona la pérdida de mielina en regiones del sistema nervioso central diferentes al puente del tronco encefálico. Se origina por la corrección rápida de sodio en pacientes con hiponatremia y en mujeres embarazadas se asocia con hiperémesis gravídica. CASO CLÍNICO: Paciente indígena, de 32 años, enviada a un hospital universitario de alta complejidad en Bogotá, desde un territorio de la Amazonia colombiana, en el marco de un nuevo modelo de salud, con embarazo de 15 semanas, quien tuvo un episodio convulsivo, afasia y automatismo bucal, con antecedente de hiperémesis gravídica y otro episodio de hiperémesis con hiponatremia un mes antes. Inicialmente se sospechó eclampsia y neuroinfección; se implementó tratamiento para la corrección rápida del sodio y prescripción de anticonvulsivos. La resonancia magnética cerebral fue compatible con mielinolisis extrapontina. Luego de un mes regresó a su territorio de origen para rehabilitación. Tuvo parto domiciliario a las 38.3 semanas y acudió al hospital para el alumbramiento. CONCLUSIONES: La mielinolisis extrapontina debe considerarse en el diagnóstico diferencial entre embarazo con cuadro neurológico agudo y antecedente de hiperémesis e hiponatremia. Es importante integrar, sistemáticamente, hospitales universitarios o de alta complejidad en los territorios rurales para optimizar el diagnóstico y tratamiento de estas pacientes.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Extrapontine myelinolysis is part of the osmotic demyelination syndrome, being an acute non-inflammatory demyelinating disease caused by hyperosmotic stress that injures oligodendrocytes and causes myelin loss in regions of the central nervous system other than the pons of the brain stem. Primarily caused by a rapid sodium correction in patients with hyponatremia, in pregnant women its most frequent association is with hyperemesis gravidarum. CLINICAL CASE: A 32-year-old indigenous woman was referred to a university hospital of high complexity, in Bogotá, from a territory of the Colombian Amazon, within the framework of a new health care model, with a 15-week pregnancy, who had a convulsive episode, aphasia and oral automatism, and a recent history of hyperemesis gravidarum. Another history of hyperemesis and hyponatremia a month ago. Initially, eclampsia and neuroinfection were suspected, a rapid correction of sodium, anticonvulsant, remission and management in the intensive care unit was performed. MRI was compatible with extrapontin myelinolysis. After a month she returned to the territory of origin for rehabilitation. She had a home delivery at 38.3 weeks and went to the hospital for placental delivery. CONCLUSION: Extrapontin myelinolysis should be considered in the differential diagnosis between pregnancy with acute neurological symptoms conditions and a history of hyperemesis or hyponatremia. In case of a repeated history of acute hyponatremia in pregnant women with hyperemesis, chronicity should be considered. It is recommended to integrate university hospitals to rural territories to optimize the diagnosis and management of this type of cases.

Recombinant human N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase (GALNS) produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris.

Mucopolysaccharidosis IV A (MPS IV A, Morquio A disease) is a lysosomal storage disease (LSD) produced by mutations on N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase (GALNS). Recently an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for this disease was approved using a recombinant enzyme produced in CHO cells. Previously, we reported the production of an active GALNS enzyme in Escherichia coli that showed similar stability properties to that of a recombinant mammalian enzyme though it was not taken-up by culture cells. In this study, we showed the production of the human recombinant GALNS in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris GS115 (prGALNS). We observed that removal of native signal peptide and co-expression with human formylglycine-generating enzyme (SUMF1) allowed an improvement of 4.5-fold in the specific GALNS activity. prGALNS enzyme showed a high stability at 4 °C, while the activity was markedly reduced at 37 and 45 °C. It was noteworthy that prGALNS was taken-up by HEK293 cells and human skin fibroblasts in a dose-dependent manner through a process potentially mediated by an endocytic pathway, without any additional protein or host modification. The results show the potential of P. pastoris in the production of a human recombinant GALNS for the development of an ERT for Morquio A.

Enfermedad de Pompe: presentación de un caso / Pompe disease: a case report

Presentamos el caso de una niña de 6 meses de ascendencia china con enfermedad de Pompe diagnosticada a partir de una miocardopatia hipertrófica biventricular e hipotonía global. En esta enfermedad el acumulo de glucógeno lisosomal principalmente en el corazón y músculo esquelético ocasiona la mayoría de la sintomatología clínica. En este paciente la hipotonía generalizada, macroglosia, debilidad en el llanto y la confirmación ecocardiográfica de una miocardiopatía hipertrófica biventricular fueron el punto inicial para la sospecha clínica de la enfermedad que, junto a la elevación de encimas musculares y hepáticas, condujo al estudio de alfa-glucosidasa ácida (AGA) que confirmo el diagnóstico. Desde el 2006 existe terapia de reemplazo enzimático que permite mejorar la sobrevida y la calidad de vida si el diagnóstico se realiza precozmente.

Enfermedad de Pompe. Presentación de un caso / Pompe disease. A case report

Presentamos el caso de una niña de 6 meses de ascendencia china con enfermedad de Pompe diagnosticada a partir de una miocardopatia hipertrófica biventricular e hipotonía global. En esta enfermedad el acumulo de glucógeno lisosomal principalmente en el corazón y músculo esquelético ocasiona la mayoría de la sintomatología clínica. En este paciente la hipotonía generalizada, macroglosia, debilidad en el llanto y la confirmación ecocardiográfica de una miocardiopatía hipertrófica biventricular fueron el punto inicial para la sospecha clínica de la enfermedad que, junto a la elevación de encimas musculares y hepáticas, condujo al estudio de alfa-glucosidasa ácida (AGA) que confirmo el diagnóstico. Desde el 2006 existe terapia de reemplazo enzimático que permite mejorar la sobrevida y la calidad de vida si el diagnóstico se realiza precozmente

Cost-effectiveness of a folic acid fortification program in Chile.

OBJECTIVE: Periconceptional intake of folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs), a frequent birth defect that can cause significant infant mortality and disability. In Chile, fortification of wheat flour with folic acid has resulted in significant reduction in the risk of anencephaly and spina bifida. We investigated the cost-effectiveness implications of this policy. METHODS: We conducted an ex-post economic analysis of this intervention. Estimates of the effect of fortification in decreasing NTDs and deaths were derived from a prospective evaluation. The costs of fortification and provision of medical care to children with spina bifida in Chile were based on primary data collection. FINDINGS: The intervention costs per NTD case and infant death averted were I$ 1200 and 11,000, respectively. The cost per DALY averted was I$ 89, 0.8% of Chile's GDP per capita. Taking into account averted costs of care, fortification resulted in net cost savings of I$ 2.3 million. CONCLUSION: Fortification of wheat flour with folic acid is a cost-effective intervention in Chile, a middle income country in the post-epidemiological transition. This result supports the continuation of the Chile fortification program and constitutes valuable information for policy makers in other countries to consider.

[Prevalence of chromosomal aberrations at birth in the Clinical Hospital of Universidad de Chile, 1990-2001]. / Prevalencia al nacimiento de aberraciones cromosómicas en el Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile. Período 1990-2001.

BACKGROUND: A cytogenetical study should be performed to every newborn with malformations. If a chromosomal aberration is found, parents must be studied to give an adequate genetic advise. AIM: To study the frequency of chromosomal aberrations in newborns with malformations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile all malformations in newborns are registered, as part of the Collaborative Latin American Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC). The frequency of chromosomal aberrations, determined by cytogenetical studies, was determined in newborns with malformations. RESULTS: In the study period, there were 32,214 births. Of these, 2,268 live newborns and 43 stillbirths had malformations. Ninety nine children with malformations had chromosomal aberrations (4.3%). Trisomy 21 was the most common aberration with a rate of 23/10,000 births, followed by trisomy 18 with a rate of 4/10,000 and trisomy 18 with a rate of 1.2/10,000. Ninety four percent of these children were born alive and 16.1% died before discharge from the hospital. The masculinity indexes for Down syndrome and for trisomy 18 were 0.38 and 0.61 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A higher frequency of female gender for trisomy 21 and male gender for trisomy 18 has not been reported previously.

[Multiple FISH and multiple BAND: Application of cytogenetic and molecular techniques in 5 cases]. / Múltiple FISH y múltiple BAND: técnicas de citogenética molecular en cinco casos.

The techniques of multiple FISH (M-FISH) or fluorescence in situ hybridization with different color assignment for all and each of the human chromosomes, and multiple BAND (M-BAND) or hybridization with different color assignment for each chromosomal band, allow the identification of some alterations that would not be possible to distinguish with classical banding techniques, like the origin of the chromosomal material that constitutes a (non identifiable) marker chromosome or confirming the constitution of the multiple and simultaneous aberrations that occur in cancer cells. We communicate five complex cytogenetic cases that benefited by the employment of this diagnostic strategy, allowing to corroborate or reformulate a previous given conclusion.