[Evaluation of serum total carnitine values in persons with severe motor and intellectual disabilities with enteral (tube) feeding].

OBJECTIVE: The nutritive evaluation and the serum carnitine values were measured for persons with severe motor and intellectual disabilities with enteral (tube) feeding. METHODS: In Shimada Rehabilitation Center, twenty one people who had serum albumin levels of 3.4 g/dl or less, and were taking nutrition with enteral (tube) feeding, were tested. Body weight, blood samples, and serum carnitine levels were measured. RESULTS: The total carnitine value was less than the standard value in 19 patients. The total carnitine value decreased in the group taking valporate sodium (VPA), compared to the values from the group non-taking VPA. CONCLUSIONS: From our evaluation, we think that daily carnitine supplements is essential for persons with sever motor and intellectual disabilities taking VPA to maintain carnitine levels in the blood, and regular urine test should be done for earlier detection secondary lack complications from the secondary lack of carnitine.

Congenital hypothyroidism in Peters plus syndrome.

Peters plus syndrome is a multiple malformation syndrome characterized by a combination of Peters anomaly of the eye and other extraocular defects, including short-limb dwarfism, a thin upper lip, hypoplastic columella, and a round face. Two unrelated children with the typical features of Peters plus syndrome and hypothyroidism have been previously reported in medical literature. Herein, we report a male patient who exhibited the Peters plus syndrome phenotype as well as hypothyroidism and provide further evidence that hypothyroidism may represent an under-recognized feature of Peters plus syndrome. The consanguinity of the parents in the present case supports, but does not confirm, the notion that a homozygous defect in a single autosomal recessive gene might be responsible for the normal morphogenesis of both the anterior chamber and the thyroid gland.