Prospective study of 11 Brazilian patients with mucopolysaccharidosis II.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the progression of mucopolysaccharidosis II in 11 Brazilian patients over a 12-month period. METHODS: Eleven Brazilian patients with mucopolysaccharidosis II were prospectively studied at the Division of Medical Genetics of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. The initial assessment and the assessment at 12 months included: anamnesis, physical examination, abdominal nuclear magnetic resonance, echocardiogram, 6-minute walk test, audiometry, serum biochemical tests and urinary glycosaminoglycan concentration. RESULTS: The major findings after comparing the assessments were: 1) two patients had growth retardation; 2) two patients showed negative weight change; 3) one patient went from obese to overweight; 4) three patients revealed left ventricle hypertrophy; of these, two increased the number of cardiac valve lesions; 5) there was no statistically significant difference between the mean distances obtained on the 6-minute walk test; 6) there was splenic enlargement; 7) there was an increase in gamma-glutamyltransferase levels; 8) the urinary concentration of glycosaminoglycans remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: In general, echocardiographic findings were the only variable with deterioration and possible immediate clinical consequences. Although a 12-month period is too short to detect changes in most variables related to mucopolysaccharidosis II, its progressive nature should be taken into account when evaluating the efficiency of treatment protocols.

Prospective study of 11 Brazilian patients with mucopolysaccharidosis II

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a progressão da mucopolissacaridose II, durante um período de 12 meses, em 11 pacientes brasileiros. MÉTODOS: Onze pacientes brasileiros com mucopolissacaridose II foram avaliados prospectivamente no Serviço de Genética Médica do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. As avaliações realizadas na visita inicial e na de 12 meses foram: anamnese, exame físico, ressonância nuclear magnética abdominal, ecocardiograma, teste da caminhada em 6 minutos, audiometria, exames bioquímicos séricos e dosagem uriná- ria de glicosaminoglicanos. RESULTADOS: Os principais achados relativos à comparação entre as duas visitas foram: 1) dois pacientes apresentaram retardo de crescimento; 2) dois pacientes apresentaram variação negativa em relação ao peso; 3) um paciente apresentou variação de obesidade para sobrepeso; 4) três pacientes desenvolveram alargamento do ventrículo esquerdo; destes, dois aumentaram o número de lesões nas valvas cardíacas; 5) não foi encontrada diferença estatística significativa entre a média das distâncias percorridas no teste da caminhada em 6 minutos; 6) houve aumento do volume esplênico; 7) ocorreu aumento dos níveis de gamaglutamiltransferase; 8) não houve alteração dos níveis urinários de glicosaminoglicanos. CONCLUSÕES: De uma maneira geral, a única variável que apresentou, no período estudado, piora com potencial repercussão clínica imediata foram os achados ecocardiográficos. Embora o período de 12 meses seja curto para medir alterações na maioria dos parâmetros comprometidos na mucopolissacaridose II, sua natureza progressiva deve ser levada em conta na avaliação da eficácia dos protocolos de tratamento para essa condição.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the progression of mucopolysaccharidosis II in 11 Brazilian patients over a 12-month period. METHODS: Eleven Brazilian patients with mucopolysaccharidosis II were prospectively studied at the Division of Medical Genetics of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. The initial assessment and the assessment at 12 months included: anamnesis, physical examination, abdominal nuclear magnetic resonance, echocardiogram, 6-minute walk test, audiometry, serum biochemical tests and urinary glycosaminoglycan concentration. RESULTS: The major findings after comparing the assessments were: 1) two patients had growth retardation; 2) two patients showed negative weight change; 3) one patient went from obese to overweight; 4) three patients revealed left ventricle hypertrophy; of these, two increased the number of cardiac valve lesions; 5) there was no statistically significant difference between the mean distances obtained on the 6-minute walk test; 6) there was splenic enlargement; 7) there was an increase in gamma-glutamyltransferase levels; 8) the urinary concentration of glycosaminoglycans remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: In general, echocardiographic findings were the only variable with deterioration and possible immediate clinical consequences. Although a 12-month period is too short to detect changes in most variables related to mucopolysaccharidosis II, its progressive nature should be taken into account when evaluating the efficiency of treatment protocols.

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy: clinical and laboratory findings in 15 Brazilian patients

Adrenoleucodistrofia (X-ALD) é uma desordem peroxissomal com padräo de herança ligada ao X, fenotipicamente heterogênea, caracterizada por uma progressiva desmielinizaçäo da substância branca do sistema nervoso central e por insuficiênca adrenal. Foram investigados por nós 15 pacientes do sexo masculino com sinais clínicos sugestivos de X-ALD, com idade entre 7 e 39 anos, diagnosticados entre 108 pacientes encaminhados para investigaçäo por suspeita clínica. Os níveis plasmáticos dos ácidos graxos de cadeia muito longa (VLCFA) foram dosados em nosso laboratório através de cromatografia gasosa (GC). Onze (73 por cento) casos de forma infantil de X-ALD (ALD) e 4 (27 por cento) casos de adrenomieloneuropatia (AMN) foram diagnosticados. Insuficiência leucodistrofia adrenal e fraqueza muscular foram os sinais mais freqüentes, aparecendo em 80, 53 e 40 por cento dos casos, respectivamente. O conhecimento dos médicos sobre a possibilidade da X-ALD parece ser pequeno, o que pode ser concluído a partir da elevada idade no diagnóstico e do grande intervalo entre o início dos sintomas e o diagnóstico. Neste trabalho, que relata a primeira série brasileira de pacientes com X-ALD, procuramos enfatizar os sinais e sintomas que säo relevantes para a suspeita diagnóstica, uma vez que a identificaçäo precoce dos casos parece ser importante para o sucesso do tratamento. Além disso, o diagnóstico permite a identificaçäo de portadores, os quais podem se beneficiar do aconselhamento genético e do diagnóstico pré-natal.

Clinical and molecular studies in five Brazilian cases of Friedreich ataxia

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA), the most commom autosomal recessive ataxia, is caused in 94 per cent of cases by homozygous expansions of an unstable GAA repeat localised in intron 1 of the X25 gene. We have investigated this mutation in five Brazilian patients: four with typical FRDA findings and one patient with atypical manifestations, who was considered to have some other form of cerebellar ataxia with retained reflexes. The GAA expansion was detected in all these patients. The confirmation of FRDA diagnosis in the atypical case may be pointing out, as in other reports, that clinical spectrum of Friedreich's ataxia is broader than previously recognised and includes cases with intact tendon reflexes.