Myelodysplasia and deficiency of uridine diphosphate-galactose 4-epimerase.

A 4-year-old girl known to have peripheral uridine diphosphate-galactose 4-epimerase deficiency was examined for bruising and thrombocytopenia. She had dysplastic peripheral blood and bone marrow changes, with a global platelet function defect. Uridine diphosphate-galactose-4-epimerase participates in a metabolic pathway that provides substrates for posttranslational glycosylation of secreted and membrane glycoproteins, including hematopoietic growth factors and their receptors; there may be a causal relationship between the two disorders.