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Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C) is a neurovisceral lipid storage disorder. At the cellular level, the disorder is characterized by accumulation of unesterified cholesterol and glycolipids in the lysosomal/late endosomal system. NP-C is transmitted in an autosomal recessive manner and is caused by mutations in either the NPC1 (95% of families) or NPC2 gene. The estimated disease incidence is 1 in 120,000 live births, but this likely represents an underestimate, as the disease may be under-diagnosed due to its highly heterogeneous presentation. Variants of adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 and ATPase subunit 8 (ATPase6/8) in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been reported in different types of genetic diseases including NP-C. In the present study, the blood samples of 22 Iranian patients with NP-C and 150 healthy subjects as a control group were analyzed. The DNA of the blood samples was extracted by the salting out method and analyzed for ATPase6/8 mutations using polymerase chain reaction sequencing. Sequence variations in mitochondrial genome samples were determined via the Mitomap database. Analysis of sequencing data confirmed the existence of 11 different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in patients with NP-C1. One of the most prevalent polymorphisms was the A8860G variant, which was observed in both affected and non-affected groups and determined to have no significant association with NP-C incidence. Amongst the 11 polymorphisms, only one was identified in the ATPase8 gene, while 9 including A8860G were observed in the ATPase6 gene. Furthermore, two SNPs, G8292A and C8792A, located in the non-coding region of mtDNA and the ATPase6 gene, respectively, exhibited significantly higher prevalence rates in NP-C1 patients compared with the control group (P<0.01). The present study suggests that there may be an association between mitochondrial ATPase6/8 mutations and the incidence of NP-C disease. In addition, the mitochondrial SNPs identified maybe pathogenic mutations involved in the development and prevalence of NP-C. Furthermore, these results suggest a higher occurrence of mutations in ATPase6 than in ATPase8 in NP-C patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Anticonvulsant drugs can cause various forms of skin drug reactions, ranging from exanthema to severe blistering reactions. An association between HLA-B*1502 allele and severe skin reactions have been reported. MATERIALS & METHODS: Fifteen patients with severe skin reactions following treatment with anticonvulsant drugs (Carbamazepine, lamotrigine, phenobarbital, primidone) and 15 controls (age-matched epileptic patients taking similar anticonvulsants without drug eruption) were included. They were referred to Mofid Children's Hospital in Tehran, Iran, between Jan 2012 to Jan 2014. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of all patients and HLA- B*1502 genotype was detected by real-time PCR. RESULTS: None of the patients was positive for HLA- B*1502, but two patients in control group had positive HLA- B*1502. CONCLUSION: The HLA- B*1502 is not correlated with severe anticonvulsant drugs -induced skin reactions in Iranian children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DRESS syndrome (Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms) is a potentially life-threatening syndrome, which reflects a serious hypersensitivity reaction to drugs, presenting by generalized skin rash, fever, eosinophilia, atypical lymphocytosis, and internal organ involvement. Herein a 21-month old male infant with DRESS and Encephalopathy syndrome is presented who complicated after phenobarbital usage that persisted due to phenytoin cream usage. The case received phenobarbital after a seizure disorder presented as "status epilepticus". He developed drug eruption, fever, hepatosplenomegaly, increased liver enzymes, encephalopathy and progressive loss of consciousness with extensive hyperintense white matter lesions in brain MRI. After discontinuation of phenobarbital and phenytoin, all symptoms were resolved, while brain MRI became normal after two months. To our best knowledge, this is the first reported case that developed leukoencephalopathy along with DRESS syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective GM2-Gangliosidosis disease is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder that includes two disorders (Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff disease).These disorders cause a progressive deterioration of nerve cells and inherited deficiency in creating hexosaminidases A, B, and AB. Materials & Methods Patients who were diagnosed withGM2-Gangliosidosis in the Neurology Department of Mofid Children's Hospital in Tehran, Iran from October2009to February 2014were included in our study. The disorder was confirmed by neurometabolic and enzyme level detection of hexosaminidases A, B, and AB in reference to Wagnester Laboratory in Germany. We assessed age, gender, past medical history, developmental status, clinical manifestations, and neuroimaging findings of 9 patients with Sandhoff disease and 9 with Tay Sachs disease. Results 83% of our patients were the offspring of consanguineous marriages. All of them had a developmental disorder as a chief complaint. 38%of patients had a history of developmental delay or regression and 22% had seizures. The patients with Sandhoff and Tay Sachs disease were followed for approximately 5 years and the follow-up showed all patients were bedridden or had expired due to refractory seizures, pneumonia aspiration, or swallowing disorders. Neuro-imaging findings included bilateral thalamic involvement, brain atrophy, and hypo myelination in near half of our patients (48%). Conclusion According to the results of this study, we suggest that cherry-red spots, hyperacusis, refractory seizures, and relative parents in children with developmental delay and/or regression should be considered for assessment of GM2-Gangliosidosis disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Muscle biopsy is a very important diagnostic test in the investigation of a child with suspected neuromuscular disorder. The goal of this study was to review and evaluate pediatric muscle biopsies during a 2-year period with focus on histopathology diagnosis and correlations with other paraclinic studies. Materials & Methods: We investigated 100 muscle biopsies belonging to patients with clinical impression of neuromuscular disorder. These patients have been visited consecutively by pediatric neurologists during 2010 to 2012. Samples were investigated by standard enzyme histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. Result: Sixty-nine (69%) males and 39 (39%) females with a mean age of 5.7 years were evaluated. Major pathologic diagnoses were Muscular dystrophy (48 cases), Neurogenic atrophy (18 cases), nonspecific myopathic atrophy (12cases), congenital myopathy (6 cases), storage myopathies (4 cases) and in 6 cases there was no specific histochemical pathologic finding. EMG was abnormal in 79 cases. Degree of correlation between EMG and biopsy result was significant in children ≥ 2 years of age. Conclusion: This study confirms the high diagnostic yields of muscle biopsy especially only if standard and new techniques such as enzyme study andimmunohistochemistry are implemented. Also, we report 11 cases of Merosin negative congenital muscular dystrophy. This is the largest documented case series of Merosin deficient congenital muscular dystrophy reported from Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report describes a case of megalencephaly-polymicrogyria-polydactyly-hydrocephalus syndrome in a 1-year-old boy, born to healthy nonconsanguineous parents. Megalencephaly and bilateral postaxial polydactyly of upper and lower limbs were noted at birth. He had profound developmental delay and moderate hypotonia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed hydrocephalus, polymicrogyria in both frontal lobes and perisylvian regions, and thin corpus callosum. Array-comparative genomic hybridization was normal. The patient’s clinical and radiologic findings fit the classic description of megalencephaly-polymicrogyria-polydactyly-hydrocephalus syndrome. The possible overlap between megalencephaly-polymicrogyria-polydactyly-hydrocephalus syndrome and other similar conditions is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This research was designed to identify the validity and reliability of the Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire 2 (PDQ-II) in Tehran in comparison with the Denver Developmental Screening Test-II (DDST-II). Methods: After translation and back translation, the final Persian version of test was verified by three pediatricians and also by reviewing relevant literature for content validity. The test was performed on 237 children ranging from 0 to 6 years old, recruited by convenient sampling, from four health care clinics in Tehran city. They were also evaluated by DDST II simultaneously. Interrater methods and Cronbach's α were used to determine reliability of the test. The Kappa agreement coefficient between PDQ and DDST II was determined. The data was analyzed by SPSS software. Findings: All of the questions in PDQ had satisfactory content validity. The total Cronbach's α coefficient of 0-9 months, 9-24 months, 2-4 years and 4-6 years questionnaires were 0.951, 0.926, 0.950 and 0.876, respectively. The Kappa measure of agreement for interrater tests was 0.89. The estimated agreement coefficient between PDQ and DDST II was 0.383. Based on two different categorizing possibilities for questionable scores, that is, "Delayed" or "Normal", sensitivity and specificity of PDQ was determined to be 35.7-63% and 75.8-92.2%, respectively. Conclusion: PDQ has a good content validity and reliability and moderate sensitivity and specificity in comparison with the DDST-II, but by considering their relatively weak agreement coefficient, using it along with DDST-II for a two-stage developmental screening process, remains doubtful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is an autosomal recessive multisystem disorder characterized by variable immunodeficiency, progressive neurodegeneration, occulocutaneous telangiectasia, and an increased susceptibility to malignancies. This study was designed to study the role of proapoptotic BAK, BAX, and NBK/BIK genes in a group of patients with AT to elucidate the possible role of these genes in progression of malignancies in this disease. Fifty Iranian patients with AT were investigated in this study. The entire coding regions of the BAK gene (exons 2–6), NBK/ BIK gene (exons 2–5), and BAX gene (exons 1–7) were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were separated by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis, and all positive samples were verified by direct sequencing of PCR products using the same primers used for PCR amplification, BigDye chemistry, and Avent 3100 Genetic Analyzer following the manufacturer’s instructions (Applied Biosystems). Eight of fifty Iranian AT patients (16%) exhibited a C > T transition in exon 2 (c342C > T) of the BAK gene, while none of the healthy controls had such alteration ( P = 0.0001). Higher frequency of another nucleotide substitution in the noncoding region of exon 7 in BAX gene (6855G > A) was also identified in 68% of the patient group versus 24% in the controls ( P < 0.0001). Sequence alteration in intronic region of the NBK/ BIK gene IVS4-12delTC was observed in 52% of AT patients, which was significantly higher than 20% in the control group ( P = 0.0023). Another variant IVS1146C > T in the intronic region of the BAX gene was found in 78% of patients, which was significantly higher than 10% in the controls ( P < 0.0001). Frequency of alteration in intronic region of exon 3 of the BAX gene (IVS3 + 14A > G) was also significantly higher in the AT patients ( P < 0.0001). Several alterations in the proapoptotic genes BAK, NBK/ BIK, and BAX were found in our study, which could elucidate involvement of the mitochondrial pathway mediated apoptosis in accelerating and developing of cancers and in immunopathogenesis of AT. Such altered apoptosis in AT could play some roles in developing cancers in this group of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the electrophysiologic findings of Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) in children and their relation with clinical progress of the disease. Methods: Twenty-three children with GBS were evaluated between 2005 and 2007. Electrophysiologic evaluations were performed at admission and one month later. Findings: Five patients needed respirator, 15 were bedridden, 1 developed recurrence, 6 months later, and 2 experienced chronic GBS. The most common findings included: decreased amplitude of muscle action potential (CMAP) (96%), increased distal latency (74%), increased F wave latency (69%), and decreased nerve conduction velocity (NCV) (61%). Sensory nerve conduction (evaluating sural nerve) was normal in 78% of the cases. These measures did not significantly change after 1 month. Conclusion: Electrodiagnostic evaluations are helpful at the primary stages of GBS for diagnosis. Fibrillation potentials and positive sharp waves showing denervation and axonal injury are presentative of longer duration of the disease and a worse prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C) is a neurovisceral lipid storage disorder. At the cellular level, the disorder is characterized by accumulation of unesterified cholesterol and glycolipids in the lysosomal/late endosomal system. NP-C is transmitted in an autosomal recessive manner and is caused by mutations in either the NPC1 (95% of families) or NPC2 gene. The estimated disease incidence is 1 in 120,000 live births, but this likely represents an underestimate, as the disease may be under-diagnosed due to its highly heterogeneous presentation. Variants of adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 and ATPase subunit 8 ( ATPase6/8 ) in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been reported in different types of genetic diseases including NP-C. In the present study, the blood samples of 22 Iranian patients with NP-C and 150 healthy subjects as a control group were analyzed. The DNA of the blood samples was extracted by the salting out method and analyzed for ATPase6/8 mutations using polymerase chain reaction sequencing. Sequence variations in mitochondrial genome samples were determined via the Mitomap database. Analysis of sequencing data confirmed the existence of 11 different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in patients with NP-C1. One of the most prevalent polymorphisms was the A8860G variant, which was observed in both affected and non-affected groups and determined to have no significant association with NP-C incidence. Amongst the 11 polymorphisms, only one was identified in the ATPase8 gene, while 9 including A8860G were observed in the ATPase6 gene. Furthermore, two SNPs, G8292A and C8792A, located in the non-coding region of mtDNA and the ATPase6 gene, respectively, exhibited significantly higher prevalence rates in NP-C1 patients compared with the control group (P<0.01). The present study suggests that there may be an association between mitochondrial ATPase6/8 mutations and the incidence of NP-C disease. In addition, the mitochondrial SNPs identified maybe pathogenic mutations involved in the development and prevalence of NP-C. Furthermore, these results suggest a higher occurrence of mutations in ATPase6 than in ATPase8 in NP-C patients., Competing Interests: All authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this study., (Copyright © 2018, Spandidos Publications.)

Objective: Methylmalonic acidemia is one of the inborn errors of metabolism resulting in the accumulation of acylcarnitine in blood and increased urinary methylmalonic acid excretion. This disorder can have symptoms, such as neurological and gastrointestinal manifestations, lethargy, and anorexia., Materials & Methods: The patients who were diagnosed as methylmalonic acidemia in the Neurology Department of Mofid Children's Hospital in Tehran, Iran, between 2002 and 2012 were included in our study. The disorder was confirmed by clinical findings, neuroimaging findings, and neurometabolic and genetic assessment in reference laboratory in Germany. We assessed the age, gender, past medical history, developmental status, clinical manifestations, and neuroimaging findings of 20 patients with methylmalonic acidemia., Results: Eighty percent of the patients were offspring of consanguineous marriages. Half of the patients had Failure to thrive (FTT) due to anorexia; 85% had history of developmental delay or regression, and 20% had refractory seizure, which all of them were controlled. The patients with methylmalonic acidemia were followed for approximately 5 years and the follow-up showed that the patients with early diagnosis had a more favorable clinical response in growth index, refractory seizure, anorexia, and neurodevelopmental delay. Neuroimaging findings included brain atrophy, basal ganglia involvement (often in putamen), and periventricular leukomalacia., Conclusion: According to the results of this study, we suggest that early assessment and diagnosis have an important role in the prevention of disease progression and clinical signs.