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Glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of glutaryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (GCDH), with accumulation of neurotoxic metabolites, resulting in a complex movement disorder, irreversible brain damage, and premature death in untreated individuals. While early diagnosis and a lysine restricted diet can extend survival, they do not prevent neurological damage in approximately one-third of treated patients, and more effective therapies are required. Here we report the efficacy of adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9)-mediated systemic delivery of human GCDH at preventing a high lysine diet (HLD)-induced phenotype in Gcdh−/− mice. Neonatal treatment with AAV-GCDH restores GCDH expression and enzyme activity in liver and striatum. This treatment protects the mice from HLD-aggressive phenotype with all mice surviving this exposure; in stark contrast, a lack of treatment on an HLD triggers very high accumulation of glutaric acid, 3-hydroxyglutaric acid, and glutarylcarnitine in tissues, with about 60% death due to brain accumulation of toxic lysine metabolites. AAV-GCDH significantly ameliorates the striatal neuropathology, minimizing neuronal dysfunction, gliosis, and alterations in myelination. Magnetic resonance imaging findings show protection against striatal injury. Altogether, these results provide preclinical evidence to support AAV-GCDH gene therapy for GA1.

We report an 8-year-old patient with glutaric aciduria type 1 associated with compound heterozygous mutations c.1204C>T (p.Arg402Trp) and c.547C>T (p.Ser216Leu) in GCDH. Clinical case illustrates the difficulty in diagnosing this hereditary disease, its mimicry of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and cerebral palsy. The timeliness of early diagnosis and initiation of specific therapy makes it possible to improve the condition of patients.

Glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA-1) is a rare but treatable autosomal-recessive neurometabolic disorder of lysin metabolism caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase gene (GCDH) that lead to deficiency of GCDH protein. Without treatment, this enzyme defect causes a neurological phenotype characterized by movement disorder and cognitive impairment. Based on a comprehensive literature search, we established a large dataset of GCDH variants using the Leiden Open Variation Database (LOVD) to summarize the known genotypes and the clinical and biochemical phenotypes associated with GA-1. With these data, we developed a GCDH-specific variation classification framework based on American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology guidelines. We used this framework to reclassify published variants and to describe their geographic distribution, both of which have practical implications for the molecular genetic diagnosis of GA-1. The freely available GCDH-specific LOVD dataset provides a basis for diagnostic laboratories and researchers to further optimize their knowledge and molecular diagnosis of this rare disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutaric acidemia type 1 (GA1) is a neurotoxic metabolic disorder due to glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) deficiency. The high number of missense variants associated with the disease and their impact on GCDH activity suggest that disturbed protein conformation can affect the biochemical phenotype. We aimed to elucidate the molecular basis of protein loss of function in GA1 by performing a parallel analysis in a large panel of GCDH missense variants using different biochemical and biophysical methodologies. Thirteen GCDH variants were investigated in regard to protein stability, hydrophobicity, oligomerization, aggregation, and activity. An altered oligomerization, loss of protein stability and solubility, as well as an augmented susceptibility to aggregation were observed. GA1 variants led to a loss of enzymatic activity, particularly when present at the N-terminal domain. The reduced cellular activity was associated with loss of tetramerization. Our results also suggest a correlation between variant sequence location and cellular protein stability (p < 0.05), with a more pronounced loss of protein observed with variant proximity to the N-terminus. The broad panel of variant-mediated conformational changes of the GCDH protein supports the classification of GA1 as a protein-misfolding disorder. This work supports research toward new therapeutic strategies that target this molecular disease phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Case Description A 9‐month‐old intact male domestic shorthair cat was evaluated for increasing frequency of generalized tonic‐clonic seizures. Clinical Findings The cat was reported to have had episodes of circling between the seizures. Upon examination, the cat had bilateral inconsistent menace response but otherwise normal physical and neurological examinations. Diagnostics Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain identified multifocal, small, rounded intra‐axial lesions within the subcortical white matter containing fluid with similar characteristics as cerebrospinal fluid. Evaluation of urine organic acids showed increased excretion of 2‐hydroxyglutaric acid. An XM_023255678.2:c.397C>T nonsense variant in the L2HGDH gene encoding L‐2‐hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase was identified using whole genome sequencing. Treatment and Outcome Levetiracetam treatment was initiated at 20 mg/kg PO q8h, but the cat died after a seizure 10 days later. Clinical Relevance We report the second pathogenic gene variant in L‐2‐hydroxyglutaric aciduria in cats and describe for the first time multicystic cerebral lesions on MRI.

Case Description: A 9‐month‐old intact male domestic shorthair cat was evaluated for increasing frequency of generalized tonic‐clonic seizures. Clinical Findings: The cat was reported to have had episodes of circling between the seizures. Upon examination, the cat had bilateral inconsistent menace response but otherwise normal physical and neurological examinations. Diagnostics: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain identified multifocal, small, rounded intra‐axial lesions within the subcortical white matter containing fluid with similar characteristics as cerebrospinal fluid. Evaluation of urine organic acids showed increased excretion of 2‐hydroxyglutaric acid. An XM_023255678.2:c.397C>T nonsense variant in the L2HGDH gene encoding L‐2‐hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase was identified using whole genome sequencing. Treatment and Outcome: Levetiracetam treatment was initiated at 20 mg/kg PO q8h, but the cat died after a seizure 10 days later. Clinical Relevance: We report the second pathogenic gene variant in L‐2‐hydroxyglutaric aciduria in cats and describe for the first time multicystic cerebral lesions on MRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with glutaric acidemia type I (GA I) manifest motor and intellectual disabilities whose pathogenesis has been so far poorly explored. Therefore, we evaluated neuromotor and cognitive abilities, as well as histopathological and immunohistochemical features in the cerebral cortex and striatum of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) deficient knockout mice (Gcdh −/− ), a well-recognized model of GA I. The effects of a single intracerebroventricular glutaric acid (GA) injection in one-day-old pups on the same neurobehavioral and histopathological/immunohistochemical endpoints were also investigated. Seven-day-old Gcdh −/− mice presented altered gait, whereas those receiving a GA neonatal administration manifested other sensorimotor deficits, including an abnormal response to negative geotaxis, cliff aversion and righting reflex, and muscle tone impairment. Compared to the WT mice, adult Gcdh−/− mice exhibited motor impairment, evidenced by poor performance in the Rota-rod test. Furthermore, neonatal GA administration provoked long-standing short- and long-term memory impairment in adult Gcdh −/− mice. Regarding the histopathological features, a significant increase in vacuoles and neurodegenerative cells was observed in both the cerebral cortex and striatum of 15- and 60-day-old Gcd h−/− mice and was more pronounced in mice injected with GA. Neuronal loss (decrease of NeuN staining) was also significantly increased in the cerebral cortex and striatum of Gcdh −/− mice, particularly in those neonatally injected with GA. In contrast, immunohistochemistry of MBP, astrocytic proteins GFAP and S100B, and the microglial marker Iba1 was not changed in 60-day-old Gcdh−/− mice, suggesting no myelination disturbance, reactive astrogliosis, and microglia activation, respectively. These data highlight the neurotoxicity of GA and the importance of early treatment aiming to decrease GA accumulation at early stages of development to prevent brain damage and learning/memory disabilities in GA I patients. • GCDH deficient knockout mice (Gcdh−/−) is a model of gutaric acidemia type I (GA I). • Gcdh−/− mice present impaired neuromotor development after glutaric acid injection. • Gcdh−/− mice manifest cognition impairment after glutaric acid injection. • Gcdh−/− mice have vacuolation and degenerative cells in cerebral cortex and striatum. • Gcdh−/− mice present neuronal death, astrogliosis and microglia reactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the pathogenic variants in GCDH gene and to assess the neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with Glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA-1). Cross-sectional observational study between January 2019 and June 2020 in consecutive North Indian children with a clinical and biochemical suspicion of GA-1. Variants in the coding regions of GCDH gene were identified through Sanger sequencing. Neurodevelopmental and quality of life assessment was done using standardized scales. 24 children with GA-1 were identified. The median age at diagnosis was 12 months and the median delay in diagnosis was 3 months. Genetic analysis was done in 14 cases. It revealed 12 variants (11 missense and one nonsense) from 13 patients. Most of the pathogenic variants were in exon 9 and exon 5. Three novel variants were identified in three patients: two missense variants c.169G > A (p.Glu57Lys), c.1048T > C (p.Cys350Arg) and one nonsense variant c.331C > T (p.Lys111Ter). On neurodevelopmental assessment, majority of children with GA-1 were non ambulatory (62.5%), had limited hand skills (58.3%) and impaired communication (58.3%). Overall, poor global development was noted in 43.7%. A pre-existing developmental delay was significantly associated with impaired communication skills (p = 0.03), and the number of episodes of encephalopathy were significantly associated with impaired gross motor skill (p = 0.02). Presence of encephalopathy was significantly associated with poor performance in social emotional (p = 0.01) and cognitive (p = 0.03) domains of Developmental Profile-III scale and development of severe dystonia (p = 0.01). Our findings highlight the clinical, biochemical, radiological and genetic spectrum of GA-1 in children in North India and report the presence of novel pathogenic variations. • Identification of exon 9 and 5 as hotspots in the GCDH gene in North Indian children. • Identification of three novel pathogenic variations. • Detailed neurodevelopmental and quality of life assessment. • Identification of predictors of poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In humans, a single enzyme 2-aminoadipic semialdehyde synthase (AASS) catalyses the initial two critical reactions in the lysine degradation pathway. This enzyme evolved to be a bifunctional enzyme with both lysine-2-oxoglutarate reductase (LOR) and saccharopine dehydrogenase domains (SDH). Moreover, AASS is a unique drug target for inborn errors of metabolism such as glutaric aciduria type 1 that arise from deficiencies downstream in the lysine degradation pathway. While work has been done to elucidate the SDH domain structurally and to develop inhibitors, neither has been done for the LOR domain. Here, we purify and characterize LOR and show that it is activated by alkylation of cysteine 414 by N-ethylmaleimide. We also provide evidence that AASS is rate-limiting upon high lysine exposure of mice. Finally, we present the crystal structure of the human LOR domain. Our combined work should enable future efforts to identify inhibitors of this novel drug target.

Hemophagocytic lymphocytosis (HLH) is a rare disease caused by inborn errors of immunity (IEI), secondary to infection, lymphoma or autoimmune disorders, but we often overlook the fact that HLH can be secondary to inborn errors of metabolism (IEM). Here, we describe a patient who was diagnosed with glutaric aciduria type IIC complicated by features suggestive of possible HLH. The diagnosis of glutaric aciduria type IIC, a IEM, was confirmed by whole exome sequencing. The patient was treated with coenzyme Q10 and riboflavin which effectively improved her liver function. During treatment, the patient developed severe anemia and thrombocytopenia. Persistent fever, splenomegaly, cytopenias, increased ferritin, hypertriglyceridemia, hypofibrinogenemia, and hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow pointed to the diagnosis of HLH; however, the patient eventually died of gastrointestinal bleeding. After other potential causes were ruled out, the patient was diagnosed with glutaric aciduria type IIC complicated by features suggestive of possible HLH. When cytopenias occurs in IEM patients, HLH is a possible complication that cannot be ignored. This case suggests a possible relationship between IEM and risk for immune dysregulation.

Glutaric aciduria type I (GA1) is an inherited metabolic disorder in which excessive levels of the amino acids lysine, hydroxylysine, and tryptophan accumulate in the body as a result of defective glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) enzyme activity. Excessive metabolites are toxic that can cause damage to the brain, particularly due to the occurrence of basal ganglia and intellectual disability. Missense, splicing, and other deletion mutations in GCDH gene lead to the deficiency of the enzyme activity and are known to cause GA1. The severity of GA1 along with its neurological manifestations and clinical outcome is dependent upon the age at onset and therefore, early definitive diagnosis of GA1 becomes essential. GA1 occurs in approximately 1 of every 30,000-40,000 individuals worldwide that may reach up to 1 in 300 newborn babies in the Amish and Canadian communities. Owing to very high consanguinity rates in Saudi Arabia, it is presumed to be much more common in the Kingdom and is one of the initial disorders that were included in the country's neonatal screening program. In the current study, we have reviewed clinical manifestations, diagnosis, updated management, and mutation spectrum in GA1 with an example of one of our patients with GA1, and highlighted the importance of multipara-metric strategy in the early diagnosis and management of the disease. [JBCGenetics 2019; 2(1.000): 40-53]

The glutaric acidurias are a group of inborn errors of metabolism with different etiologies. Glutaric aciduria type 3 (GA3) is a biochemical phenotype with uncertain clinical relevance caused by a deficiency of succinyl-CoA:glutarate-CoA transferase (SUGCT). SUGCT catalyzes the succinyl-CoA-dependent conversion of glutaric acid into glutaryl-CoA preventing urinary loss of the organic acid. Here, we describe the presence of a GA3 trait in mice of 129 substrains due to SUGCT deficiency, which was identified by screening of urine organic acid profiles obtained from different inbred mouse strains including 129S2/SvPasCrl. Molecular and biochemical analyses in an F2 population of the parental C57BL/6J and 129S2/SvPasCrl strains (B6129F2) confirmed that the GA3 trait occurred in Sugct 129/129 animals. We evaluated the impact of SUGCT deficiency on metabolite accumulation in the glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1) mouse model. We found that GA1 mice with SUGCT deficiency have decreased excretion of urine 3-hydroxyglutaric acid and decreased levels glutarylcarnitine in urine, plasma and kidney. Our work demonstrates that SUGCT contributes to the production of glutaryl-CoA under conditions of low and pathologically high glutaric acid levels. Our work also highlights the notion that unexpected biochemical phenotypes can occur in widely used inbred animal lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of glutaryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (GCDH), with accumulation of neurotoxic metabolites, resulting in a complex movement disorder, irreversible brain damage, and premature death in untreated individuals. While early diagnosis and a lysine restricted diet can extend survival, they do not prevent neurological damage in approximately one-third of treated patients, and more effective therapies are required. Here we report the efficacy of adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9)-mediated systemic delivery of human GCDH at preventing a high lysine diet (HLD)-induced phenotype in Gcdh -/- mice. Neonatal treatment with AAV-GCDH restores GCDH expression and enzyme activity in liver and striatum. This treatment protects the mice from HLD-aggressive phenotype with all mice surviving this exposure; in stark contrast, a lack of treatment on an HLD triggers very high accumulation of glutaric acid, 3-hydroxyglutaric acid, and glutarylcarnitine in tissues, with about 60% death due to brain accumulation of toxic lysine metabolites. AAV-GCDH significantly ameliorates the striatal neuropathology, minimizing neuronal dysfunction, gliosis, and alterations in myelination. Magnetic resonance imaging findings show protection against striatal injury. Altogether, these results provide preclinical evidence to support AAV-GCDH gene therapy for GA1., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1) is an inborn error of lysine degradation characterized by acute encephalopathy that is caused by toxic accumulation of lysine degradation intermediates. We investigated the efficacy of substrate reduction through inhibition of 2‐aminoadipic semialdehyde synthase (AASS), an enzyme upstream of the defective glutaryl‐CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH), in a cell line and mouse model of GA1. We show that loss of AASS function in GCDH‐deficient HEK‐293 cells leads to an approximately fivefold reduction in the established GA1 clinical biomarker glutarylcarnitine. In the GA1 mouse model, deletion of Aass leads to a 4.3‐, 3.8‐, and 3.2‐fold decrease in the glutaric acid levels in urine, brain, and liver, respectively. Parallel decreases were observed in urine and brain 3‐hydroxyglutaric acid levels, and plasma, urine, and brain glutarylcarnitine levels. These in vivo data demonstrate that the saccharopine pathway is the main source of glutaric acid production in the brain and periphery of a mouse model for GA1, and support the notion that pharmacological inhibition of AASS may represent an attractive strategy to treat GA1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutaric aciduria type I is caused by an autosomal recessive inherited deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase, which gives rise to the glutaric acid and 3-hydroxyglotoric acidase as well as gluturyl carnitine in body fluid.efected patient can present with macrocephaly and acute dystonia secondry to striatal degeneration following infection and vaccination between 6 and 18 month. Here in, we reported five cases with macrocephaly, dystonia diagnosed with glutaric aciduria type I using the typical brain imaging and tandem mass spectrometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the key MRI findings in different disease causing macrocrania in early childhood that will help in early detection and diagnosis. Patients and methods: This study was conducted on 20 patients (their age ranged from 3.5 months to 5 years) referred to the radiodiagnosis department in the period between February 2013 and June 2014. All patients were subjected to conventional MRI. MRS was done in 8 cases using PRESS 3D multi-voxel chemical shift imaging. Results: The patients subdivided into 7 groups. Glutaric aciduria type 1 (40%) MRI showed wide operculum sign; MRS done in 4 patients showed elevated choline with preserved NAA peak. Benign macrocrania of infancy (15%), and MRI showed enlarged cranio-cortical and inter-hemispheric subarachnoid spaces beyond 5 mm, mildly dilated ventricles. Van der Knaap disease (15%) showed bilateral symmetrical confluent white matter dysmyelination with bilateral fronto-temporal subcortical cystic changes .MRS done in 2 patients showed increase in Cho/NAA ratios. Mucopolysaccharidosis (10%) showed dilated Virchow Robin spaces. MRS done in one patient showed decreased NAA, and increased choline/creatine ratio. Canavan disease (10%) MRI showed bilateral symmetrical extensive white matter dysmyelination. MRS showed markedly elevated NAA. Alexander disease (5%) showed bilateral symmetrical white matter dysmyelination with frontal predilection. MRS revealed increased NAA/Cr, increased myo-inositol/Cr, and lactate doublet. Gangliosidosis (5%) MRI showed bilateral symmetrical T2 and FLAIR hyperintense putamen. CT showed bilateral symmetric thalamic hyperdensities. Conclusion: MRI can diagnose different causes of non hydrocephalic macrocrania. MRS is helpful in differentiating benign macrocrania of infancy from dysmyelinating diseases and is specific in Canavan Disease.

Inborn errors of metabolism are a set of diseases that converge in the presence of mutations expressed in enzymes and transport proteins, among others, that generate a blockage in metabolic routes, triggering biochemical alterations. glutaric aciduria type II is a disturbance in the oxidation of fatty and amino acids, comprising disorders that may vary in complexity from a severe neonatal presentation to a mild illness in childhood or adulthood with episodic metabolic alterations, muscle weakness, and respiratory failure. clinical case: A 32-week-old preterm newborn with respiratory distress, whom initially presented a decompensated metabolic acidosis, which subsequently compensates, and maintains a normal anion gap throughout his hospitalization. A high clinical suspicion is important to reach diagnosis and establish immediate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Three young patients with glutaric aciduria type I (age 6–23 years) of different ethnic origins, treated for their metabolic disease since early childhood, presented with malignant central nervous system tumors. We recommend continuing clinical follow-up, including monitoring of neurological manifestations and neuroradiological findings, in all patients with glutaric aciduria type I beyond early childhood, especially if adherence to diet is poor or the treatment was not started neonatally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (2-HGA) is a rare neurometabolic disorder that leads to the development of brain damage. It is classified into three categories: D-2-HGA, L-2-HGA, and combined D,L-2-HGA. The D-2-HGA includes two subtypes: type I and type II caused by the mutations in D2HGDH and IDH2 proteins, respectively. In this study, we studied six mutations, four in the D2HGDH (I147S, D375Y, N439D, and V444A) and two in the IDH2 proteins (R140G, R140Q). We performed in silico analysis to investigate the pathogenicity and stability changes of the mutant proteins using pathogenicity (PANTHER, PhD-SNP, SIFT, SNAP, and META-SNP) and stability (i-Mutant, MUpro, and iStable) predictors. All the mutations of both D2HGDH and IDH2 proteins were predicted as disease causing except V444A, which was predicted as neutral by SIFT. All the mutants were also predicted to be destabilizing the protein except the mutants D375Y and N439D. DSSP plugin of the PyMOL and Molecular Dynamics Simulations (MDS) were used to study the structural changes in the mutant proteins. In the case of D2HGDH protein, the mutations I147S and V444A that are positioned in the beta sheet region exhibited higher Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD), decrease in compactness and number of intramolecular hydrogen bonds compared to the mutations N439D and D375Y that are positioned in the turn and loop region, respectively. While the mutants R140Q and R140QG that are positioned in the alpha helix region of the protein. MDS results revealed the mutation R140Q to be more destabilizing (higher RMSD values, decrease in compactness and number of intramolecular hydrogen bonds) compared to the mutation R140G of the IDH2 protein. This study is expected to serve as a platform for drug development against 2-HGA and pave the way for more accurate variant assessment and classification for patients with genetic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Untreated individuals with glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1) commonly present with a complex, predominantly dystonic movement disorder (MD) following acute or insidious onset striatal damage. Implementation of GA1 into newborn screening (NBS) programs has improved the short-term outcome. It remains unclear, however, whether NBS changes the long-term outcome and which variables are predictive.Methods: This prospective, observational, multicenter study includes 87 patients identified by NBS, 4 patients missed by NBS, and 3 women with GA1 identified by positive NBS results of their unaffected children.Results: The study population comprises 98.3% of individuals with GA1 identified by NBS in Germany during 1999-2016. Overall, cumulative sensitivity of NBS is 95.6%, but it is lower (84%) for patients with low excreter phenotype. The neurologic outcome of patients missed by NBS is as poor as in the pre-NBS era, and the clinical phenotype of diagnosed patients depends on the quality of therapeutic interventions rather than noninterventional variables. Presymptomatic start of treatment according to current guideline recommendations clearly improves the neurologic outcome (MD: 7% of patients), whereas delayed emergency treatment results in acute onset MD (100%), and deviations from maintenance treatment increase the risk of insidious onset MD (50%). Independent of the neurologic phenotype, kidney function tends to decline with age, a nonneurologic manifestation not predicted by any variable included in this study.Interpretation: NBS is a beneficial, disease-changing intervention for GA1. However, improved neurologic outcome critically depends on adherence to recommended therapy, whereas kidney dysfunction does not appear to be impacted by recommended therapy. Ann Neurol 2018;83:970-979. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first case of Glutaric aciduria Type 1(GA1) in an African child was reported in 2001. GA1 has a prevalence of 1:5000 in black South Africans. Although early diagnosis is essential for a favourable outcome, newborn screening is not routine in South Africa where an estimated 320,000 children have HIV infection. Neurodevelopmental delay and encephalopathy are complications of both HIV and GA1. In such a setting it is important to recognise that HIV and GA1 can occur simultaneously. We present an HIV-infected South African male child of Xhosa descent with macrocephaly who commenced combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) at 8 weeks of age in a clinical trial which included a neurodevelopmental sub-study. He developed short-lived focal seizures at 16 months after minor head trauma. Neurological examination was normal. Neuroimaging showed temporal lobe atrophy, subtle hyperintense signal change in the globus pallidus, and focal haemosiderosis in the right Sylvian fissure region. As findings were not in keeping with HIV encephalopathy, a urine metabolic screen was undertaken which suggested GA1. Genetic testing confirmed Arg293Trp mutation. He began L-carnitine and a low protein diet as a restricted diet was not practicable. At 21 months he developed pulmonary tuberculosis, requiring 6 months treatment. He did not develop any neurologic motor symptoms. Serial neurodevelopmental and neuropsychological test scores until 9 years were similar to healthy neighbourhood controls, except for mild language delay at 3½ years. Detection of GA1, probably facilitated through participation in a clinical trial, was pivotal for a favourable outcome. The concomitant use of ART and anti-tuberculous therapy in a child with GA1 appears safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L-2 hydroxyglutaric aciduria (L2HGA) is an inherited neurometabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of L-2 hydroxyglutaric acid in urine, plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid. The disease has a progressive clinical course presenting with ataxia, seizure, and psychomotor retardation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is helpful to make the diagnosis by providing specific findings, such as subcortical white matter, symmetrical globi pallidi, and dentate nuclei hyperintensities, on T2-weighted images. Another important role of MRI is to detect associated intracranial malignancies in patients with L2HGA. The association between L2HGA and cerebral neoplasms has not been clearly elucidated to date; however, a few cases reports in the literature support this association. We report a patient with L2HGA associated with anaplastic oligodendroglioma and review the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal-onset multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD type I) is an autosomal recessive disorder of the electron transfer flavoprotein function characterized by a severe clinical and biochemical phenotype, including congenital abnormalities with unresponsiveness to riboflavin treatment as distinguishing features. From a retrospective study, relying mainly on metabolic data, we have identified a novel mutation, c.1067G > A (p.Gly356Glu) in exon 8 of ETFDH , in three South African Caucasian MADD patients with the index patient presenting the hallmark features of type I MADD and two patients with compound heterozygous (c.1067G > A + c.1448C > T) mutations presenting with MADD type III. SDS-PAGE western blot confirmed the significant effect of this mutation on ETFDH structural instability. The identification of this novel mutation in three families originating from the South African Afrikaner population is significant to direct screening and strategies for this disease, which amongst the organic acidemias routinely screened for, is relatively frequently observed in this population group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutaric aciduria type 1 is an autosomal recessive rare neurometabolic disease caused by the deficiency of glutaryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase which has a part in Llysine, L-hydroxylysine and L-tryptophan metabolism. It may be manifested by convulsion, dystonia and dyskinetic movements or by chronic course such as the loss of the neuromotor development stages following an infection, a routine vaccination or surgery. Majority of the patients has macrocephaly. Tandem-mass spectrometry, urine organic acid analysis and brain magnetic resonance imaging can be used to diagnose glutaric aciduria type 1. The progression of the disease may be limited considerably with lysine restricted diet and L-carnitine supplementation. In this article, we aimed to emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and treatment in glutaric aciduria type 1 by presenting a six-month-old male patient who was admitted to our clinic with the complaints of fever and cough and identified with macrocephaly on the physical examination and developed dyskinetic movements and convulsions on his follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutaric aciduria (GTA) type II can be seen as late onset form with myopathic phenotype. We present a case of a 19-year old female with progressive muscle weakness was admitted in intensive care unit (ICU) with respiratory failure and acute renal failure. Patient was unconscious. Pupils were anisocoric and light reflex was absent. She had hepatomegaly. The laboratory results showed a glucose level of 70 mg/dl and the liver enzymes were high. The patient also had hyponatremia (117 mEq/L) and lactate level of 3.9 mmol/L. Tandem MS and organic acid analysis were compatible with GTA type II. Carnitine 1gr, riboflavin 100 mg and co-enzymeQ10 100 mg was arranged. After four months from beginning of treatment tandem MS results are improved. Respiratory failure, acute renal failure due to profound proximal myopathy can be due to glutaric aciduria type II that responded rapidly to appropriate therapy.

Introduction: Glutaric aciduria type 1 is caused by deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydogenase leading to accumulation of glutarylcarnitine in blood and excretion of glutaric acid, 3-hyroxyglutaric acid and glutaconic acid in urine. It can be diagnosed through high risk screening in symptomatic cases. Aim: To know the clinical, biochemical, neuroimaging and outcome profile of Glutaric aciduria type 1 patient diagnosed during testing by Tandem Mass Spectrometry (TMS) and Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GCMS). Materials and Methods: It was retrospective record analysis of patients diagnosed with Glutaric aciduria type 1. 2000 patients were screened for various indications like (developmental delay/ regression, unexplained seizures, encephalopathy, dystonia, chorea, large head, unexplained sibling death). Screening strategy involved estimation of lactate, ammonia, TMS and GCMS. Neuroimaging was done where it was required. This study was conducted over a period of three years (Jan 2014 to Dec 2016). Results: Study group comprised of 10 males and 3 females. Median age (interquartile range) of presentation in study group was 11 months (10-22.5). Pretesting diagnosis was suspected as inborn error of metabolism in each case based on clinical presentation. Seizure and dystonia were important clinical presentation. Frontotemporal atrophy was important neuroimaging finding. Macrocephaly was present in two of thirteen cases. Glutarylcarnitine level was normal in 5 of 11 patients, suggesting poor sensitivity of TMS in diagnosed cases. There was wide variation in excretion of urinary metabolite from cases to cases, highlighting genetic heterogenousity. Conclusion: Seizures and dystonia were important clinical presentations. Presence of bilateral frontotemporal atrophy in clinical testing was an important clue to diagnosis. Presence of macrocephaly (important sign of disease) was present in only two cases. There was only one death in follow up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although correctly used in expanded newborn screening programs to identify patients with possible diseases, flow-injection tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) acylcarnitine "profiles" are inadequate for standard clinical uses owing to their limited quantitative accuracy and lack of selectivity. We report the application of our selective, accurate, and precise method for quantification of acylcarnitines, applied to urine glutarylcarnitine from a patient with glutaric acidemia type I (GAI). Methods: A previously validated acylcarnitine ultra-HPLC-MS/MS method was used, with a focus on analysis of glutarylcarnitine. Calibrants and samples were isolated by solid-phase extraction and derivatized with pentafluorophenacyl trifluoromethanesulfonate. Acylcarnitine pentafluorophenacyl esters were eluted in 14-min chromatograms. Standardized calibrants and a 13-point, 200-fold concentration range calibration curve were used for accurate quantification of glutarylcarnitine. Quality control samples validated method accuracy and long-term analytic stability. Results: Quantification of glutarylcarnitine in urine from a patient with GAI is reported. Long-term analytical stability of the method over a 5-year period is shown. Conclusions: Our method for acylcarnitine quantification is shown to be selective, accurate, and precise; thus, we recommend it for confirmatory testing and monitoring of plasma and urine samples from patients with GAI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutaric acidemia I (GAI) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disease caused by a deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase enzyme (GCDH). Patients with GAI are characterized by macrocephaly, acute encephalitis-like crises, dystonia and frontotemporal atrophy. In this study, we investigated 18 Egyptian patients that were diagnosed with GAI based on their clinical, neuroradiological, and biochemical profiles. Of the 18 patients, 16 had developmental delay and/or regression, dystonia was prominent in 75% of the cases, and three patients died. Molecular genetics analysis identified 14 different mutations in the GCDH gene in the 18 patients, of the 14 mutations, nine were missense, three were in the 3′-Untranslated Region (3′-UTR), one was nonsense, and one was a silent mutation. Four novel mutations were identified (c.148 T > A; p.Trp50Arg, c.158C > A; p.Pro53Gln, c.1284C > G; p.Ile428Met, and c.1189G > T; p.Glu397*) that were all absent in 300 normal chromosomes. The 3′-UTR mutation (c.*165A > G; rs8012), was the most frequent mutation observed (0.5; 18/36), followed by the most common mutation among Caucasian patients (p.Arg402Trp; rs121434369) with allele frequency of 0.36 (13/36), and the 3′-UTR mutation (c.*288G > T; rs9384, 0.22; 8/16). The p.Arg257Gln mutation was found with allele frequency of ~0.17 (6/36). The marked homozygosity observed in our patients is probably due to the high level of consanguinity that is observed in 100% of the cases. We used nine in silico prediction tools to predict the pathogenicity (SIFT, PhD-SNP, SNAP, Meta-SNP, PolyPhen2, and Align GVGD) and protein stability (I-Mutant2.0, Mupro, and istable) of the nine missense mutants. The mutant p.Arg402Trp was predicted to be most deleterious by all the six pathogenicity prediction tools and destabilizing by all the three-stability prediction tools, and highly conserved by the ConSurf server. Using the clinical, biochemical, family history of the 18 patients, and the in silico analysis of the missense mutations, our study showed a mix of conclusive and inconclusive genotype-phenotype correlations among our patient's cohort and suggests the usefulness of using various sophisticated computational analysis to be utilized for future variant classifications in the genetic clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Glutaric acidemia type I ( GA-I) is an inherited neurometabolic disorder caused by deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase ( GCDH) and characterized by increased levels of glutaric, 3- OH-glutaric, and glutaconic acids in the brain parenchyma. The increment of these organic acids inhibits glutamate decarboxylase ( GAD) and consequently lowers the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) synthesis. Untreated patients exhibit severe neurologic deficits during development, including epilepsy, especially following an acute encephalopathy outbreak. In this work, we evaluated the role of the GABAergic system on epileptogenesis in GA-I using the Gcdh−/− mice exposed to a high lysine diet ( Gcdh−/− -Lys). Methods Spontaneous recurrent seizures ( SRS), seizure susceptibility, and changes in brain oscillations were evaluated by video-electroencephalography (EEG). Cortical GABAergic synaptic transmission was evaluated using electrophysiologic and neurochemical approaches. Results SRS were observed in 72% of Gcdh−/− -Lys mice, whereas no seizures were detected in age-matched controls ( Gcdh+/+ or Gcdh−/− receiving normal diet). The severity and number of PTZ-induced seizures were higher in Gcdh−/− -Lys mice. EEG spectral analysis showed a significant decrease in theta and gamma oscillations and predominant delta waves in Gcdh−/− -Lys mice, associated with increased EEG left index. Analysis of cortical synaptosomes revealed a significantly increased percentage of glutamate release and decreased GABA release in Gcdh−/− -Lys mice that were associated with a decrease in cortical GAD immunocontent and activity and confirmed by reduced frequency of inhibitory events in cortical pyramidal cells. Significance Using an experimental model with a phenotype similar to that of GA-I in humans-the Gcdh−/− mice under high lysine diet ( Gcdh−/− -Lys)-we provide evidence that a reduction in cortical inhibition of Gcdh−/−-Lys mice, probably induced by GAD dysfunction, leads to hyperexcitability and increased slow oscillations associated with neurologic abnormalities in GA-I. Our findings offer a new perspective on the pathophysiology of brain damage in GA-I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Nutritional deficiencies related neurological manifestations are not uncommon in infants and children. Here, we describe an infant with Vitamin B12 deficiency due to depleted maternal Vitamin B12 status presenting with progressive encephalopathy and extrapyramidal signs. Diagnosis of infantile tremor syndrome was established in our patient based on the clinical and biochemical parameters. Magnetic resonance imaging had shown frontotemporal atrophy with widened Sylvian fissures and prominent cerebrospinal fluid spaces. Clinical and imaging findings might create a diagnostic dilemma with glutaric aciduria type I. Knowledge and identification of infantile tremor syndrome are essential, as it is a potentially treatable disorder. Our patient had significant developmental gains with Vitamin B12 treatment and infant stimulation program. Vitamin B12 deficiency must be looked for as a cause of neuroregression in children hailing from low socioeconomic status, infants of vegetarian mother, and infants with delayed or improper weaning. Screening for Vitamin B12 deficiency is essential in all infants and children with unexplained neuroregression, as this disorder is potentially treatable. More population-based studies in India are needed to explore the prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency in pregnant and lactating women and also to assess the need for Vitamin B12 supplementation during pregnancy and lactation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glutaric aciduria type II (GA II) is an autosomal recessive disorder affecting fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. The late-onset form of GA II disorder is almost exclusively associated with mutations in the electron transfer flavoprotein dehydrogenase (ETFDH) gene. Till now, the clinical features of late-onset GA II vary widely and pose a great challenge for diagnosis. The aim of the current study is to characterize the clinical phenotypes and genetic basis of a late-onset GAII patient. Methods: In this study, we described the clinical and biochemical manifestations of a 23-year-old female Chinese patient with late-onset GA II and performed genomic DNA-based PCR amplifications and sequence analysis of ETFDH gene of the whole pedigree. We also used in-silicon tools to analyze the mutation and evaluated the pathogenicity of the mutation according to the criteria proposed by American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). Results: The muscle biopsy of this patient revealed lipid storage myopathy. Blood biochemical test and urine organic acid analyses were consistent with GA II. Direct sequence analysis of the ETFDH gene (NM_004453) revealed compound heterozygous mutations: c.250G > A (p.A84T) on exon 3 and c.920C > G (p.S307C) on exon 8. Both mutations were classified as "pathogenic" according to ACMG criteria. Conclusions: In conclusion, our study described the phenotype and genotype of a late-onset GA II patient, reiterating the importance of ETFDH gene screening in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutaric aciduria type I (GA-I) is a rare organic aciduria caused by the autosomal recessive inherited deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH). GCDH deficiency leads to disruption of l -lysine degradation with characteristic accumulation of glutarylcarnitine and neurotoxic glutaric acid (GA), glutaryl-CoA, 3-hydroxyglutaric acid (3-OHGA). DHTKD1 acts upstream of GCDH, and its deficiency leads to none or often mild clinical phenotype in humans, 2-aminoadipic 2-oxoadipic aciduria. We hypothesized that inhibition of DHTKD1 may prevent the accumulation of neurotoxic dicarboxylic metabolites suggesting DHTKD1 inhibition as a possible treatment strategy for GA-I. In order to validate this hypothesis we took advantage of an existing GA-I ( Gcdh −/− ) mouse model and established a Dhtkd1 deficient mouse model. Both models reproduced the biochemical and clinical phenotype observed in patients. Under challenging conditions of a high lysine diet, only Gcdh −/− mice but not Dhtkd1 −/− mice developed clinical symptoms such as lethargic behaviour and weight loss. However, the genetic Dhtkd1 inhibition in Dhtkd1 −/− /Gcdh −/− mice could not rescue the GA-I phenotype. Biochemical results confirm this finding with double knockout mice showing similar metabolite accumulations as Gcdh −/− mice with high GA in brain and liver. This suggests that DHTKD1 inhibition alone is not sufficient to treat GA-I, but instead a more complex strategy is needed. Our data highlights the many unresolved questions within the l -lysine degradation pathway and provides evidence for a so far unknown mechanism leading to glutaryl-CoA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthogonality is a key parameter that is used to evaluate the separation power of chromatography-based two-dimensional systems. It is necessary to scale the separation data before the assessment of the orthogonality. Current scaling approaches are sample-dependent, and the extent of the retention space that is converted into a normalized retention space is set according to the retention times of the first and last analytes contained in a unique sample to elute. The presence or absence of a highly retained analyte in a sample can thus significantly influence the amount of information (in terms of the total amount of separation space) contained in the normalized retention space considered for the calculation of the orthogonality. We propose a Whole Separation Space Scaling (WOSEL) approach that accounts for the whole separation space delineated by the analytical method, and not the sample. This approach enables an orthogonality-based evaluation of the efficiency of the analytical system that is independent of the sample selected. The WOSEL method was compared to two currently used orthogonality approaches through the evaluation of in silico -generated chromatograms and real separations of human biofluids and petroleum samples. WOSEL exhibits sample-to-sample stability values of 3.8% on real samples, compared to 7.0% and 10.1% for the two other methods, respectively. Using real analyses, we also demonstrate that some previously developed approaches can provide misleading conclusions on the overall orthogonality of a two-dimensional chromatographic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Clinical Message Herein, we report a conceptually novel clinical case highlighting the diagnostic implications of excessive homozygosity and its correlation with brain MRI abnormalities in an infant with GA1. The case also points a need for an extra amount of caution to be exercised when evaluating patients with 'negative exomes.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

d -2-hydroxyglutaric (D-2-HGA) and l -2-hydroxyglutaric (L-2-HGA) acidurias are rare neurometabolic disorders biochemically characterized by increased levels of d -2-hydroxyglutaric acid (D-2-HG) and l -2-hydroxyglutaric acid (L-2-HG) respectively, in biological fluids and tissues. These diseases are caused by mutations in the specific enzymes involved in the metabolic pathways of these organic acids. In the present work, we first investigated whether D-2-HG and L-2-HGA could provoke DNA oxidative damage in blood leukocytes and whether l -carnitine (LC) could prevent the in vitro DNA damage induced by these organic acids. It was verified that 50 μM of D-2-HG and 30 μM of L-2-HG significantly induced DNA damage that was prevented by 30 and 150 μM of LC. We also evaluated oxidative stress parameters in urine of L-2-HGA patients and observed a significant increase of oxidized guanine species and di-tyrosine, biomarkers of oxidative DNA and protein damage, respectively. In contrast, no significant changes of urinary isoprostanes and reactive nitrogen species levels were observed in these patients. Taken together, our data indicate the involvement of oxidative damage, especially on DNA, in patients affected by these diseases and the protective effect of LC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1) is a rare metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. The typical clinical onset features an acute encephalopathic crisis developed in early childhood, causing irreversible striatal injury. Recently, tandem mass spectrometry of spots of dried blood has allowed pre-symptomatic detection of GA1 in newborns. Early treatment can prevent irreversible neurological injury. We report the case of a girl with GA1 who exhibited a characteristic reversible change upon brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). She was diagnosed with GA1 as a newborn. She commenced dietary carnitine and her intake of lysine and tryptophan were reduced at the age of 4 weeks. After treatment commenced, her mean glutarylcarnitine level was lower than that in the previous reports. The plasma lysine and tryptophan levels were maintained below the normal ranges. At 4 months, brain MRI revealed a widened operculum with dilatation of the subarachnoid spaces surrounding the atrophic bilateral frontotemporal lobes; this is typical of GA1 patients. However, at 17 months, MRI revealed that the atrophic lesion had disappeared and she subsequently underwent normal maturation. She has never suffered a metabolic decompensation episode. At 26 months, her development and brain MRI were normal. The present reversible brain atrophy in a patient with GA1 indicates that early dietary modifications with a lower level of glutarylcarnitine and administration of carnitine can lead to normal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Without neonatal initiation of treatment, 80-90% of patients with glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1) develop striatal injury during the first six years of life resulting in a complex, predominantly dystonic movement disorder. Onset of motor symptoms may be acute following encephalopathic crisis or insidious without apparent crisis. Additionally, so-called late-onset GA1 has been described in single patients diagnosed after the age of 6 years. With the aim of better characterizing and understanding late-onset GA1 we analyzed clinical findings, biochemical phenotype, and MRI changes of eight late-onset patients and compared these to eight control patients over the age of 6 years with early diagnosis and start of treatment.Results: No late-onset or control patient had either dystonia or striatal lesions on MRI. All late-onset (8/8) patients were high excretors, but only four of eight control patients. Two of eight late-onset patients were diagnosed after the age of 60 years, presenting with dementia, tremor, and epilepsy, while six were diagnosed before the age of 30 years: Three were asymptomatic mothers identified by following a positive screening result in their newborns and three had non-specific general symptoms, one with additional mild neurological deficits. Frontotemporal hypoplasia and white matter changes were present in all eight and subependymal lesions in six late-onset patients. At comparable age a greater proportion of late-onset patients had (non-specific) clinical symptoms and possibly subependymal nodules compared to control patients, in particular in comparison to the four clinically and MR-wise asymptomatic low-excreting control patients.Conclusions: While clinical findings are non-specific, frontotemporal hypoplasia and subependymal nodules are characteristic MRI findings of late-onset GA1 and should trigger diagnostic investigation for this rare disease. Apart from their apparent non-susceptibility for striatal injury despite lack of treatment, patients with late-onset GA1 are not categorically different from early treated control patients. Differences between late-onset patients and early treated control patients most likely reflect greater cumulative neurotoxicity in individuals remaining undiagnosed and untreated for years, even decades as well as the higher long-term risk of high excretors for intracerebral accumulation of neurotoxic metabolites compared to low excretors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA-1) is an organic acidemia with potentially severe neurological sequelae. In Taiwan, newborn screening (NBS) for GA-1 began in 2001, but large-scale reporting is lacking. This study describes Taiwan's largest newborn screening population to date. Methods Between 2001 and 2015, 1,490,636 newborns were screened for GA-1. Confirmatory examinations included the carnitine loading test. Confirmed patients were treated with a low lysine diet, carnitine, and high-energy intake during illness. Clinical, laboratory, and neuroimaging data were analyzed. Results Fourteen newborns were diagnosed with GA-1 (incidence: 1/106,474). C5DC concentration was clearly increased after carnitine loading in the affected newborns, but not in false-positive newborns ( p = 0.004), indicating that this test is useful as an adjuvant diagnostic method. Eleven patients followed in our hospital were enrolled, namely nine NBS patients and two patients diagnosed clinically. IVS10-2A>C was the most common mutation. Two novel mutations (T36fs and N291K) were identified. Pendular nystagmus was found in two pediatric GA-1 patients. The corresponding pathology was optic atrophy in one patient, but remained undetermined in the other patient. The frequency of encephalopathic crisis decreased substantially following NBS. Among patients diagnosed by NBS, cognitive functioning was better among patients with good compliance than patients with poor compliance ( p = 0.03). Abnormalities were detected by brain MRI including diffusion-weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient maps; these affected various brain regions at different stages of the disease. Basal ganglion injuries occurred after an encephalopathic crisis. White matter disease was prevalent among older patients, either with or without an encephalopathic crisis. Conclusion Early diagnosis by newborn screening followed by full compliance with treatment guidelines is important to a good outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) is a mitochondrial enzyme that is involved in the degradation of tryptophan, lysine and hydroxylysine. Deficient enzyme activity leads to glutaric aciduria type-I (GA-I). This neurometabolic disease usually manifests with acute encephalopathic crises and striatal neuronal death in early childhood leading to an irreversible dystonic-dyskinetic movement disorder. Fronto-temporal atrophy and white matter changes are already present in the pre-symptomatic period. No detailed information on GCDH expression during embryonic development and in adulthood was available so far. Using immunofluorescence microscopy and cell-type-specific markers to localize GCDH in different tissues, we describe the differential cellular localization of GCDH in adult rat brain and peripheral organs as well as its spatiotemporal expression pattern. During embryonic development GCDH was predominantly expressed in neurons of the central and peripheral nervous system. Significant expression levels were found in epithelial cells (skin, intestinal and nasal mucosa) of rat embryos at different developmental stages. Besides the expected strong expression in liver, GCDH was found to be significantly expressed in neurons of different brain regions, renal proximal tubules, intestinal mucosa and peripheral nerves of adult rats. GCDH was found widely expressed in embryonic and adult rat tissues. In rat embryos GCDH is predominantly expressed in brain implying an important role for brain development. Interestingly, GCDH was found to be significantly expressed in different other organs (e.g. kidney, gut) in adult rats probably explaining the evolving phenotype in GA-I patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical, biochemical and genetic mutation characteristics of two cases of late-onset glutaric aciduria type I (GA-I) in Uighur. The clinical data and glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) genetic test results of two cases of late-onset GA-I in Uighur were collected and analyzed, and reviewed with relevant literature. One patient with late-onset GA-I primarily exhibited clinical intermittent headache, while the other patient was asymptomatic. The urinary organic acid analysis detected a large number of glutaric acid and 3-hydroxy glutaric acid, 3-hydroxy-propionic acid. One patient exhibited white matter degeneration in cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the other patient showed no abnormality. The two patients both exhibited c. 1204C >T, p.R402W, heterozygous mutation, and c. 532G >A, p.G178R, heterozygous mutation. Besides central nervous system infectious diseases, patients with clinical headache, cranial MRI-suggested bilateral temporal lobe arachnoid cyst and abnormal signals in the basal ganglia should be highly suspected as late-onset GA-I. Early diagnosis and correct treatment are key to improve its prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction We evaluated the effects of bezafibrate (BEZ) on β-oxidation in fibroblasts obtained from patients with glutaric acidemia type II (GA2) of various clinical severities using an in vitro probe (IVP) assay. Methods Cultured fibroblasts from 12 patients with GA2, including cases of the neonatal-onset type both with and without congenital anomalies (the prenatal- and neonatal-onset forms, respectively), the infantile-onset, and the myopathic forms, were studied. The IVP assay was performed by measuring acylcarnitines (ACs) in the cell culture medium of fibroblasts incubated with palmitic acid for 96 h in the presence of 0–800 μM BEZ using tandem mass spectrometry. Results The IVP assay showed that 100 μM BEZ markedly reduced the level of palmitoylcarnitine (C16) in the neonatal-onset, infantile-onset, and myopathic forms of GA2, either increasing or maintaining a high level of acetylcarnitine (C2), which serves as an index of energy production via β-oxidation. In the prenatal-onset form, although a small reduction of C16 was also observed in the presence of 100 μM BEZ, the level of C2 remained low. At concentrations higher than 100 μM, BEZ further decreased the level of ACs including C16, but a concentration over 400 μM decreased the level of C2 in most cases. Discussion BEZ at 100 μM was effective for all GA2 phenotypes except for the prenatal-onset form, as a reduction of C16 without deterioration of C2 is considered to indicate improvement of β-oxidation. The effects of higher doses BEZ could not be estimated by the IVP assay but might be small or nonexistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]