Glycogen storage disease in adults.

<bold>Objective: </bold>To identify complications amenable to prevention in adults with glycogen storage disease (GSD) types Ia, Ib, and III and to determine the effect of the disease on social factors.<bold>Design: </bold>Case series and clinical review.<bold>Setting: </bold>Referral medical centers in the United States and Canada.<bold>Patients: </bold>All patients with GSD-Ia (37 patients), GSD-Ib (5 patients), and GSD-III (9 patients) who were 18 years of age or older.<bold>Measurements: </bold>Ultrasound or radiographic studies identified liver adenomas, nephrocalcinosis, or kidney stones. Radiographic studies identified osteopenia. Reports of the clinical examination, serum chemistry results, and social data were obtained.<bold>Results: </bold>For patients with GSD-Ia, problems included short stature (90%), hepatomegaly (100%), hepatic adenomas (75%), anemia (81%), proteinuria or microalbuminuria (67%), kidney calcifications (65%), osteopenia or fractures or both (27%), increased alkaline phosphatase (61%) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (93%) activities, and increased serum cholesterol (76%) and triglyceride (100%) levels. Hyperuricemia was frequent (89%). Patients with GSD-Ib had severe recurrent bacterial infections and gingivitis. In patients with GSD-III, 67% (6 of 9) had increased creatinine kinase activity. Four of these patients had myopathy and cardiomyopathy.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>For GSD-Ia, hyperuricemia and pyelonephritis should be treated to prevent nephrocalcinosis and additional renal damage. For GSD-Ib, granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor may prevent bacterial infections. For GSD-III, more data are required to determine whether the myopathy and cardiomyopathy can be prevented. Most of the patients with GSD-I and GSD-III had 12 or more years of education and were either currently in school or employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]