Effect of immunosuppressive therapy in inflammatory cardiomyopathy: data from The Czech Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy Immunosuppressive Trial.

INTRODUCTION: The indications for specific treatment in the cases of inflammatory cardiomyopathy are based on limited data from several small clinical trials. AIM: A comparison of the effect of two dose regimens of combined immunosuppressive therapy by adding them to conventional heart failure therapy and comparing them with conventional heart failure therapy alone in patients with inflammatory cardiomyopathy. METHODS AND STUDY POPULATION: We enrolled 20 patients; mean age 46.10±7.33 years, duration of symptoms <6 months, LVEF ≤40 %, NYHA class II-IV, with biopsy­proven myocarditis. Patients were randomly separated into groups treated with immunosuppressive therapy in addition to conventional heart failure therapy or to a group treated with conventional heart failure therapy alone. Clinical and echocardiographic parameters were evaluated. RESULTS: The baseline values of LVEF in the group of immunosuppressive therapy (LVEF 22.3±4.7 %) were similar to those in the group treated with conventional heart failure therapy (LVEF 21.7±4.7 %; p=0.757). After twelve months there was no statistically significant difference in LVEF between the two studied groups (LVEF 33.7±9.5 % for the immunosuppressive therapy group and 41.3±13.0 % for the conventional therapy group; p=0.175). CONCLUSION: In our study population, we proved no positive effect of combined immunosuppressive therapy on the left ventricular function over 12 months. The main limitation of the study is the small number of enrolled patients (Tab. 4, Fig. 1, Ref. 35).

Successful rituximab treatment of granulomatous/lymphocytic interstitial lung disease in common variable immunodeficiency.

Successful rituximab treatment of granulomatous/lymphocytic interstitial lung disease in common variable immunodeficiency Common variable immunodeficiency, a heterogeneous group of diseases, represents a clinically relevant form of antibody immunodeficiency. Granulomatous/lymphocytic interstitial lung disease is among the most serious complications. A case report is presented of a young women with granulomatous/lymphocytic interstitial lung disease and splenomegaly accompanied by pancytopenia. Intravenous rituximab treatment in monotherapy (at a weekly dose of 375 mg/m2 for four consecutive weeks, repeated six months later) not only led to a significant improvement in clinical symptoms but also to positive morphological and functional lung changes, mitigation of pancytopenia, considerable reduction of alkaline phosphatase level, and disappearance of splenic granulomas. The treatment was well tolerated without any side effects. The case report presented suggests possible efficacy and safety of rituximab monotherapy in patients with a complicated form of common variable immunodeficiency. KEYWORDS Rituximab - antibody immunodeficiency - lung disease - treatment Epidemiol. Mikrobiol. Imunol., 67, 2018, c. 3, s. 142-148.

X-linked agammaglobulinemia in community-acquired pneumonia cases revealed by immunoglobulin level screening at hospital admission.

In children with primary immunodeficiencies, the onset of symptoms precedes the diagnosis and the initiation of appropriate treatment by months or years. This delay in diagnosis is due to the fact that while these disorders are rare, some of the infections seen in immunodeficient patients are common. Defective antibody production represents the largest group among these disorders, with otitis, sinusitis and pneumonia as the most frequent initial manifestation. We performed a prospective study of humoral immunity in children hospitalized due to community-acquired pneumonia in tertiary care hospital. Out of 254 patients (131 boys, 123 girls, median age 4.5 years) recruited over 3 years, we found 2 boys (age 11 and 21 months) lacking serum immunoglobulins and circulating B cells. Subsequent genetic analysis confirmed diagnosis of X-linked agammaglobulinemia. Despite their immunodeficiency, the pneumonia was uncomplicated in both patients and did not call for immunological evaluation. However, the immunoglobulin screening at admission allowed for an early diagnosis of the immunodeficiency and timely initiation of immunoglobulin substitution, the key prerequisite for a favorable course of the disease.Simple and inexpensive immuno-globulin measurement during the manage-ment of hospitalized children with community-acquired pneumonia may help in early identification of patients with compromised humoral immunity and prevent serious complications.

[Opinion of the Czech Atherosclerosis Society's committee (CSAT) on the ESC/EAS guidelines related to the diagnostics and treatment of dyslipidemias issued in 2011]. / Stanovisko výboru CSAT k doporucením ESC/EAS pro diagnostiku a lécbu dyslipidemií z roku 2011.

This position statement of the Executive Committee of the Czech Society for Atherosclerosis (CSAT) summarizes the most important aspects and novelties of the latest European guidelines for the management of dyslipidemia. In particular the position statement comments on: cardiovascular risk stratification, indications for plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels assessment as well as target lipid values, evaluation of current options for both lifestyle and pharmacological treatment of lipid metabolism disorders and, also, recommendation for laboratory monitoring of patients treated with lipid lowering agents. The statement deals with actual concepts of management of dyslipiemia in everyday practice, e.g. therapy of dyslipidemia in special patients´ groups. This statement does not replace the latest guidelines but focuses on the changes from the former guidelines for dyslipidemia management, published by CSAT in 2007.

Value of PCR in surgically treated patients with staphylococcal infective endocarditis: a 4-year retrospective study.

The aim of the study was to establish a diagnostic value for broad-range polymerase chain reaction (br-PCR) and staphylococci-specific multiplex PCR (ssm-PCR) performed on surgical material from patients with staphylococcal infective endocarditis (IE). Data were analysed retrospectively from 60 patients with suspected staphylococcal IE and 59 controls who were surgically treated at three cardiosurgery centres over 4 years. Both PCR tests showed high agreement and could be aggregated. In patients with definite and rejected IE, the clinical sensitivity and specificity of PCR reached 89 and 95%, respectively. Tissue culture (TC) and PCR agreed with blood culture (BC) in 29% and 67% of IE cases. TC helped to determine aetiology in five BC negative cases while PCR aided in nine cases. Out of 52 patients with conclusive staphylococcal IE, 40 were diagnosed with S. aureus and 12 with coagulase-negative staphylococci. PCR was shown to be highly superior to TC in confirming preoperative diagnosis of IE. In addition to aid in culture negative patients, PCR helped to establish or refine aetiology in inconclusive cases. We suggest that simultaneous br-PCR and ssm-PCR performed on surgical material together with histopathology could significantly increase the performance of current Duke criteria.

No evidence for linkage between the hereditary angiooedema clinical phenotype and the BDKR1, BDKR2, ACE or MBL2 gene.

Hereditary angiooedema (HAE) is a life-threatening disease with poor clinical phenotype correlation with its causal mutation in the C1 inhibitor (SERPING1) gene. It is characterized by substantial symptom variability even in affected members of the same family. Therefore, it is likely that genetic factors outside the SERPING1 gene have an influence on disease manifestation. In this study, functional polymorphisms in genes with a possible disease-modifying effect, B1 and B2 bradykinin receptors (BDKR1, BDKR2), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and mannose-binding lectin (MBL2), were analysed in 36 unrelated HAE patients. The same analysis was carried out in 69 HAE patients regardless of their familial relationship. No significant influence of the studied polymorphisms in the BDKR1, BDKR2, ACE and MBL2 genes on overall disease severity, localization and severity of particular attacks, frequency of oedema episodes or age of disease onset was detected in either group of patients. Other genetic and/or environmental factors should be considered to be responsible for HAE clinical variability in Caucasians.

Association of FcRn expression with lung abnormalities and IVIG catabolism in patients with common variable immunodeficiency.

The neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) acts as a key regulator of IgG homeostasis and is an important sensor of luminal infection. We analyzed the influence of FcRn expression on disease phenotype and the catabolism of therapeutically administered intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) in 28 patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). Patients with generalized bronchiectasis and fibrosis had lower levels of FCRN mRNA compared to patients without these complications (P=0.027 and P=0.041, respectively). Moreover, FCRN mRNA levels correlated negatively with the extent of bronchiectasis and the rate of IgG decline after infusion of IVIG (P=0.027 and P=0.045, respectively). No relationship of FCRN expression with age at disease onset, age at diagnosis, diagnostic delay, IgG levels or frequency of infections before or during replacement immunoglobulin treatment, the presence of lung functional abnormalities, chronic diarrhea, granulomas, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly or autoimmune phenomena was observed. Our results showed that FcRn might play a role in the development of lung structural abnormalities and in the catabolism of IVIG in patients with CVID.

[Hereditary angioedema--neglected diagnosis]. / Hereditární angioedem--opomíjená diagnóza.

Hereditary angioedema caused by C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency is a rare autosomal dominant inherited disorder. It is characterized by recurrent episodes of potentially life-threatening swellings without itching localized in the dermis and submucosa. We report a case of 41 years old woman with hereditary angioedema manifested as episodes of localized skin swellings and painful gastrointestinal colics. This report underlines the fact that hereditary angioedema is underdiagnosed in differential diagnoses. If hereditary angioedema is correctly diagnosed, effective treatment highly improving patients' quality of life is available.

International Society of Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases Guidelines for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera Infection Following Cardiac Surgery with Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

Mycobacterial infection-related morbidity and mortality in patients following cardiopulmonary bypass surgery is high and there is a growing need for a consensus-based expert opinion to provide international guidance for diagnosing, preventing and treating in these patients. In this document the International Society for Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases (ISCVID) covers aspects of prevention (field of hospital epidemiology), clinical management (infectious disease specialists, cardiac surgeons, ophthalmologists, others), laboratory diagnostics (microbiologists, molecular diagnostics), device management (perfusionists, cardiac surgeons) and public health aspects.

Mannose-binding lectin gene polymorphic variants predispose to the development of bronchopulmonary complications but have no influence on other clinical and laboratory symptoms or signs of common variable immunodeficiency.

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL), activating protein of the lectin pathway of the complement system, is an important component of the non-specific immune response. MBL2 gene polymorphisms, both in the coding and promoter regions, lead to low or deficient serum MBL levels. Low serum MBL levels were shown to be associated with serious infectious complications, mainly in patients in whom other non-specific immune system barriers were disturbed (granulocytopenia, cystic fibrosis). We have analysed two promoter (-550 and -221) and three exon (codons 52, 54 and 57) MBL2 polymorphisms in a total of 94 patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) from two immunodeficiency centres. Low-producing genotypes were associated with the presence of bronchiectasis (P = 0.009), lung fibrosis (P = 0.037) and also with respiratory insufficiency (P = 0.029). We could not demonstrate any association of MBL deficiency with age at onset of clinical symptoms, age at diagnosis, the number of pneumonias before diagnosis or serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgA and IgM levels before initiation of Ig treatment. No association with emphysema development was observed, such as with lung function test abnormalities. No effect of MBL2 genotypes on the presence of diarrhoea, granuloma formation, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, frequency of respiratory tract infection or the number of antibiotic courses of the patients was observed. Our study suggests that low MBL-producing genotypes predispose to bronchiectasis formation, and also fibrosis and respiratory insufficiency development, but have no effect on other complications in CVID patients.

[The Atractiv project: improvement of cardiovascular preventive in primary care in the Czech Republic]. / Projekt Atractiv: zlepseni kardiovaskulárni prevence v podmínkách primárni péce v Ceské republice.

INTRODUCTION: The Atractiv project assessing the efficacy ofa complex approach to cardiovascular risk reduction in primary care was conducted by 464 physicians in the entire Czech Republic between 2006 and 2007. AIM: The primary goals of the Atractiv project were description of prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in high-risk patients and attempt to maximize the risk reduction by optimalization of treatment. Within five visits the patients were carefully followed and their risk factors were intervened using lifestyle and pharmacological measures. METHODS: The main focus of the project was management of dyslipidemia and arterial hypertension. Basic anthropometric and laboratory data were collected including serum lipids, glycemia, kidney liver function tests, CVD risk was assessed using SCORE charts. 4,427 patients were included in the project (2,372 men), average age 62.9 +/- 10 years. RESULTS: Optimalization of treatment of dyslipidemia resulted in a significant decrease of both total and LDL-cholesterol levels by 23 and 28%, respectively, HDL-cholesterol concentrations increased by 4.5% and levels of triglycerides declined by 22%. Improved management of arterial hypertension was accompanied by a decrease of average blood pressure from 152.5/90.5mm Hg to 132.5/80.2mm Hg. Average fasting glycemia was lowered by 0.4 mmol/l while body mass index and waist circumference decreased by 0.6 kg/m2 and 2.5 cm, respectively. All differences between baseline and the last visit were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Pharmacotherapy indicated during the project was well tolerated and occurrence of side effects was minimal. CONCLUSION: The Atractiv project documents the complex approach to patients at high-risk of CVD including lifestyle intervention with effective combination of lipid-lowering drugs and antihypertensive drugs brings additional significant lowering of CVD risk. Application of modern, evidence-based approaches to treatment of dyslipidemia and arterial hypertension in everyday practice is possible, effective and feasible.

[Czech atherosclerosis society guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of dyslipidemia in adults]. / Doporucení pro diagnostiku a lécbu dyslipidémií v dospelosti, vypracované výborem Ceské spolecnosti pro aterosklerózu.

The present guidelines are based on the recommendations published in 2005 entitled "Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in Adulthood" summarizing the conclusions of nine Czech medical societies and agree with them in the assessment of individual risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) according to SCORE tables. They reflect new research data in pathophysiology of dyslipidemias (DLP) and particularly the results of recent clinical trials of lipid-lowering therapy and their meta-analyses. They establish priorities for the screening and management of DLP, present suitable diagnostic methods, additional investigations of potential use in risk assessment, including some emerging risk factors and detection of sub-clinical atherosclerosis in persons in a moderate-risk category. Major changes include a lower LDL-cholesterol treatment target (< 2.0 mmol/L for all CVD individuals) and a possible use of apolipoprotein B as a secondary target in selected persons (< 0.9 g/L in high risk without CVD, < 0.8 g/L for CVD patients) and nonHDL-cholesterol (< 3.3 mmol/L in high risk without CVD, < 2.8 mmol/L for CVD patients). Therapy of individual DLP phenotypes (monotherapy and combination therapy) as well as basic principles for control examination at lipid-lowering medication are described. Recommended therapeutic lifestyle changes are shown. Enclosed are five annexes: DLP diagnosis; causes of secondary DLP; additional investiga- tions of potential use in risk stratification; familial hypercholesterolemia; list of recommended foods; two variants of SCORE tables for risk assessment for the Czech Republic; the scheme of recommended procedures and treatment algorithm in DLP asymptomatic individuals.

[Is familial hypercholesterolemia under control in the Czech Republic?]. / Je familiární hypercholesterolemie v ceské republice pod kontrolou?

In 1997, the Czech Republic joined the international project MedPed (Make early diagnosis to Prevent early deaths), the principal objective of which is to dramatically reduce the number of deaths caused by the premature clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Stress has been laid on a timely diagnosis, especially in family members of patients who have already been diagnosed with the disease, and on timely application of adequate hypolipidemic therapy. A network of centres dealing with severe inborn dyslipidemias has been set up under the auspices of the Czech Society for Atherosclerosis. As many as 3,208 cases of dyslipidemia from 2377 families have been detected thanks to the network and to the contribution of cooperating doctors; this represents 16% of the estimated number of 20,000 patients with FH in this country. However, the disease is far from being under control in the Czech Republic. The principal objective for the immediate future is to dramatically increase the number of people screened within affected families; thus multiplying the current rate of diagnosed and treated patients with FH within each family from its current value of 1.3.

[Czech Atherosclerosis Society Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of dyslipidemias in adults]. / Doporulení pro diagnostiku a lécbu dyslipidemlí v dospelosti, vypracované výborem Ceské spolecnosti pro aterosklerózu.

The present guidelines are based on the recommendations published in 2005 entitled "Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in Adulthood" summarizing the conclusions of nine Czech medical societies and agree with them in the assessment of individual risks of mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) according to SCORE tables. They reflect new research data in pathophysiology of dyslipidemias (DLP) and particularly the results of recent clinical trials of lipid-lowering therapy and their meta-analyses. They establish priorities for the screening and management of DLP, present suitable diagnostic methods, additional investigations of potential use in risk assessment, including some emerging risk factors and detection of sub-clinical atherosclerosis in persons in a moderate-risk category. Major changes include a lower LDL-cholesterol treatment target (< 2.0 mmol/L for all CVD individuals) and a possible use of apolipoprotein B as a secondary target in selected persons (< 0.9 g/L in high risk without CVD, < 0.8 g/L for CVD patients) and nonHDL-cholesterol (< 3.3 mmol/L in high risk without CVD, < 2.8 mmol/L for CVD patients). Therapy of individual DLP phenotypes (monotherapy and combination therapy) as well as basic principles for control examination at lipid-lowering medication are described. Recommended therapeutic lifestyle changes are shown. Enclosed are five annexes: DLP diagnosis; causes of secondary DLP; additional investigations of potential use in risk stratification; familial hypercholesterolemia; list of recommended foods; two variants of SCORE tables for risk assessment for the Czech Republic; the scheme of recommended procedures and treatment algorithm in DLP asymptomatic individuals.

Molecular genetic background of an autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia in the Czech Republic.

Autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia (ADH), more known as familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), is a lipid metabolism disorder characterized by an elevation in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and increased risk for cardiovascular disease. In this study, we assessed a spectrum of mutations causing ADH in 3914 unrelated Czech patients with clinical diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia. Samples have been collected within the framework of the MedPed project running in the Czech Republic since 1998. So far we have found 432 patients (11.0 %) with the APOB gene mutation p.(Arg3527Gln) and 864 patients (22.1 %) with the LDLR gene mutation. In 864 probands carrying the LDLR gene mutation, 182 unique allelic variants were detected. We have identified 14 patients homozygous for mutations in the LDLR or APOB genes. We performed function analyses of p.(Leu15Pro) and p.(Gly20Arg) sequence variations.

ScreenPro FH: from the Czech MedPed to international collaboration. ScreenPro FH is a participating project of the EAS-FHCS.

This article describes the evolution of our understanding of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) in the Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe (CESE) region, and the dissemination of this understanding to other countries. Using the ScreenPro FH project as an example, we would like to illustrate the progression from national objectives, to regional networking and, finally, to international collaboration via the Familial Hypercholesterolemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC) project under the leadership of the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS). It is essential to improve our ability to diagnose FH. In this regard, the EAS and its FHSC project must be commended for their educational and organizational activities which, above all, are dedicated to the creation of a global FH patient registry. In the CESE region, FH diagnostics and treatment situation are markedly different than in Western Europe or North America. Since the Czech MedPed project (Make Early Diagnoses to Prevent Early Deaths in Medical Pedigrees) has been so successful (with results not only comparable to, but, for some parameters, even surpassing the results of many Western countries) we decided to apply the Czech experience to the CESE region. Thus, the ScreenPro FH project was created. The aim of ScreenPro FH is to create a specialist network in the CESE region. The primary objective of the ScreenPro FH project was to dramatically reduce the number of premature deaths due to clinical complications of atherosclerosis in FH patients. At present, ScreenPro FH comprises 18 member countries with a total population of 500,000,000; which, in terms of the FH population, represents 1-2 million patients.

Familial hypercholesterolemia in the Czech Republic: more than 17 years of systematic screening within the MedPed project.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most common autosomal dominant disorder. It is characterized by a decrease in LDL cholesterol catabolism and an early clinical manifestation of atherosclerotic vessel damage. The aim of the MedPed (Make early diagnosis to Prevent early deaths) project is an early diagnosis of FH patients in order to profit from early treatment and prevent cardiovascular events. Till November 30, 2016 The Czech National MedPed Database has registered 7,001 FH patients from 5,223 different families that is 17.4 % of expected patients in the Czech Republic considering 1:250 FH prevalence. The improvement in diagnostic accuracy, patient cooperation and above all familial cascade screening is enabled by FH mutation detection using the modern technology of next-generation sequencing. FH still remain undiagnosed even though the Czech Republic is one of the most successful countries with respect to FH detection. The opportunities of international collaboration and experience sharing within international programs (e.g. EAS FHSC, ScreenPro FH etc.) will improve the detection of FH patients in the future and enable even more accessible and accurate genetic diagnostics.

One-year outcome following biological or mechanical valve replacement for infective endocarditis.

BACKGROUND: Nearly half of patients require cardiac surgery during the acute phase of infective endocarditis (IE). We describe the characteristics of patients according to the type of valve replacement (mechanical or biological), and examine whether the type of prosthesis was associated with in-hospital and 1-year mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: Among 5591 patients included in the International Collaboration on Endocarditis Prospective Cohort Study, 1467 patients with definite IE were operated on during the active phase and had a biological (37%) or mechanical (63%) valve replacement. Patients who received bioprostheses were older (62 vs 54years), more often had a history of cancer (9% vs 6%), and had moderate or severe renal disease (9% vs 4%); proportion of health care-associated IE was higher (26% vs 17%); intracardiac abscesses were more frequent (30% vs 23%). In-hospital and 1-year death rates were higher in the bioprosthesis group, 20.5% vs 14.0% (p=0.0009) and 25.3% vs 16.6% (p<.0001), respectively. In multivariable analysis, mechanical prostheses were less commonly implanted in older patients (odds ratio: 0.64 for every 10years), and in patients with a history of cancer (0.72), but were more commonly implanted in mitral position (1.60). Bioprosthesis was independently associated with 1-year mortality (hazard ratio: 1.298). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with IE who receive a biological valve replacement have significant differences in clinical characteristics compared to patients who receive a mechanical prosthesis. Biological valve replacement is independently associated with a higher in-hospital and 1-year mortality, a result which is possibly related to patient characteristics rather than valve dysfunction.

Spectrum of low density lipoprotein receptor mutations in Czech hypercholesterolemic patients.

The aim of our study was to define mutations causing familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) phenotype in Czech hypercholesterolemic individuals. A combination of heteroduplex analysis, SSCP, DGGE, DNA sequencing and PCR/restriction analysis was used for this purpose. Molecular searching in the promoter region and coding sequence of the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene in 130 patients from 68 unrelated families resulted in the identification of 37 sequence variations. Thirty of them are most likely disease causing mutations. Nineteen mutations were novel (two nonsense, five missense, six nucleotide(s) insertions and six nucleotide(s) deletions). Their pathological effect can be predicted on the basis of their position with respect to previously reported mutations with an estimated reduction of the receptor activity and/or premature termination of translation. These results expand our knowledge of mutations responsible for FH. Seven nucleotide variations were characterized as silent polymorphisms. Hum Mutat 18:253, 2001.

Cystathionine beta-synthase deficiency in Central Europe: discrepancy between biochemical and molecular genetic screening for homocystinuric alleles.

Recent reports suggested that homocystinuria due to cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) deficiency is a more common inborn error of metabolism than originally thought. In this study we compared the prevalence of homocystinuric alleles ascertained by two different approaches. First, the incidence of homocystinuria estimated by selective biochemical screening in the Czech and Slovak Republics was 1:349,000 (95% CI 1:208,000-1:641,000). The two most common pathogenic mutant alleles found subsequently in these patients, IVS11-2A>C and c.833T>C, had a calculated population prevalence of 0.00042 (95% CI 0.00031-0.00055) and 0.00018 (95% CI 0.00013-0.00023), respectively. Second, to examine the possible negative detection bias of mildly affected patients we determined the prevalence of these two pathogenic mutations in a sample of 1284 unselected newborns. Indeed, the observed prevalence of the c.833T>C allele (0.00195, 95% CI 0.00063-0.00454) was 11x higher than in the previous group suggesting that many homozygotes for the c.833T>C had not been diagnosed by selective biochemical screening. The IVS11-2A>C allele was not detected among 2,568 newborn CBS alleles. The estimated incidence of homocystinuria of 1:83,000, calculated in a combined model, suggests that selective biochemical screening may ascertain only approximately 25% of all homocystinuric patients. In conclusion, homocystinuria in Central Europe may be sufficiently common to consider sensitive newborn screening programs for this disease.