Holoprosencephaly from conception to adulthood.

Holoprosencephaly (HPE) consists of a spectrum of malformations related to incomplete separation of the prosencephalon. There is a wide clinical variability depending on the HPE subtype seen on imaging. Early postnatal lethality is common, however a significant fraction of newborns diagnosed with HPE will survive into childhood and even adulthood. Here we will review the clinical management of HPE during different ages from the prenatal period to adulthood.

Extracephalic manifestations of nonchromosomal, nonsyndromic holoprosencephaly.

Nonchromosomal, nonsyndromic holoprosencephaly (NCNS-HPE) has traditionally been considered as a condition of brain and craniofacial maldevelopment. In this review, we present the results of a comprehensive literature search supporting a wide spectrum of extracephalic manifestations identified in patients with NCNS-HPE. These manifestations have been described in case reports and in large cohorts of patients with "single-gene" mutations, suggesting that the NCNS-HPE phenotype can be more complex than traditionally thought. Likely, a complex network of interacting genetic variants and environmental factors is responsible for these systemic abnormalities that deviate from the usual brain and craniofacial findings in NCNS-HPE. In addition to the systemic consequences of pituitary dysfunction (as a direct result of brain midline defects), here we describe a number of extracephalic findings of NCNS-HPE affecting various organ systems. It is our goal to provide a guide of extracephalic features for clinicians given the important clinical implications of these manifestations for the management and care of patients with HPE and their mutation-positive relatives. The health risks associated with some manifestations (e.g., fatty liver disease) may have historically been neglected in affected families.

Renal growth in isolated methylmalonic acidemia.

PURPOSE: We sought to predict renal growth based on clinical and metabolic parameters in patients with isolated methylmalonic acidemia, a group of disorders associated with chronic kidney disease. METHODS: Fifty patients with methylmalonic acidemia, followed from 2004 to 2011, were classified by molecular genetics and studied using a combined cross-sectional and longitudinal design that included renal ultrasound examinations, anthropometric measurements, and metabolic phenotyping. Renal length was compared with that of healthy controls and modeled to other clinical parameters using multiple-regression analyses. RESULTS: Comparisons with age-matched controls showed that renal length in subjects with methylmalonic acidemia was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Stepwise regression modeling found that combinations of height, serum cystatin C, and serum methymalonic acid concentrations best predicted kidney size. The regression equations used to generate methylmalonic acidemia kidney nomograms were renal length (cm) = 6.79 + 0.22 × age for the controls and 6.80 + 0.09 × age for the methylmalonic acidemia cohort (P < 0.001; constant and slope). CONCLUSION: Renal length, reflective of kidney growth, significantly decreased in patients with methylmalonic acidemia over time as compared with controls and was predictable with select clinical parameters. Cystatin C and serum methylmalonic acid concentrations were highly correlated with smaller kidneys and decreased renal function in this patient population.

Evaluation of acute pelvic pain in women.

Diagnosis of pelvic pain in women can be challenging because many symptoms and signs are insensitive and nonspecific. As the first priority, urgent life-threatening conditions (e.g., ectopic pregnancy, appendicitis, ruptured ovarian cyst) and fertility-threatening conditions (e.g., pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian torsion) must be considered. A careful history focusing on pain characteristics, review of systems, and gynecologic, sexual, and social history, in addition to physical examination helps narrow the differential diagnosis. The most common urgent causes of pelvic pain are pelvic inflammatory disease, ruptured ovarian cyst, and appendicitis; however, many other diagnoses in the differential may mimic these conditions, and imaging is often needed. Transvaginal ultrasonography should be the initial imaging test because of its sensitivities across most etiologies and its lack of radiation exposure. A high index of suspicion should be maintained for pelvic inflammatory disease when other etiologies are ruled out, because the presentation is variable and the prevalence is high. Multiple studies have shown that 20 to 50 percent of women presenting with pelvic pain have pelvic inflammatory disease. Adolescents and pregnant and postpartum women require unique considerations.

Concurrent non-ketotic hyperglycinemia and propionic acidemia in an eight year old boy.

This is the first reported case of a patient with both non-ketotic hyperglycinemia and propionic acidemia. At 2 years of age, the patient was diagnosed with non-ketotic hyperglycinemia by elevated glycine levels and mutations in the GLDC gene (paternal allele: c.1576_1577insC delT and c.1580delGinsCAA; p.S527Tfs*13, and maternal allele: c.1819G>A; p.G607S). At 8 years of age after having been placed on ketogenic diet, he became lethargic and had severe metabolic acidosis with ketonuria. Urine organic acid analysis and plasma acylcarnitine profile were consistent with propionic acidemia. He was found to have an apparently homozygous mutation in the PCCB gene: c.49C>A; p.Leu17Met. The patient was also treated with natural protein restriction, carnitine, biotin, and thiamine and had subjective and biochemical improvement.