Neurologic Status of Patients with Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase Deficiency Before and After Hematopoetic Stem Cell Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive combined immunodeficiency. The phenotype is profound T cell deficiency with variable B and NK cell functions and results in recurrent and persistent infections that typically begin in the first year of life. Neurologic findings occur in approximately two-thirds of patients. The mechanism of neurologic abnormalities is unclear. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only curative treatment for PNP deficiency. METHODS: We report here six patients from five unrelated families with PNP deficiency treated in two centers in Turkey. We evaluated the neurological status of patients and compared to post-transplantation period if available. Then, we performed PubMed, Google Scholar, and Researchgate searches using the terms "PNP" and "hematopoietic stem cell transplantation" to find all reported cases of PNP transplantation and compared to our cohort. RESULTS: Six patients were treated in two centers in Turkey. One patient died from post-transplant complications. The other four patients underwent successful HSCT with good immune reconstitution after transplantation (follow-up 21-48 months) and good neurological outcomes. The other patient with a new mutation is still waiting for a matching HLA donor. DISCUSSION: In PNP deficiency, clinical manifestations are variable, and this disease should be considered in the presence of many different clinical findings. Despite the comorbidities that occurred before transplantation, HSCT currently appears to be the only treatment option for this disease. HSCT not only cures immunologic disorders, but probably also improves or at least stabilizes the neurologic status of patients.

Chronic Rhinosinusitis in Patients with Primary Immunodeficiency.

INTRODUCTION: Primary immunodeficiencies are a heterogeneous group of diseases associated with an increased incidence of infections, autoimmunity, autoinflammatory diseases, allergies, and cancer. Rhinosinusitis is one of the most common infections in these patients. In our study, we aimed to determine the presence of chronic rhinosinusitis in our patients with primary immunodeficiency and to investigate the etiology of chronic rhinosinusitis. METHODS: Forty-four patients (age range: 4-26 years) diagnosed with primary immunodeficiency were enrolled in our study. Patients were interviewed about the symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis, and nasal endoscopic examinations were performed prospectively. The results of laboratory tests, medications, skin allergy tests, and the patients' lung computed tomography were retrospectively recorded from patient files. RESULTS: The distribution of patients' diagnoses included 38.6% (n = 17) primary antibody deficiencies, 6.6% (n = 3) combined immunodeficiencies, 27.3% (n = 12) combined immunodeficiencies with syndromic features, 6.8% (n = 3) phagocytic disorders, and 20.5% (n = 9) immune dysregulation disorders. There was no significant difference in the frequency of chronic rhinosinusitis among the different immunodeficiency groups. There were no significant differences between chronic rhinosinusitis and conditions such as atopy, hypogammaglobulinemia, and treatments with immunoglobulin and/or azithromycin. The incidence of chronic rhinosinusitis was 77.8% (n = 7) in patients with a history of acute sinusitis and 20% (n = 7) in patients without a history of sinusitis, with a statistically significant difference between them (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Chronic rhinosinusitis is more common in patients with primary immunodeficiencies than in the normal population. For effective treatment, it is necessary to identify the factors that cause chronic rhinosinusitis. Further studies involving larger patient populations are needed to explain the mechanisms of chronic rhinosinusitis.