Clinical and pathological characterization of FLNC-related myofibrillar myopathy caused by founder variant c.8129G>A in Hong Kong Chinese.

FLNC-related myofibrillar myopathy could manifest as autosomal dominant late-onset slowly progressive proximal muscle weakness; involvements of cardiac and/or respiratory functions are common. We describe 34 patients in nine families of FLNC-related myofibrillar myopathy in Hong Kong ethnic Chinese diagnosed over the last 12 years, in whom the same pathogenic variant c.8129G>A (p.Trp2710*) was detected. Twenty-six patients were symptomatic when diagnosed; four patients died of pneumonia and/or respiratory failure. Abnormal amorphous material or granulofilamentous masses were detected in half of the cases, with mitochondrial abnormalities noted in two-thirds. We also show by haplotype analysis the founder effect associated with this Hong Kong variant, which might have occurred 42 to 71 generations ago or around Tang and Song dynasties, and underlain a higher incidence of myofibrillar myopathy among Hong Kong Chinese. The late-onset nature and slowly progressive course of the highly penetrant condition could have significant impact on the family members, and an early diagnosis could benefit the whole family. Considering another neighboring founder variant in FLNC in German patients, we advocate development of specific therapies such as chaperone-based or antisense oligonucleotide strategies for this particular type of myopathy.

Adulteration of proprietary Chinese medicines and health products with undeclared drugs: experience of a tertiary toxicology laboratory in Hong Kong.

AIMS: Proprietary Chinese medicines (pCMs) and health products, generally believed to be natural and safe, are gaining popularity worldwide. However, the safety of pCMs and health products has been severely compromised by the practice of adulteration. The current study aimed to examine the problem of adulteration of pCMs and health products in Hong Kong. METHODS: The present study was conducted in a tertiary referral clinical toxicology laboratory in Hong Kong. All cases involving the use of pCMs or health products, which were subsequently confirmed to contain undeclared adulterants, from 2005 to 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 404 cases involving the use of 487 adulterated pCMs or health products with a total of 1234 adulterants were identified. The adulterants consisted of approved drugs, banned drugs, drug analogues and animal thyroid tissue. The six most common categories of adulterants detected were nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (17.7%), anorectics (15.3%), corticosteroids (13.8%), diuretics and laxatives (11.4%), oral antidiabetic agents (10.0%) and erectile dysfunction drugs (6.0%). Sibutramine was the most common adulterant (n = 155). The reported sources of these illicit products included over-the-counter drug stores, the internet and Chinese medicine practitioners. A significant proportion of patients (65.1%) had adverse effects attributable to these illicit products, including 14 severe and two fatal cases. Psychosis, iatrogenic Cushing syndrome and hypoglycaemia were the three most frequently encountered adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Adulteration of pCMs and health products with undeclared drugs poses severe health hazards. Public education and effective regulatory measures are essential to address the problem.

SCN4A-related congenital myopathy in a Han Chinese patient: A case report and literature review.

SCN4A mutations have been shown to be associated with myotonia, paramyotonia congenita, and periodic paralyses. More recently, loss-of-function variants in the SCN4A gene were also noted to be associated with rarer, autosomal recessive forms of congenital myasthenic syndrome and congenital myopathy. Diagnosis is challenging as the initial clinical presentation and histological features on muscle biopsies are non-specific. We report a Han Chinese patient presented with congenital myopathy with two missense SCN4A variants. The patient had an antenatal history of reduced fetal movements, polyhydramnios and a very preterm birth. At birth, she was noted to have low Apgar score, respiratory distress syndrome and hypotonia. Delayed motor development was noted in early childhood. Dysmorphic features such as an elongated face, dolichocephaly and high arched palate were present. At 16 years of age, the patient developed progressive muscle weakness and was wheelchair-bound by age 20. Muscle biopsy revealed non-specific changes only. Targeted hereditary myopathy panel testing by next generation sequencing revealed two previously unreported missense variants c.1841A > T p.(Asn614Ile) and c.4420G > A p.(Ala1474Thr) in the SCN4A gene. The clinical features of SCN4A-related congenital myopathy and myasthenic syndrome were reviewed. This case exemplifies the utility of next generation sequencing in the diagnosis of undifferentiated muscle disease.

Cholinergic Mushroom Poisoning With a Detection of Muscarine Toxin in Urine.

We report an uncommon case of cholinergic poisoning following an ingestion of wild mushrooms. Two middle-aged patients presented to the emergency unit with acute gastrointestinal symptoms including epigastric pain, vomiting and diarrhea, followed by miosis, palpitations and diaphoresis which were compatible with a cholinergic toxidrome. The patients volunteered a history of taking two tablespoons of cooked wild mushrooms collected in a country park. Mildly elevated liver transaminase was noted in one female patient. Mushroom specimens were sent to a mycologist for identification using morphological analysis. Muscarine, a cholinergic toxin found in mushrooms such as Inocybe and Clitocybe species, was subsequently extracted from and identified in the urine specimens of both patients, using a liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method. In this report, the variable clinical presentation of cholinergic mushroom poisoning is discussed. Key issues in the management of these cases were presented. In addition to conventional mushroom identification methods, this report also highlights the use of toxicology tests on different biological and non-biological specimens for diagnosis, prognosis and surveillance purposes.

Changing pleural fluid triglyceride levels in cirrhotic chylothorax.

Chylothorax is an uncommon disease entity, but it occasionally poses a diagnostic challenge to physicians. Pleural fluid triglyceride level has been advocated as a screening test to diagnose chylothorax. However, its level can be depressed if there is an additional pathology driving the process of pleural fluid production. We report a case of high-volume pleural fluid output due to dual pathologies, cirrhotic hydrothorax and chylothorax, causing an initial failure to diagnose chylothorax due to low pleural fluid triglyceride level. The fluid triglyceride levels were unmasked after the treatment for underlying portal hypertension. These findings were further substantiated by positive lipoprotein electrophoresis for chylomicron. In this patient, lipoprotein electrophoresis of his pleural fluid specimen helps distinguish chylothorax as a second pathology amidst the underlying cirrhotic hydrothorax.

Centrosome-associated CDC25B is a novel disease-causing gene for a syndrome with cataracts, dilated cardiomyopathy, and multiple endocrinopathies.

We describe a unique Chinese girl who presented with intrauterine growth retardation, delayed development, bilateral cataracts, hypothyroidism, growth hormone deficiency, and juvenile dilated cardiomyopathy. She was born to consanguineous parents with a history of one fetal and one infantile death in the family. She died from cardiac failure at the age of 12. In the pursuit of a diagnosis, the family was referred to the Clinics for Rare Diseases Referral and the University of Hong Kong Undiagnosed Disease Program. Whole-exome sequencing analysis revealed a homozygous non-sense variant, NM_021873:c.313G > T (p.Glu105*), in the CDC25B gene, a key regulator of the cell cycle. This variant was located in a region of homozygosity of 25 Mb on chromosome 20. Her parents and two asymptomatic sisters were confirmed to be carriers and one brother did not carry the variant. This is the first report of a natural human knockout of the CDC25B gene. Multiple endocrinopathies and fatal juvenile dilated cardiomyopathy suggests the potential for unfavorable complications in oncology patients receiving CDC25B inhibitors as an emerging targeted therapy.

Case Report: The first probable Hong Kong Chinese case of LPIN1-related acute recurrent rhabdomyolysis in a boy with two novel variants.

Recurrent rhabdomyolysis is frequently ascribed to fatty acid ß-oxidation defects, mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders and glycogen storage-related diseases. In recent years, autosomal recessive LPIN1 mutations have been identified as a prevailing cause of severe rhabdomyolysis in children in Western countries. We report the first probable Hong Kong Chinese case of recurrent severe rhabdomyolysis in early childhood caused by LPIN1 variants. Compound heterozygous novel variants NM_145693.2(LPIN1):c.[1949_1967dupGTGTCACCACGCAGTACCA]; [2410G>C] (p.[Gly657Cysfs*12];[Asp804His]) were detected. The former variant was classified as likely pathogenic while the latter variant was classified as a variant of uncertain significance (VUS) based on the guideline published by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) in 2015. Although the genetic findings were inconclusive, the patient's presentation was compatible with LPIN1-related acute recurrent rhabdomyolysis, and the patient was treated as such. The early recognition, timely diagnosis and management of this condition are important to avoid fatal consequences. To our knowledge, there has been no previous report in the English-language literature of a child with Chinese ethnicity and LPIN1-related acute recurrent rhabdomyolysis (MIM #268200).  Functional characterization of the novel variants detected in this study are warranted in future studies.