Biotinase deficiency in a child with predominantly spinal cord disease:a case report and literature review / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To describe the clinical features of pediatric biotinase deficiency (BTD) manifested as spinal cord disease.Methods:The clinical data of a child with spinal cord lesions due to biotinase deficiency, diagnosed in Beijing Children′s Hospital in 2020, were collected. The cases with complete clinical data retrieved on literature reported in China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data knowledge Service Platform and PubMed (up to August 2021) by using search terms of biotinase deficiency, pediatric, spinal cord, myelopathy and myelitis were summarized.Results:The patient was a 3 years and 5 months old boy with the main clinical manifestations of subacute progressive limb weakness and wheezing. Physical examination showed sparse hair, rough skin, spastic paraparesis and developmental delay. Cerebrospinal lactic acid was increased (5.67 mmol/L). Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed diffuse T 2/fluid attenuated inversion recovery hyperintensity of the midbrain, dorsal pons, edulla, periacqueductal grey and optic tracts. Spinal cord lesions were extended from the medulla up to the level of the conus. Urineketone bodies and 3-hydroxyisurate were increased. The activity of biotinidase was 0.27 pmol/min (3 mm disc), being 7% of mean normal serum activity. Genetic studies revealed homozygous mutation in the BTD gene [c.284T>A (p.I95N)]. After biotin supplementation for 6 months, the only evident abnormality was residual spasticity of lower limbs. Fourteen English literatures and 2 Chinese literatures including 18 cases were collected. The onset age was from 2 months to 15 years (median age was 4 years). Among them, 11 cases had cranial MRI abnormalities, of which all involved brain stem, 6 cases involved optic tracts and (or) optic chiasm. All 18 cases had spinal cord MRI abnormalities with longitudinally extensive lesion, mostly involved cervical and thoracic spinal segments, and 3 cases involved all spinal segments. Twelve cases received immunotherapy, and 6 were partially improved, 6 were completely invalid. After biotin supplementation, 12 patients had neurological disability. Conclusions:BTD should be included in the differential diagnosis of subacute myelopathy, regardless of the onset age. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent irreversible neurological damage.

Phenotype and genotype features of 11 children with dystonia 28 caused by KMT2B variants / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics of children with dystonia 28 (DYT28) caused by KMT2B gene variations so as to improve clinicians′ understanding of the disease. Methods:The clinical manifestations, treatment and gene variation data of 11 children with DYT28 caused by KMT2B gene variations were retrospectively collected and analyzed.The subjects were recruited from the Department of Neurology, Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University from March 2018 to January 2021.The patients were followed up. Results:There were 8 males and 3 females.The age at onset was ranging from 1 month to 6 years without inducement.Eight cases were gene-ralized dystonia and 3 cases were multifocal dystonia.The initial symptoms of 7 cases were unilateral or bilateral lower limbs tiptoeing.Four cases presented dysarthria, retching or swallowing difficulties at onset.As the disease progressed, all the cases had laryngeal dystonia, 10 cases had lower limbs dystonia, and 8 cases had upper limbs dystonia.Six cases were complicated with other dyskinesia symptoms.Ten cases had varying degrees of short stature, microcephalus, micrognathia, musculoskeletal abnormalities, intellectual disability, endocrinopathies and sleep difficulties.The brain magnetic resonance imaging showed abnormal in only 1 case.Eleven KMT2B gene pathogenic variants were found, including 8 frameshift variants, 1 in-frame variant and 2 missense variants.Four variants were novel.Eleven cases were followed up at the age of 1 year and 7 months to 17 years and 9 months.One case wasn′t given therapy.The dystonia in 3 cases was mildly improved after medication.Dysfunction of urination and defecation was disappeared in 1 case after medication.The symptom of 6 cases had no improvement after drug therapy.Among the above 6 cases, 5 drug refractory cases had deep brain stimulation, and their dystonia symptoms are all obviously improved; 2 cases had normal control of urination and defecation after deep brain stimulation.The motor scores in the Burke-Fahn-Marsden dystonia rating scale were improved by 55.8%-90.7%, and the disability scores were improved by 14.8%-69.6%. Conclusions:DYT28 caused by KMT2B gene variations is one of the most common and early-onset genetic dystonia in children.The dystonia symptom progresses from local parts to the whole body, prominently involving laryngeal muscles and lower limbs.Control of urination and defecation requires attention.Patients with mild dystonia symptoms can be effectively treated by drugs.However, patients with severe dystonia symptoms were drug refractory, and their dystonia symptoms can be effectively improved by deep brain stimulation.

Correlation analysis of eye and neurological manifestations in 56 children with infantile gangliosideosis in China / 中华眼底病杂志

Objective:To observe and analyze the clinical characteristics and correlation between the eye and nervous system in children with infantile gangliosideosis.Methods:From November 2018 to January 2021, 3 children with infantile ganglion lipidosis diagnosed by genetic examination in the Department of Ophthalmology and Neurology, Beijing Children's Hospital of Capital Medical University, and through China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang database and The National Library of Medicine of the United States (PubMed) were searched, and 53 cases of Chinese infantile gangliosideosis diagnosed by gene, enzyme activity or pathological examination were selected and a total of 56 cases were included in the study. The searching time was from the establishment of the database to February 2021, and the search keywords are"gangliosideosis", "cherry-spot" macula and "Chinese". The demographic characteristics of 56 cases of children and other system manifestations were analyzed such as eyes, nervous system, skin, bones. According to the presence or absence of cherry-spot (CS) on the fundus examination, the children were divided into a fundus CS group (group A) and a fundus without CS group (group B), with 20 and 27 cases, respectively. The age of onset, gender, different types and neurological manifestations of the two groups of children were compared and analyzed. The non-parametric rank sum test was used for age comparison between groups; the χ2 test or Fisher's exact test were used for the comparison of gender, disease type and incidence between groups. Results:Among the 56 children, 27 were males and 29 were females; the median age of onset was 7.0 months. There were 33 and 23 cases of GM1 and GM2, respectively. Among 44 children with visual function examination records, 41 cases (93.2%, 41/44) were unable to follow the visual object. Of 47 children who underwent ocular fundus examination, 20 cases (42.6%, 20/47) had CS on the fundus. The main manifestations of the nervous system are neuromotor development regression or retardation (100%, 56/56), convulsions (58.1%, 25/43), and "startle" phenomena (89.7%, 26/29). Among 42 patients with brain magnetic resonance imaging examination records, 39 cases (92.9%) were abnormal. The incidence of "startle" and seizures in group A was higher than that in group B, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=5.815, 6.182, P=0.021, 0.013). Conclusios:Chinese infantile gangliosideosis is more common in GM1 type. Ocular visual impairment is the visual object as the main manifestation, the incidence of fundus CS is 42.6%, and the symptoms of neurological damage in children with CS are more severe.

Clinical features and genetic characteristics of children with tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency caused by TH gene variants / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics and genetic features of tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency(THD) caused by TH gene variants for the improvement of the understanding of the disease. Methods:The clinical and genetic data of 33 children with THD caused by TH gene variants were diagnosed in the Department of Neurology of Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University from May 2011 to January 2020 and their data were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results:There were 19 females and 14 males.The age at onset was ranged from 0 to 6.3 years.13 patients developed diseases, accompanied with fever after infection, and 1 patient suffered from hypoxia, 19 patients suffered from no predisposing factors.There were 7 mild TH-deficient dopa-responsive dystonia cases, 16 severe TH-deficient infantile parkinsonism with motor delay cases and 10 very severe TH-deficient progressive infantile encephalopathy cases.Clinical symptoms were fluctuating, including 26 cases of diurnal fluctuation, 22 cases of infection aggravation, and 30 cases of fatigue aggravation.The initial symptoms included tiptoeing and numbness in the limbs(7 cases), motor development retardation or degression (26 cases), fremitus (8 cases), ptosis (2 cases), and status dystonicus (3 cases). Other clinical features had hypermyotonia (23 cases), hypomyotonia (27 cases), decreased movement (27 cases), decreased facial expression (24 cases), fremitus (18 cases), tiptoeing (20 cases), talipes equinovarus (7 cases), ptosis (8 cases), oculogyric crisis (10 cases), salivation (21 cases), dysphagia (12 cases), dysarthria (16 cases), dyspnea (3 cases), increased sleep (10 cases), decreased sleep (5 cases), irritable mood (15 cases), apathetic mood (2 cases), profuse sweating (8 cases), and status dystonicus (6 cases). A total of 6 patients′ right limbs were more severe, and 14 patients′ lower limbs were more severe.Eight patients had family history, and Levodopa treatment was effective for all patients.Ten patients suffered side effects, including dyskinesia and irritability.Four patients were lost follow-up, and 29 patients were followed up between 0.8 and 13.2 years old until Ja-nuary 2020.Totally, 22 patients almost had no such symptoms.Twenty-five TH gene pathogenic variants were discovered in 33 patients.There were 13 novel variants (c.1160T>C, c.1303T>C, c.887G>A, c.1084G>A, c.1097A>T, c.734G>T, c.907C>G, c.588G>T, c.992T>G, c.755G>A, c.184-6C>T, c.1510C>T, c.910G>A) and 2 patients had c. 910G>A variant.Meanwhile, there were 5 hot variants [c.698G>A(13 cases), c.457C>T(9 cases), c.739G>A(6 cases), c.1481C>T(4 cases), c.694C>T(3 cases)]. c.910G>A(2 cases) may be the foun-der variant of Chinese population. Conclusions:THD caused by TH gene variant mostly onsets from infant, with complex clinical features.Most of these patients were severe, and only a few were very severe and mild.Very severe and mild symptoms were easily misdiagnosed.Levodopa treatment was obviously effective.A possible founder variant of Chinese population (c.910G>A) was found.c.698G>A and c. 457C>T mutations mainly appeared in patients with severe and extremely severe THD, while c. 739G>A mainly appeared in patients with mild THD.

Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of fever-induced paroxysmal weakness and encephalopathy caused by ATP1A3 pathogenic variants / 中华儿科杂志

Objective@#To characterize fever-induced paroxysmal weakness and encephalopathy (FIPWE) caused by ATP1A3 gene pathogenic variant.@*Methods@#Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of 4 FIPWE patients (3 boys and 1 girl), who were ascertained from October 2016 to March 2018 in Beijing Children's Hospital due to ATP1A3 heterozygous variants, were retrospectively analyzed. The whole exsome sequencing was used for genetic testing.@*Results@#The onset ages of 4 patients were 2 years and 9 months, 2 years and 4 months, 8 months, 2 years and 5 months respectively. The episode ranged from 1 to 3 times, and at 3 months to 2 years and 10 months intervals. All 4 patients had symptoms of limb weakness and encephalopathy, accompanied with mild to severe ataxia or athetosis. The tendon reflex was absent in all patients, and the Babinski's sign was positive. Three patients had dysphagia and 3 patients had slurred speech. Three patients had abnormal eye movements, including strabismus and opsoclonus. None of the 4 patients exhibited visual impairment, auditory impairment or talipes cavus. The duration of acute phase ranged from 1 week to 3 months. In 3 relapsing patients, symptoms became progressively worse, with relapses occurring frequently and recovery being more difficult, and various sequelae were found after the last relapse. All patients carried heterozygous variant in ATP1A3 gene. The missense variants result in the substitution of an arginine residue at position 756. Three variants were identified, including C. 2267G > T (p. R756L) (1 case), C. 2266C > T (p. R756C) (2 cases), and C. 2267G > A (p. R756H) (1 case). Three were de novo and one inherited from his father, but the grandparents did not carry the variant. All variants were reported as pathogenic.@*Conclusions@#FIPWE is one of new clinical phenotypes of ATP1A3 spectrum disease and most cases are sporadic. The missense variants result in the substitution of an arginine residue at position 756. This report provided insights into the phenotype-genotype association in patients with FIPWE caused by pathogenic variants of ATP1A3.

Clinical features of central nerve system inflammatory demyelinating diseases associated with anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies in children / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective@#To describe the clinical manifestations of central nerve system inflammatory demyelinating disease associated with anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody (MOG-IDD) in children, and to explore the clinical characteristics of the children.@*Methods@#The clinical and laboratory characteristics of the patients diagnosed in Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University, from October 2016 to August 2018 were described, and the clinical data of the patients with unipolar and recurrent diseases were compared.@*Results@#A total of 50 patients were included, among whom the ratio of male to female was 24:26, and the average age of onset was (6.7±3.1) years old (0.4-12.6 years old). There was no significant difference in the age of onset between boys and girls(t=0.712, P=0.480). The main symptoms included fever (31/50 cases), encephalopathy (26/50 cases) and optic neuritis (22/50 cases), etc.In the last follow-up, 26 patients (52.0%) had a monophasic course and 24 patients (48.0%) had a recurrent course.There were age differences in encephalopathy and ataxia in the first episode of [(5.7±2.8) years old vs.(8.1±3.0) years old, (5.0±2.5) years old vs. (7.7±3.0) years old](t=2.746, P=0.009; t=2.837, P=0.007). The average number of recurrence was (2.1±1.4) times (1-7 times), in which 17 cases (70.8%) of recurrence presented within 12 months and 20 cases (83.3%) of recurrence presented within 24 months after onset.Convulsion incidences of recurrent cases were 10 cases and 13 cases respectively in the first episode and recurrent courses, which were significantly higher than those of monophasic cases (4 cases, 4 cases)(χ2=7.912, P=0.005; χ2=8.365, P=0.004). All patients were sensitive to first-line immunotherapy.Seven patients with recu-rrence were treated with mycophenolatemofetil, and 17 patients with repeated first-line therapy.In the last follow-up, all patients were in remission and 2 patients had mild neurological dysfunction.@*Conclusions@#MOG-IDD can occur in childhood.Encephalopathy and optic neuritis are the most common symptoms.Encephalopathy and ataxia are more common in young children.Convulsions may indicate the course of recurrence.

Large-single scale mitochondrial DNA deletions in different tissues in Kearns-Sayre syndrome / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective@#To investigate the clinical significance of different samples (the peripheral blood, urine and skeletal muscle) that could be detected the large-scale single deletions directly by using next-generation sequencing in the diagnosis of Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS) by concluding the clinical and genetic features of KSS, in order to explore a non-invasive method for diagnosis.@*Methods@#The clinical data, skeletal muscle′s pathology and enzymology and genetic results of individuals with KSS, who were hospitalized from October 2016 to October 2017 in Department of Neurology, Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University, were collected.The gene tests were performed by using next generation sequencing technology and long-PCR technology of mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA) and the whole exon in the peripheral blood, urine and skeletal muscle.@*Results@#Four patients were all consistent with the diagnosis criteria of KSS, among whom the age of onset was 8.2 years old on average, and the initial symptoms were statue, ptosis, headache and vomiting, and visual impairment.The common symptoms of the 4 cases were ophthalmoplegia, exercise intolerance, development delay, loss of appetite, hypotonia, muscle weakness, with cerebrospinal fluid protein concentration over 1 000 mg/L, the cerebral magnetic resonance imaging showed that abnormal signals in the brainstem, in addition, white matter, thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebrum and cerebellum atrophy could be found.Moreover, 3 cases had cardiac conduction block.Two cases had maternal family history.Molecular analysis of the 4 cases revealed the large-scale single deletions of mtDNA from the peripheral blood, the urine, the skeletal muscle through the next-generation sequencing, which were m. 6460-15590(9 131 bp del), m.8482-13446(4 964 bp del), m.6831-14981(8 151 bp del), m.7983-15495(7 513 bp del), respectively.Among 3 cases who did pedigree analysis, only the mother of case 4 was detected with the same variation of the proband.@*Conclusions@#KSS is a rare mitochondrial disease, which could be detected with the single large scale mtDNA deletions in the peripheral blood, urine and skeletal muscle.With the development of the methodology, the diagnosis of KSS maybe no longer than depends on the muscle biopsy with the next-generation sequencing.And the possibility to get the positive results in the peripheral blood and urine by the non-invasive method could improve the molecular diagnosis of KSS.

Clinical and genetic characteristics of 62 children with mitochondrial epilepsy / 中华儿科杂志

Objective@#To summarize the clinical and genetic characteristics of children with mitochondrial epilepsy.@*Methods@#Clinical data of 62 children who were clinically and genetically diagnosed with mitochondrial epilepsy by the Department of Neurology, Beijing Children′s Hospital from October 2011 to December 2018 were analyzed retrospectively, and the control of epilepsy was followed up. T test or χ2 test were used to analyze the related factors affecting the prognosis of epilepsy between the effective group and the ineffective group.@*Results@#Of the 62 patients, 33 were male and 29 were female. The age of onset was 3.38 (0-12.00) years; for the type of seizures, 68% (42/62) of the patients had focal seizures, generalized or secondary generalized tonic-clonic seizures were seen in 32% (20/62), myoclonic seizures in 23% (14/62), spastic seizures in 7 cases, tonic seizures in 4 cases, absence seizure, atonic seizure and clonic seizure in 1 case each; 16 cases (26%) had status epilepticus, of whom 6 cases had epilepsia partialis continua; 52% (32/62) had 2 or more types of seizures. The clinical phenotypes were mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) in 29 cases, Leigh syndrome (LS) in 11 cases, combined oxidative phosphorylation deficiency in 6 cases, myoclonus epilepsy with ragged-red fibers in 5 cases, Alpers syndrome in 4 cases, pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 6 and mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome 9 in 2 cases each, mitochondrial complex Ⅰ deficiency nuclear type 20, progressive cavitating leukoencephalopathy, and biotinidase deficiency in 1 case each. Of the 62 cases, 40 cases (65%) had mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations, of which 26 cases had m.3243A>G variants, 6 cases had m.8344A>G variants, and 3 cases had m.8993T>G/C variants, m.3271T>C, m.3481G>A, m.3946G>A, m.13094T>C, m.14487T>C variant was in 1 case each; nuclear DNA (nDNA) variations were identified in 22 cases (35%), of which 7 cases carrying variations in mitochondrial ammonia acyl tRNA synthetase coding gene, mutations in POLG and the gene encoding complex Ⅰ were in 4 cases each, variations in SUCLG1 and SDHA genes were in 2 cases each, and variations in PDHA1, BTD and TRIT1 genes were in 1 case each. Forty-three patients were followed up, and the follow-up time was 20 (3-84) months. According to the follow-up results, the anti-epilepsy treatment was effective in 19 cases (44%) and ineffective in other 24 cases (56%). The onset age of the effective group was 3.42 (0-11.50) years and that of the ineffective group was 0.92 (0-9.50) years. The onset duration of the effective group was 0 (0-7.00) years and that of the ineffective group was 0 (0-4.83) years. There was no significant difference between the effective group and the ineffective group (t=1.662, 0.860; P=0.104, 0.395). In the effective group and the ineffective group, 12 cases and 9 cases used less than 2 kinds of antiepileptic drugs, 7 cases and 15 cases used more than or equal to 2 kinds of antiepileptic drugs, 13 and 15 cases had first epilepsy, 6 and 9 cases had non-first epilepsy, 14 and 11 cases had mtDNA variation, 5 and 13 cases had nDNA variation, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups (χ2=2.794, 0.164, 3.380; P=0.095, 0.686, 0.066).@*Conclusions@#The types of seizures with mitochondrial epilepsy in children varied, with focal motor seizures being the most common, followed by generalized or secondary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Most children have more than two types of seizures. MELAS is the most common clinical phenotype, followed by LS; mtDNA variation is the dominant gene variation, of which m.3243A>G variation is the most common hotspot variation, followed by gene variation encoding mitochondrial aminoacyl tRNA synthase.

Large-single scale mitochondrial DNA deletions in different tissues in Kearns-Sayre syndrome / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of different samples (the peripheral blood,urine and skeletal muscle) that could be detected the large-scale single deletions directly by using next-generation sequencing in the diagnosis of Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS) by concluding the clinical and genetic features of KSS,in order to explore a non-invasive method for diagnosis.Methods The clinical data,skeletal muscle's pathology and enzymology and genetic results of individuals with KSS,who were hospitalized from October 2016 to October 2017 in Department of Neurology,Beijing Children's Hospital,Capital Medical University,were collected.The gene tests were performed by using next generation sequencing technology and long-PCR technology of mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA) and the whole exon in the peripheral blood,urine and skeletal muscle.Results Four patients were all consistent with the diagnosis criteria of KSS,among whom the age of onset was 8.2 years old on average,and the initial symptoms were statue,ptosis,headache and vomiting,and visual impairment.The common symptoms of the 4 cases were ophthalmoplegia,exercise intolerance,development delay,loss of appetite,hypotonia,muscle weakness,with cerebrospinal fluid protein concentration over 1 000 mg/L,the cerebral magnetic resonance imaging showed that abnormal signals in the brainstem,in addition,white matter,thalamus,basal ganglia,cerebrum and cerebellum atrophy could be found.Moreover,3 cases had cardiac conduction block.Two cases had maternal family history.Molecular analysis of the 4 cases revealed the large-scale single deletions of mtDNA from the peripheral blood,the urine,the skeletal muscle through the nextgeneration sequencing,which were m.6460-15590(9 131 bp del),m.8482-13446(4 964 bp del),m.6831-14981 (8 151 bp del),m.7983-15495 (7 513 bp del),respectively.Among 3 cases who did pedigree analysis,only the mother of case 4 was detected with the same variation of the proband.Conclusions KSS is a rare mitochondrial disease,which could be detected with the single large scale mtDNA deletions in the peripheral blood,urine and skeletal muscle.With the development of the methodology,the diagnosis of KSS maybe no longer than depends on the muscle biopsy with the next-generation sequencing.And the possibility to get the positive results in the peripheral blood and urine by the non-invasive method could improve the molecular diagnosis of KSS.

Clinical characteristics and genetic features of benign infantile epilepsy with PRRT2 mutation / 中华儿科杂志

Objective@#To summarize the detailed clinical characteristics and genetic features of benign infantile epilepsy with PRRT2 mutation, in order to improve the understanding of the disease.@*Methods@#The clinical data and genetic results of 40 benign infantile epilepsy patients with PRRT2 mutation who were diagnosed and treated in the neurology department of National Center for Children's Health (Beijing) , Beijing Children's Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University from January 2002 to October 2017 and their affected family members were analyzed.@*Results@#Forty benign infantile epilepsy patients were recruited for this study, with 18 males and 22 females. The age at onset ranged from 3 to 15 months (median: 4.6 months). All patients presented focal seizures with or without secondary generalization. Decreased responsiveness, eyes stare and cyanosis were commonly observed. A cluster of seizures was observed in 20 patients at the beginning of the disease, but interictal clinical conditions were normal. Interictal electroencephalograms were normal in 32 cases but 8 cases showed small amount scattered spike and spike wave. Two patients developed paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia in 30 months and 12 years respectively after the cessation of the seizure. Thirty-four affected pedigree members had a history of paroxysmal episodes in 24 families, including 19 individuals of infantile afebrile convulsion, 6 individuals of paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia during childhood or adulthood, 8 individuals of infantile convulsion and paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia during adulthood, one individual of infantile febrile convulsion. The follow-up time ranged from 6 months to 15 years. Thirty-six patients were treated with antiepileptic drugs and their seizures were easy to control. Four patients stayed seizure free without medication (all <2 years). Seizure stopped in 24 patients within 1 year of age, in 10 patients stopped during 12-24 months and in 2 patients stopped during 24-36 months. All cases had PRRT2 mutations, 7 cases of a complete PRRT2 deletion, 33 cases of PRRT2 heterozygous mutations consisted of 28 frameshift mutations and 5 missense mutations. Of these heterozygous mutations, 30 cases were hereditary mutations while 3 were de novo mutations. Nine family members harbored the same PRRT2 mutations without any symptom.@*Conclusions@#Benign infantile epilepsy with PRRT2 mutation is characterized by early onset of seizure mostly before 6 months, focal seizures with or without secondary generalization, a high incidence of a cluster of seizures, rapid resolution of seizure by antiepileptic drugs and cessation of seizure mostly before 2 years of age. Partial patients may develop paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia increasing with age. Most PRRT2 gene mutations are heterozygous mutations, and a few are the overall deletion of PRRT2 gene.

Clinical features and diagnosis of childhood leukoencephalopathy with cerebral calcifications and cysts in four cases / 中华儿科杂志

Objective@#To investigate the clinical features and diagnostic bases of childhood leukoencephalopathy with cerebral calcifications and cysts (LCC).@*Methods@#The clinical data involving manifestations and laboratory examinations of 4 children with LCC admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from 2012 to 2017 were retrospectively summarized. Each patient had a follow-up visit ranging from 4 months to 5 years and 9 months after initial examination.@*Results@#Patients consisted of 2 males and 2 females, whose age of onset was respectively 2 years and 9 months, 6 years and 2 months, 7 years and 10 months, and 5 years and 1 month. The main clinical symptoms of these cases included headache, dizziness, partial seizure and claudication, and two of these cases had insidious onset. Cerebral calcifications and cysts with leukoencephalopathy were detected by neuroimaging in all patients. In addition, multifocal microhemorrhages and calcifications were observed by magnetic susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) series in 3 patients. Brain biopsy performed on 1 case disclosed a neuronal reduction in the cerebral cortex, loosening of focal white matter, multifocal lymphocyte infiltration, fresh hemorrhages, and gliosis, as well as angiomatous changes of blood vessels with hyalinized thicken-wall, stenotic or occlusive lumina and calcification deposits. The compound heterozygous mutations of n.*10G>A and n.82A>G in SNORD118 were identified in 1 case by target-capture next-generation sequencing. Sanger sequencing verified that the variant n.*10G>A was a novel mutation and it was of paternal-origin, while the variant n.82A>G was of maternal-origin, which had already been reported to be pathogenic to LCC. Follow-up study had shown continued partial seizure in 1 case and remissive claudication in another, while the remaining 2 cases had a relatively favorable outcome without obvious neurological symptoms at present time.@*Conclusions@#The clinical manifestations of LCC are nonspecific, and the onset of the disease tends to be insidious. The triad neuroimaging findings of cerebral calcifications, cysts and leukoencephalopathy are essential to the diagnosis of the disease, and the signals of microhemorrhages revealed by SWI series provide another eloquent reference for the diagnosis. As biopsy is invasive and usually unavailable in the early stage, gene assessment, instead of pathological data, should be the gold standard in the diagnosis of LCC.

Clinical features and gene diagnosis of L-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria in 4 children / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical features and gene diagnostic bases of childhood L-2 -hydroxyglutaric aciduria (L-2-HGA). Methods The clinical data involving manifestations,laboratory examinations of 4 children with L-2-HGA admitted to Beijing Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from April 2015 to March 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Each patient had a follow-up visit ranging from 3 months to 3 years and 2 months after initial examination. Results The 4 patients,of whom 2 were siblings,consisted of 1 male and 3 females,whose age of onset ranged from 8 months old to 3 years old. All of them presented with seizures as their initial symptom. The developmental milestones were all normal before onset,while 3 cases gradually became mentally stagnant. Other symptoms included unsteady gait in 3 cases,slight hand trembling when holding items in 2 cases,and pyramidal impairment in 2 cases. Bilateral symmetric abnormalities in subcortical white matter,basal ganglia and dentate nucleus were detected by cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)in all patients,and cerebral and cerebellar atrophy was ob-served in 1 case. Organic acid analysis by gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/ MS)demonstrated notable ele-vation of urinary 2-hydroxyglutaric acid in 3 cases. Pathogenic mutations on L2HGDH gene were detected by target -capture high-throughput sequencing in all 4 patients. The compound heterozygous mutations of c. 845G > A (p. Arg282Gln)and c. 800_801delCA (p. Ser267Ter)were identified in case 1,the homozygous missense mutation of c. 584A > G (p. Tyr195Cys ) in case 2 and case 3,and the homozygous frameshift mutation of c. 407delA (p. Lys136SerfsTer3)in case 4. The variants of c. 800_801delCA and c. 407delA were novel mutations firstly reported in this study. Sanger sequencing verified that parents of the 4 cases were all heterozygous carriers. The follow-up study in 2 cases who were put on high dosage of vitamin B2 and L-carnitine had shown a relatively favorable outcome of mild remission in ataxia and absence of mental degradation and further seizures,while the other 2 cases without specific therapy remained relatively stable. Conclusions The main clinical manifestations of L-2-HGA are mental retarda-tion,seizures and ataxia. Bilateral symmetric abnormalities in subcortical white matter,basal ganglia and dentate nucleus are specific neuroimaging findings. Significant elevation of urinary 2-hydroxyglutaric acid is the basic feature of the disease,while gene assessment should be the gold standard in the diagnosis of L-2-HGA. Treatment with high dosage of vitamin B2 and L-carnitine might be effective to partial patients.

Clinical effect of atomoxetine hydrochloride in 66 children with narcolepsy / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the efficacy and safety of atomoxetine hydrochloride in children with narcolepsy.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Totally 66 patients with narcolepsy who were conformed international classification of sleep disturbances (ICSD-2) diagnostic criteria treated with atomoxetine hydrochloride seen from November 2010 to December 2014 were enrolled into this study, 42 of them were male and 24 female, mean age of onset was 7.5 years (3.75-13.00 years), mean duration before diagnosis was 1.75 years (0.25-5.00 years). Complete blood count, liver and kidney function, multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), polysomnography (PGS), neuroimaging and electroencephalography (EEG) were performed for each patient. For some of the children HLA-DR2 gene and serum markers of infection were tested. The 66 cases were followed up from 2 to 49 months (average 18 months) to observe the clinical efficacy and adverse reactions.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In 62 cases excessive daytime sleepiness was improved, in 11 cases (16.7%) it was controlled (16.7%), in 29 cases (43.9%) the treatment was obviously effective and in 22 (33.3%) it was effective; cataplexy occurred in 54 cases, in 18 (33.3%) it was controlled, in 19 (35.2%) the treatment was obviously effective and in 10 (18.5%) effective; night sleep disorders existed in 55 cases, in 47 cases it was improved, in 14 (25.5%) it was controlled, in 20 (36.4%) the treatment was obviously effective and in 13 (23.6%) effective; hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucination was present in 13 cases, in only 4 these symptoms were controlled. Sleep paralysis existed in 4 cases, it was controlled in only 1 case. In 18 cases attention and learning efficiency improved.Anorexia occurred in 18 cases, mood disorder in 5 cases, depression in 2 cases, nocturia, muscle tremors, involuntary tongue movement each occurred in 1 case. P-R interval prolongation and atrial premature contraction were found in 1 case.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Atomoxetine hydrochloride showed good effects in patients with narcolepsy on excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy and night sleep disorders, the effects on hallucinations and sleep paralysis were not significant. Adverse reactions were slight, anorexia and mood disorder were common. As a non-central nervous system stimulant, atomoxetine hydrochloride does not induce drug dependence and has no prescription limits; it has good tolerability, safety and effectiveness, it can be a good alternative in treatment of children with narcolepsy.</p>

Research progress of genotype and phenotype in proteolipid protein 1-related disorders / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Proteolipid protein 1 (PLP1)-related disorders are a series rare X-linked recessive disorders caused by mutations of PLP1 gene.There is a spectrum of PLP1-related disorders from very severe connatal PelizaeusMerzbacher disease(PMD,MIM# 312080),through classical PMD to mild spastic paraplegia type 2 (SPG2,MIM# 312920),with some correlation between the type of mutation and the phenotype.The genotype of PLP1-related disorders was constantly discovered and updated,meanwhile there was obvious heterogeneous within clinical phenotypes.Moreover,there were so many diseases similar to PLP1-related disorders.Therefore,there was a huge challenge when clinician met with PLP1-related disorders.The aim of this report is to summarize correlation between the genotype and the phenotype of PLP1-related disorders,and give a help for clinician to diagnose this group complicated disorders.

Antenatal taurine supplementation reduces cerebral cell apoptosis in fetal rats with growth restriction / 中华围产医学杂志

Objective To explore the effect of antenatal taurine supplementation on cerebral apoptosis and the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and caspase-3 in fetal rats with fetal growth restriction (FGR).Methods Fifteen pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups:control group,FGR model group (model group) and FGR with antenatal taurine supplementation group (taurine group).Taurine was added into the diet of taurine group at a dose of 300 mg/(kg · d) from the 12th day of gestation until natural delivery.Two appropriate for gestational age (AGA) newborn rats were randomly selected from each mother in control group and two FGR fetal rats were randomly selected from each mother both in model and taurine groups.Apoptosis of neural cells in the brain was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL).Changes in protein expression of GDNF and caspase-3 were detected by immunohistochemistry.Levene method,one-way ANOVA and SNK-test,or Kruskal Wallis rank sum test and Tamhane’ s test were applied for statistical analysis.Results (1)The total amounts of fetal rats in control group,model group and taurine group were 65,60 and 59.The mean body weight of fetal rats were (6.36±0.44) g,(4.55 ± 0.45) g and (5.11±0.67) g,respectively.All fetal rats developed FGR in model group,while 76.3％(45/59) of fetal rats were FGR in taurine group.Therefore,FGR model was successfully established.(2) In control group,there were few expression of TUNEL positive cells in cerebral cortex.A large amount of TUNEL positive cells were found in the cortex,hippocampal and white matter area in model group,but less positive cells were identified in taurine group than in model group.The amount of apoptotic brain cells in the three groups were (0.46 ± 0.11),(14.76 ± 3.42) and (6.78 ± 1.93),respectively(H=429.80,P=0.000).(3)There were only small amount of GDNF positive cells in cerebral cortex in control group and more in model group.The amount of GDNF positive cells was further increased in taurine group.The amount of GDNF positive cells in cerebral cortex in the three groups were (93.56± 6.73),(120.36± 6.23)and(139.56± 5.28),respectively (H=715.17,P=0.000).(4) Few caspase-3 positive cells were found in cerebral cortex in control group.A large amount of positive cells were found in model group and less positive cells were found in taurine group,which was still more than those in control group.The amounts of caspase-3 positive cells in the three groups were (7.50±2.31),(151.32±24.43)and(37.28±11.21),respectively (F=132.54,P=0.000).Conclusions The number of apoptotic neural cells in brain tissue of baby rats with FGR were significantly increased,which can be significantly alleviated by maternal antenatal taurine supplementation through upregulation of GDNF and downregulation of caspase-3 expression.

Progress of metabolomics in children with nervous system disease / 国际儿科学杂志

Metabolomics, the measurement of metabolite concentrations and fluxes in cell systems, is an emerging science that has enormous potential and good application prospect. Metabolomics technology, especially mass spectrometry, has been used extensively in screening children's heredity metabolic disease, and part of these diseases has become to be curing. In this review, we elaborate on the application of metabolomics in early diagnosis of central nervous system infectious disease, screening of lipide metabolism dysfunction in nervous system and childhood autism, with special focus on the finding of cholesterin storage in nerve cell, variations in the metabolism of glucose, which give its promise for diagnosis and treatment of the lipide metabolism dysfunction in nervous system.