Treatment and follow-up of 82 children with propionic acidemia / 中华围产医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the treatment and prognosis of children with propionic acidemia (PA).Methods:This study involved 82 children with PA treated in the Department of Pediatric Endocrinol-ogy and Genetic Metabolism, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine from December 2002 to June 2020. Clinical data, including manifestations, laboratory test results, treatment strategy, and follow-up data, were summarized and analyzed using t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. Results:(1) Among the 82 cases consisting of 50 (61.0%) boys and 32 (39.0%) girls, 59 (72.0%) were diagnosed after clinical onset; 22 (26.8%) were diagnosed by newborn screening, including eight asymptomatic ones; the other one (1.2%) was asymptomatic but confirmed after the diagnosis of PA in the patient's sibling. The average age at first onset was 4.5 months (2 d-5 years) in 73 subjects, of which 28 (38.4%) were early-onset PA (within three months after birth). (2) Cranial MRI was performed on 26 cases, and abnormality was identified in 19 (73.1%) cases. (3) Hyperlactatemia was found in 16 cases among 30(53.3%) who underwent relevant examination with the average lactic acid level of 3.5 (2.1-4.3) μmol/L, while 35 out of 40 patients (87.5%) had hyperammonemia with an average blood ammonia level of 105.4 (34-907) μmol/L. (4) Among the 28 early-onset PA cases, 16 (57.1%) died, and 12 (42.9%) survived. There was no significant difference in the serum propionylcarnitine level, propionylcarnitine to acetylcarnitine ratio, urine 3-hydroxypropionic acid, or methylcitrate level between the survival and death cases. (5) Genetic mutations were detected in 75 patients (91.5%), among which 26 (34.7%) carried PCCA gene mutations and 48 (64%) with PCCB gene mutations. One patient (1.3%) harbored one known pathogenic mutation in each of the PCCA and PCCB genes. All mutations were inherited from the parents. (6) Followed up to June 2020, 57 (69.5%) patients survived, and 25 (30.5%) died from multiple organ failure secondary to severe acidosis, including 16 early-onset and nine late-onset cases. Conclusions:The primary treatment of PA is dietary control. Most PA patients are diagnosed after clinical onset, but symptoms may recur and even have developmental retardation despite treatment. Some of those diagnosed through newborn screening are asymptomatic after treatment. Newborn screening using tandem mass spectrometry is recommended for early diagnosis and treatment of PA.

Clinical features and genetic analysis of a case with carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A deficiency / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the clinical and molecular features of a child with carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) deficiency.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of the child was collected. Blood acylcarnitine was determined with tandem mass spectrometry. DNA was extracted from the child and his parents. All exons and flanking regions of the CPT1A gene were analyzed by PCR and Sanger sequencing.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Analysis showed that the patient carried compound heterozygous mutations c.1787T>C and c.2201T>C of the CPT1A gene, which derived his father and mother, respectively. Both mutations were verified as novel through the retrieval of dbSNP, HGMD and 1000 genome databases. Bioinformatic analysis suggested that the mutations can affect protein function.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acyl carnitine analysis has been the main method for the diagnosis of CPT1A deficiency. The c.1787T>C and c.2201T>C mutations of the CPT1A gene probably underlie the disease in this patient. Gene testing can provide important clues for genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis.</p>

Analysis of PCCA and PCCB gene mutations in patients with propionic acidemia / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze PCCA and PCCB gene mutations in 10 Chinese patients with propionic acidemia(PA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes. The 39 exons and flanking sequences of the PCCA and PCCB genes were amplified with polymerase chain reaction and subjected to direct DNA sequencing.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>DNA sequencing has revealed that 7 patients have carried a PCCA gene mutation, 2 patients carried PCCB gene mutation and 1 patient carried mutations in both PCCA and PCCB genes. Ten PA mutations were confirmed, including 8 affecting the PCCA gene and 2 affecting the PCCB gene. Three PCCA mutations c.245G>A, IVS15+5del5, c.1288C>T and 2 PCCB mutations c.838insC, c.1087T>C were found for the first time.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Among Chinese patients with propionic acidemia patients, their genetic mutations are mainly found on the PCCA gene.</p>

Clinical and gene mutation analysis in patients with methylmalonic acidemia and homocystelnemia / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ld have an improved outcome after reasonable treatments. The gene mutation detection suggests that 609G>A (W203X) may be the hot spot mutation of MMACHC gene in Chinese patients.

Observation and nursing for children with cerebral palsy by cerebrovascular function treatment / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective To investigate the curative effect and nursing of children with cerebral palsy treated by cerebrovascular function treatment(CVFT).Methods Children with cerebral palsy(56 cases)were divided into the therapy group and the control group.They all received rehabilitation training and medication.The therapy group were treated with CVFT based upon routine treatmenL Results The effective rate in the thempy group was 96.5% and was 77.8% in the control group.There were statistical difference between the two groups(P＜0.05).Conclusions CVFY can improve the cerebral circulation,advance the blood-supply and oxygen-supply of injured cerebral tissue,alleviate the putrescence of cerebral tissue,accelerate the functional recovery of limbs of children with cerebral palsy,shorten the course of disease and improve the quality of children's life.

Population pharmacokinetics of Guanxin Ⅱ prescription / 中国临床药理学与治疗学

To evaluate the effect of components in Guanxin Ⅱ prescription on the pharmacokinetic profiles of paeoniflorin and ferulic acid. METHODS: Drug concentrations of rat plasmas after intravenous injection of paronia pall (PPE) or ferulic acid (FA) extract solution, as well as oral administration of PPE and FA solution, and different kinds of decoctions based on Guanxin Ⅱ prescription were determined by an HPLC system. NONMEM (nonlinear mixed-effect modeling) method was used to analyze the population pharmacokinetics of PF and FA. RESULTS: A two-compartment model with first order degradation in absorption phase, and an ordinary two-compartment model were adequately describe PF and FA pharmacokinetic profiles, respectively. The mean of PF population parameters, CL1, V1, CL2, V2, Ka0, and Ka1, were 0.509 L/h, 0.104 L, 0.113 L/h, 0.123 L, 0.135 /h, and 0.0135 /h, respectively, while the typical values of CL1, V1, CL2, V2, Ka1, and F in FA model were 0.295 L/h, 0.025 L, 0.0331 L/h, 0.0518 L, 0.110 /h, and 0.40, respectively. Inter-individual variabilities were estimated and dose formulation (DF) was identified as a significant covariate in the model. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the pharmacokinetic behaviors of index components in Guanxin Ⅱ prescription can be influenced by different dose formulations administrated in rats.

Application of brainstem auditory evoked potentials in evaluation of children with spastic cerebral palsy / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective To explore the value of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) in the evaluation of spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Methods Forty five cases of CP children were recruited and divided, according to the diagnosis standards, into three groups: diplegia, hemiplegia and tetraplegia groups. Twenty three healthy children served as control. BAEP was recorded from all the subjects and comparisons were done among the various groups. Results The abnormality rate of BAEP in the hemiplegia and tetraplegia groups was significantly higher than that in the diplegia group ( P

The Strand-biased Transcription of SARS-CoV-2 and Unbalanced Inhibition by Remdesivir

SARS-CoV-2, a positive single-stranded RNA virus, caused the COVID-19 pandemic. During the viral replication and transcription, the RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) "jumps" along the genome template, resulting in discontinuous negative-stranded transcripts. In other coronaviruses, the negative strand RNA was found functionally relevant to the activation of host innate immune responses. Although the sense-mRNA architectures of SARS-CoV-2 were reported, its negative strand was unexplored. Here, we deeply sequenced both strands of RNA and found SARS-CoV-2 transcription is strongly biased to form the sense strand. During negative strand synthesis, apart from canonical sub-genomic ORFs, numerous non-canonical fusion transcripts are formed, driven by 3-15 nt sequence homology scattered along the genome but more prone to be inhibited by SARS-CoV-2 RNA polymerase inhibitor Remdesivir. The drug also represses more of the negative than the positive strand synthesis as supported by a mathematic simulation model and experimental quantifications. Overall, this study opens new sights into SARS-CoV-2 biogenesis and may facilitate the anti-viral vaccine development and drug design. One Sentence SummaryStrand-biased transcription of SARS-CoV-2.