Deep brain stimulation in Lesch-Nyhan syndrome: a systematic review.

Given the good results of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the treatment of movement disorders, DBS was initially tried to treat Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS) with the aim to alleviate LNS-related dystonia. Some cases have reported clinical results of DBS in LNS thus far. This systematic review was conducted to comprehensively summarize cases of LNS treated with DBS and evaluate the efficacy and safety of DBS in LNS. Eight publications covering 12 LNS patients were included in this review. DBS improved dystonia of the LNS to varying degrees. All the included cases achieved partial or complete control of self-injurious behavior (SIB). Overall, DBS is a promising treatment for both motor and behavior disorders of LNS patients, but the results reported thus far have varied widely, especially for motor outcomes. The ultimate clinical benefits in LNS patients were still unpredictable. DBS-related complications were rather common, which raised questions about the safety of the procedure in LNS. More research is needed to further clarify the safety and effectiveness of this treatment.

Congenital anomalies-associated Riga-Fede disease as an early manifestation of Lesch-Nyhan syndrome: rare entities in the same pediatric patient-a case report.

BACKGROUND: Riga-Fede disease is a rare begnin disorder of the oral tissues, it can be associated with congenital anomalies and neurological disturbances. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is a rare X-linked recessive disorder characterized by neurological and behavioral manifestations. A patient can rarely be diagnosed with both diseases in a lifetime. Therefore, reporting manifestations from such disorders is important to avoid misdiagnosis and help in timely intervention. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report presents an 8-months-old male infant with traumatic oral ulcers from deciduous teeth. A diagnosis of Riga-Fede disease was made. Teeth grinding was performed and the oral lesions were healed. At the age of 2.5 years, the patient presented with neurological manifestations as well as facial tissue and premature teeth loss from self mutilation. Genetic sequencing revealed a variant of uncertain significance in the Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase 1 gene. He was diagnosed with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. Cleft palate, ventricular septal defect, congenitally undescended testis and ectopic left iliac kidney were also reported. The patient was scheduled on psychiatric treatment and after about six months of follow-up, both the behavioral and neurological symptoms were improved. CONCLUSIONS: Riga-Fede disease can be an early manifestation of Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case with the incidence of all the mentioned entities in one pediatric patient.

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome due to a splice-site mutation in a 14-month-old boy presenting as acute renal failure.

Lesch-Nyhan disease (LND) is a rare X-linked recessive inherited disorder caused by mutations in HPRT1 gene resulting in deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). LND is characterized by hyperuricemia and a spectrum of neurological and behavioral manifestations. We describe a rare case of a 14-month-old boy presenting with acute renal failure and hyperuricemia. The patient exhibited all features of LNS apart from self-injurious behavior. The enzymatic analysis demonstrated total inactivity of the HPRT, and the molecular analysis revealed a splice-site mutation in intron 3 leading to exon 4 exclusion. This splice-site mutation has been previously reported only twice.

CT, US and MRI of xanthine urinary stones: in-vitro and in-vivo analyses.

BACKGROUND: Xanthine urinary stones are a rare entity that may occur in patients with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome receiving allopurinol. There is little literature describing imaging characteristics of these stones, and the most appropriate approach to imaging these stones is therefore unclear. We performed in-vitro and in-vivo analyses of xanthine stones using computed tomography (CT) at different energy levels, ultrasound (US), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: Five pure xanthine stones from a child with Lesch-Nyhan were imaged in-vitro and in-vivo. CT of the stones was performed at 80 kVp, 100 kVp, 120 kVp and 140 kVp and CT numbers of the stones were recorded in Hounsfield units (HU). US of the stones was performed and echogenicity, acoustic shadowing and twinkle artifact were assessed. MRI of the stones was performed and included T2-weighted, ultrashort echo-time-weighted and T2/T1-weighted 3D bFFE sequences and signal was assessed. RESULTS: In-vitro analysis on CT demonstrated that xanthine stones were radiodense and the average attenuation coefficient did not differ with varying kVp, measuring 331.0 ± 51.7 HU at 80 kVp, 321.4 ± 63.4 HU at 100 kVp, 329.7 ± 54.2 HU at 120 kVp and 328.4 ± 61.1 HU at 140 kVp. In-vivo analysis on CT resulted in an average attenuation of 354 ± 35 HU. On US, xanthine stones where echogenic with acoustic shadowing and twinkle artifact. On MRI, stones lacked signal on all tested sequences. CONCLUSION: Xanthine stone analyses, both in-vitro and in-vivo, demonstrate imaging characteristics typical of most urinary stones: dense on CT, echogenic on US, and lacking signal on MRI. Therefore, the approach to imaging xanthine stones should be comparable to that of other urinary stones.

Hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT)-deficiency is associated with impaired fertility in the female rat.

The purine hypoxanthine plays important role in regulating oocyte maturation and early embryonic development. The enzyme hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) recycles hypoxanthine to generate substrates for nucleotide synthesis and key metabolites, and here we show that HPRT deficiency in the rat disrupts early embryonic development and causes infertility in females.

Late diagnosis of Lesch-Nyhan disease complicated with end-stage renal disease and tophi burst: a case report.

Background: Lesch-Nyhan disease (LND) is a rare X-linked recessive inborn error of purine metabolism. Late diagnosis of LND may cause significant morbidity. LND cases have never been reported in Indonesia.Case report: A 15-year-old male who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy was referred to our hospital due to renal failure requiring emergency dialysis. The patient presented with three classic manifestations of LND: increased uric acid levels, neurological disorders, and self-injurious behaviors. LND was suspected because of an abscess-like lump on the left ankle that was confirmed to be a tophus, which had burst and discharged thick masses containing blood, debris, and white crystal materials. The diagnosis of LND was confirmed by the presence of a deletion to exon 1 of the HPRT1 gene. The patient received oral allopurinol daily and treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which included regular dialysis and subcutaneous administration of erythropoietin. At a 2-month follow-up, he improved clinically with a 71% decrease in uric acid levels after regular dialysis and allopurinol treatment.Conclusion: In developed countries, LND can be diagnosed as early as 3 days after birth. However, diagnosis in the present case was delayed due to the rarity of the disease and the limited number of facilities in Indonesia that offer genetic counseling. Late diagnosis of LND leads to ESRD and irreversible abnormalities. This is the first case of LND presenting with a unique clinical presentation of tophus burst reported in Indonesia.

Animal Models of Self-Injurious Behavior: An Update.

Although self-injurious behavior is a common comorbid behavior problem among individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, little is known about its etiology and underlying neurobiology. Interestingly, it shows up in various forms across patient groups with distinct genetic errors and diagnostic categories. This suggests that there may be shared neuropathology that confers vulnerability in these disparate groups. Convergent evidence from clinical pharmacotherapy, brain imaging studies, postmortem neurochemical analyses, and animal models indicates that dopaminergic insufficiency is a key contributing factor. This chapter provides an overview of studies in which animal models have been used to investigate the biochemical basis of self-injury and highlights the convergence in findings between these models and expression of self-injury in humans.

Clinical, biochemical and genetic characteristics of a cohort of 101 French and Italian patients with HPRT deficiency.

BACKGROUND: HPRT deficiency is a rare disorder of purine metabolism whose natural history is not fully understood. No optimal management recommendations exist. The objective of the present study is to characterize a large cohort of patients with HPRT deficiency, comparing Lesch-Nyhan Disease (LND) and its attenuated variants, with the purpose of helping clinicians in disease management and prognostic definition. METHODS: Genetic and clinical features of French and Italian patients with a confirmed diagnosis of HPRT deficiency were collected. RESULTS: A hundred and one patients were studied, including 66 LND, 22 HND (HPRT-related Neurological Dysfunction) and 13 HRH (HPRT-Related Hyperuricemia) patients. The clinical manifestations at onset were not specific, but associated with an orange coloration of diapers in 22% of patients. The overall neurological involvement was more severe in LND than in HND patients. Behavioural disturbances were not limited to self-injuries and were not exclusive of LND. Median age of involuntary movements and self-injuries appearance in LND was 1.0 and 3 years, respectively. Renal manifestations (66.3% of patients) occurred at any age with a median onset age of 1.1 years, while gout (25.7% of patients) appeared later in disease course (median onset age 18 years) and was more frequent in attenuated variants than in LND. HPRT activity and genotype showed a significant correlation with the severity of the neurological disease. On the contrary, there were no significant differences in the development of nephropathy or gout. For the treatment of neurological aspects, botulinum toxin injections, oral or intrathecal baclofen and gabapentin were partially efficacious and well tolerated, while deep brain stimulation was associated to a worsening of patients' condition. CONCLUSIONS: The present study improves the knowledge of the natural history of HPRT deficiency and could represent a starting point for the development of future management guidelines.

Xanthine calculi in a patient with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and factor V Leiden treated with allopurinol: case report.

BACKGROUND: Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is a rare inborn error of purine metabolism marked by a complete deficiency of the enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). Inherited as an X-linked recessive genetic disorder that primarily affects males, patients with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome exhibit severe neurological impairments, including choreoathetosis, ballismus, cognitive dysfunction, and self-injurious behavior. Uric acid levels are usually abnormally high, leading to kidney and bladder stones which often necessitate urological intervention. Factor V Leiden is an autosomal dominant disorder of blood clotting associated with hypercoagulability, thrombophilia, and renal disease. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the first reported case of xanthine calculi in a patient with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and Factor V Leiden who was treated with allopurinol. A renal ultrasound and CT scan demonstrated bilateral staghorn calculi in the kidneys as well as nephrocalcinosis. Two years earlier the patient underwent cystoscopy with bilateral ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy, and he was stone free afterwards. The patient subsequently underwent bilateral percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and was stone free following the procedure. Patients with endogenous overproduction of uric acid who are being treated with allopurinol have a higher chance of developing xanthine stones. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatricians treating these children should be aware of these rare conditions and promptly manage the potential complications that may require medical or surgical intervention.

Altered gastrointestinal motility in an animal model of Lesch-Nyhan disease.

Mutations in the HGPRT1 gene, which encodes hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGprt), housekeeping enzyme responsible for recycling purines, lead to Lesch-Nyhan disease (LND). Clinical expression of LND indicates that HGprt deficiency has adverse effects on gastrointestinal motility. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate intestinal motility in HGprt knockout mice (HGprt¯). Spontaneous and neurally evoked mechanical activity was recorded in vitro as changes in isometric tension in circular muscle strips of distal colon. HGprt¯ tissues showed a lower in amplitude spontaneous activity and atropine-sensitivity neural contraction compared to control mice. The responses to carbachol and to high KCl were reduced, demonstrating a widespread impairment of contractility. L-NAME was not able in the HGprt¯ tissues to restore the large amplitude contractile activity typical of control. In HGprt¯ colon, a reduced expression of dopaminergic D1 receptor was observed together with the loss of its tonic inhibitory activity present in control-mice. The analysis of inflammatory and oxidative stress in colonic tissue of HGprt¯ mice revealed a significant increase of lipid peroxidation associated with over production of oxygen free radicals. In conclusion, HGprt deficiency in mice is associated with a decrease in colon contractility, not dependent upon reduction of acetylcholine release from the myenteric plexus or hyperactivity of inhibitory signalling. By contrast the increased levels of oxidative stress could partially explain the reduced colon motility in HGprt¯ mice. Colonic dysmotility observed in HGprt¯ mice may mimic the gastrointestinal dysfunctions symptoms of human syndrome, providing a useful animal model to elucidate the pathophysiology of this problem in the LND.

Treatment of self-injurious behaviors in Lesch-Nyhan syndrome with S-adenosylmethionine.

An 11-year-old boy with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS) had persistently injured himself by biting his lips and buccal mucosa since infancy. Risperidone was only partially effective in suppressing this behavior. Oral administration of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), involving increasing the dose from 400 mg to 1 g, resulted in the amelioration of self-injurious behavior and anxiety as well as marked improvement in his self-esteem, performance at school, and friendships. No adverse effects were noted. SAMe may have a favorable effect on symptoms of LNS by activating monoaminergic pathways and/or increasing the adenosine pool in the salvage pathway of guanosine monophosphate synthesis. Defects in these pathways have been essentially implicated in the neurological pathophysiology of LNS.

Acute renal failure unmasking Lesch-Nyhan disease in a patient with tuberous sclerosis complex.

CASE REPORT: We report on a male patient with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), which was prenatally diagnosed. At the age of 3 months the patient developed acute renal failure with excessive hyperuricemia. Kidney function improved after rehydration and application of rasburicase, however without full recovery. Due to the inappropriate high levels of uric acid compared to kidney function, screening of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) related diseases was initiated. Mutation analysis revealed a deletion of exon 2 and 3 of the HPRT gene confirming the diagnosis of Lesch-Nyhan Disease (LND). After initiation of allopurinol therapy renal function further improved. In the following months the patient developed clinically a typical neurological phenotype of LND and TSC with seizures, severe dystonia and developmental delay. CONCLUSION: Acute renal failure is a rare complication of HPRT related diseases. Combination of two inherited diseases may lead to a delayed diagnosis due to a mixed and maybe misleading phenotype.

Nephrocalcinosis and Renal Failure in Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome: Report of Two Familial Cases and Review of the Literature.

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is an X-linked recessive inborn error of purine metabolism, due to deficiency of the enzyme HPRT (hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase) and underlying HPRT gene mutations (over 300 mutations identified up to date). It is characterized by a wide range of neurological symptoms and signs (mainly a combination of spastic diplegia with choreoathetosis and an overall psychomotor redardation). Herein, we report of two cousins with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and a confirmed novel HPRT gene mutation: c.65T>C, who both developed nephrocalcinosis and renal failure, findings not been previously published in children with HPRT deficiency.

Overcoming the oral aspects of -self-mutilation: description of a method.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a serious and chronic condition frequently seen in special needs populations, affecting 10% to 17% of individuals diagnosed with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. A 2.5-year-old infant with SIB, whose presenting symptoms were severe tongue and lip lacerations accompanied by much hemorrhage, is presented here to illustrate the problem and to show how this may be prevented. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An appliance is described which effectively limits the damage caused by SIB and permits rapid healing of existing injuries. RESULTS: The method provides for a stable, retentive, and comfortable device on the infant's undererupted and largely nonretentive crowns of the deciduous teeth as well as for all permanent teeth in children, adolescents, and adults. CONCLUSIONS: The appliance has been successfully employed for the past 10 years in patients with SIB who have attended for treatment in the Special Needs Clinic in our Department.

The eye and the skin in nonendocrine metabolic disorders.

As metabolism is controlled by the input of genes and the environment, metabolic disorders result from some disturbance in the interaction between genes and environmental factors. Many metabolic disorders consist in congenital enzyme deficiencies, also known as "inborn errors of metabolism," that may be disabling or cause severe illness and death and are predominantly inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion. The deposit in cells and tissues of storage substances from errors in metabolic processes may produce a wide variety of disorders affecting different organs and functions, with different degrees of severity, and often present around the time of birth or early childhood. Distinctive ocular and skin manifestations accompany many metabolic diseases and may provide clues for their diagnosis and evolution.

Treatment of motor and behavioural symptoms in three Lesch-Nyhan patients with intrathecal baclofen.

Current therapies for the Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (OMIM: 300322) are off-label and experimental, often leading to inconsistent outcomes. We here report the effects of an intrathecal baclofen therapy, carried out at the Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea (Lecco, Italy), on three patients who no longer received benefit from previous therapies. This treatment, as expected, ameliorated the motor symptoms and, unexpectedly, it also improved behavioural components. This result may involve a functional interaction between baclofen and dopamine, complemented by an anxiolytic effect. Our observations provide the rationale for the use of intrathecal baclofen administration in the therapy of the Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome.

[Partial deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase presenting seizure and psychomotor retardation: a case report].

An 18-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of convulsive seizure. He had psychomotor retardation and intellectual disability from childhood, and had been diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder when he was 12 years old. He showed mental deficit (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised: IQ 52) and tendon hyperreflexia without pathological reflexes, but no involuntary movements or self-injurious behavior. As he had hyperuricemia, we measured the activity of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) in erythrocytes. While HPRT activity had decreased to 57.4% of normal, APRT activity had increased to 140.5% of normal. Genetic analysis revealed a single-base substitution (c.179A>G) in the third exon of the HPRT gene, which resulted in a missense mutation (p.H60R) of the 60th amino acid. His mother was a heterozygous carrier of this mutation and presented partial deficiency (73.3%) of HPRT activity. Lesch-Nyhan disease is a neurogenetic disorder caused by complete deficiency of the enzyme HPRT. Variant forms of the disease caused by partial deficiency of HPRT do not show the typical clinical features, or show only mild neurological manifestations; these diseases are jointly referred to as HPRT-related neurological disease (HRND). The present case was unique in that the patient diagnosed as having HRND showed relatively higher HPRT residual activity in erythrocytes.