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[Mitochondrial respiratory chain diseases. Evaluation and variability in 52 patients]. / Enfermedades de la cadena respiratoria mitocondrial. Evaluación y variabilidad en 52 pacientes.

INTRODUCTION: Clinical, electrophysiological, genetic and biochemical deficiencies variability were evaluated in 52 patients diagnosed of mitochondrial respiratory chain diseases (MRCD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: 26 men and 26 women, aged 19 to 79 years, were tested by clinical examination, electrophysiological techniques, muscle biopsy and genetic and biochemical studies. RESULTS: The patients were classified into seven phenotypes: myopathy, chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, progressive ophthalmoplegia plus ataxia, Kearns-Sayre syndrome, mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke episodes (MELAS), myoclonic encephalopathy with ragged-red fibers (MERRF), and encephalopathies. Each phenotype may begin by different ways. The electromiography showed myopathy in 39 cases and various types of neuropathy in 10. Ragged-red COX negative fibers or widespread electron microscopic abnormalities were found in 47 cases. Simple deletions, multiple deletions and three different point mutations were observed. Deficiency of complexes I, II, III and IV were found alone or in different associations. CONCLUSIONS: MRCD shows wide variations in clinical, genetic and biochemical studies. Some patients with nonspecific manifestations, mainly of central nervous system, need careful attention and to be on account of diagnostic suspicion.

[Mitochondrial encephalomyopathies and West's syndrome: a frequently underdiagnosed association]. / Encefalomiopatías mitocondriales y síndrome de West: una asociación frecuentemente infradiagnosticada.

INTRODUCTION: West's syndrome is known to have symptomatic, cryptogenetic and idiopathic forms. Greater knowledge of the different pathologies and the development of new diagnostic techniques have allowed the list of symptomatic forms to be extended and congenital disorders of the metabolism account for a significant percentage as an aetiopathogenic factor. Yet, although it is known that mitochondrial cytopathies can trigger the development of West's syndrome, few reports exist concerning their association. AIMS: Our aim in this paper is to report on four cases of West's syndrome in which a mitochondrial cytopathy was shown to be an aetiopathogenic factor. CASE REPORTS: Two females and two males aged between 2 and 10 months, who were suffering from West's syndrome. Biochemical and neuroimaging findings suggested a possible mitochondrial cytopathy, which was later confirmed in the four cases on observing a partial deficiency of some of the complexes of the mitochondrial respiratory chain in muscles; this was found to be simple in the first three (complexes III, I and IV, respectively) and combined in the fourth (complexes I and IV). CONCLUSIONS: Infantile spasms should be considered as one of the ways mitochondrial encephalomyopathies manifest themselves. As part of the process of diagnosing West's syndrome, we recommend tests be carried out to determine the levels of lactic and pyruvic acid, carnitine and amino acids in plasma, and possibly in the cerebrospinal fluid, as well as those of amino acids and organic acids in urine. A muscular biopsy must also be carried out in patients who are strongly suspected of having a mitochondrial cytopathy, as well as the corresponding molecular genetic study.

[Oxidative phosphorylation defects with neonatal presentation: review of our caseload]. / Defectos de la fosforilación oxidativa de presentación neonatal: revisión casuística.

OBJECTIVES: To define the oxidative phosporilation deficit syndrome in the neonatal in terms of incidence and clinical, biochemical and genetic features. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We report 9 newborns diagnosed as oxidatic phosporilation deficit during the last 8 years in our hospital by means of clinical, metabolic, pathological and molecular studies, among other evaluations. The diagnosis was established based on ensymatic deficit of the respiratory chain, associated with alterations in the mtDNA in one case, and with mitochondrial ultrastructural anomalies in 5 cases. RESULTS: There was an incidence of 1/3.555 newborns and 1/832 newborns admitted in our Neonatal Unit. In four of them there were familial antecedents and polihidramnios in two. Most of them, 8 out of 9, were born at term after a normal pregnancy and delivery, with normal Apgar score and auxological examination. Symptomatology started immediately at the neonatal period as acute neurological damage in most of them. There was a severe evolution as 5 children died and 4 survived with severe damage. All of them had the classical phenotype of early severe encefalopathy, associated with dismorphic features, hypotomía, neurosensorial defects, brain dysgenesis and atrophy, anomalies in the EEG and in 5 of them there were also systemic anomalies, mainly cardiopathy. The most frequent biochemical alteration was a significative increment of the quotient lactate/piruvate. Five patients presented ultrastructural alterations of the mitochondria in thr muscle biopsy but Cox stain was not positive in any case. Three cases has a deficit of the complex IV, e of the complex I-IV, 2 of the complex I and one the complex I-III-IV. Only one patient had multiple deletions in the mtDNA. CONCLUSIONS: Oxidatic phosporilation deficit are frequent and severe diseases of prenatal onset with limited fetal effects, homogeneous clinical phenotype with frequent damage of the central nervous system and variable extraneurological alteration and inconsistent biochemical pattern. Enzymatic studies ar need for making the diagnosis in all suspected cases,

Defectos de la fosforilación oxidativa de presentación neonatal: revisión casuística / Oxidative phosphorilation defects with neonatal presentation: review of our experience

Objetivos: Definir el síndrome de déficit de la fosforilación oxidativa neonatal, en función de su incidencia, características perinatales, clínicas, bioquímicas y genéticas. Material y métodos : Se revisan los casos de 9 recién nacidos catalogados como déficit de la fosforilación oxidativa en los últimos 8 años en nuestro centro, mediante valoración clínica, metabólica, histopatológica, enzimática y molecular, además de otras evaluaciones. El diagnóstico se estableció en función del déficit enzimático de la cadena respiratoria, asociado a alteraciones del ADNmt en un caso, y en cinco a anomalías ultraestructurales mitocondriales. Resultados La incidencia fue de 1/3.555 y de 1/832 recién nacidos ingresados en nuestra unidad neonatal. Cuatro tenían antecedentes familiares positivos, y dos polihidramnios. La mayoría (8/9) fueron recién nacidos a término, de embarazo y parto normales, con Apgar y somatometría también normales. La clínica se inició en el período neonatal inmediato, como sufrimiento neurológico agudo en la mayoría. La evolución fue grave (5 fallecieron y 4 sobreviven gravemente afectados). Todos presentaban un fenotipo clínico de encefalopatía grave precoz, asociada a dismorfia, hipotonía, alteraciones neurosensoriales, atrofia y disgenesia cerebral, electroencefalograma patológico, y en 5 de ellos, además, a anomalías viscerales (principalmente cardiopatía). La alteración bioquímica más frecuente fue un aumento significativo del cociente lactato/piruvato. Cinco pacientes presentaron alteraciones ultraestructurales mitocondriales en la biopsia muscular pero la tinción de Cox no resultó claramente patológica en ningún caso. Tres tenían un déficit del complejo IV, tres de I-IV, dos del I y uno del I-III-IV. Sólo en un paciente se detectaron deleciones múltiples del ADNmt. Conclusiones Se trata de enfermedades frecuentes y graves, de comienzo prenatal con escasa repercusión fetal, fenotipo clínico homogéneo con afectación predominante del SNC y extraneurológica variable, y perfil bioquímico inconstante. El diagnóstico exige el estudio enzimático de la cadena respiratoria en todos los casos sospechosos (AU)

Rapid automated determination of adenosine deaminase and lysozyme for differentiating tuberculous and nontuberculous pleural effusions.

The catalytic concentration of pleural adenosine deaminase (ADA) and the ratio of pleural lysozyme (PL) to serum lysozyme (SL) were measured in consecutive patients (49 tuberculous and 179 nontuberculous) with two automated procedures in a Hitachi 717 analyzer. Using sensitivity and specificity curves, we established cutoff values at 33 U/L for ADA and 1.7 for the PL/SL ratio. The sensitivity of ADA activities for tuberculous effusion was 90%, specificity 85%. Combining ADA with the PL/SL ratio enhanced specificity to 99%. However, high values for ADA and lysozyme ratios are not, alone or in combination, sensitive or specific enough to replace pleural biopsy or culture of pleural fluid for the diagnosis of tuberculous empyema.