RESUMO
The therapeutic management and short-term consequences of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are well known. However, COVID-19 post-acute sequelae are less known and represent a public health problem worldwide. Patients with COVID-19 who present post-acute sequelae may display immune dysregulation, a procoagulant state, and persistent microvascular endotheliopathy that could trigger microvascular thrombosis. These elements have also been implicated in the physiopathology of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a frequent sequela in post-COVID-19 patients. These mechanisms, directly associated with post-acute sequelae, might determine the thrombotic consequences of COVID-19 and the need for early anticoagulation therapy. In this context, heparin has several potential benefits, including immunomodulatory, anticoagulant, antiviral, pro-endothelial, and vascular effects, that could be helpful in the treatment of COVID-19 post-acute sequelae. In this article, we review the evidence surrounding the post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 and the potential benefits of the use of heparin, with a special focus on the treatment of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
RESUMO
Sialidosis is a rare lysosomal storage disease caused by an α-N-acetyl neuraminidase-1 deficiency due to mutations of the NEU1 gene (6p21). Disease severity varies among patients and is linked to the level of residual neuraminidase activity in vivo. At least 40 disease-causing mutations in the NEU1 gene have been reported. Sialidosis occurs in two main clinical variants: type I, the milder form of the disease, and type II, which is subdivided into congenital, infantile, and juvenile forms. We report the clinical, biochemical, and molecular characterization of a patient with infantile sialidosis type II. The abnormal urinary oligosaccharide profile is described for the first time. The genetic characterization of the patient showed two previously unreported missense mutations in the NEU1 gene: p.R78C (c.232C>T) and p.R290Q (c.869G>A).