Hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia as a presenting sign in phosphomannose isomerase deficiency: A new manifestation of carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome treatable with mannose.

We report the case of a patient with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type Ib who developed normally until 3 months of age, when she was referred to the hospital for evaluation of hypoglycemia that was found to be related to hyperinsulinism. She also had vomiting episodes, hepatomegaly, and intractable diarrhea, which evoked the diagnosis of carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome. Oral mannose treatment at a dose of 0.17 g/kg body weight 6 times/d was followed by a clinical improvement and normalization of blood glucose, aminotransferases, and coagulation factor levels. Hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia should be considered as a leading sign of carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type Ib, especially when it is associated with enteropathy and abnormal liver tests.     

Severe abdominal pain as a presenting symptom of probable catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome

Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) in pediatric medicine is rare. We report 3 adolescents who presented with acute onset of severe abdominal pain as the first manifestation of probable catastrophic APS. The 3 patients, 2 male patients and 1 female patient were 14 to 18 years old. One had been diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus in the past, but the other 2 had no previous relevant medical history. All presented with excruciating abdominal pain without additional symptoms. Physical examination was noncontributory. Laboratory results were remarkable for high inflammatory markers. Abdominal ultrasonography was normal, and abdominal computed tomography scan showed nonspecific findings of liver infiltration. Only computed tomography angiography revealed evidence of extensive multiorgan thrombosis. All patients had elevated titers of antiphospholipid antibodies. The patients were treated with full heparinization, high-dose steroids, and intravenous immunoglobulin with a resolution of symptoms. One patient was resistant to the treatment and was treated with rituximab. In conclusion, severe acute abdominal pain can be the first manifestation of a thromboembolic event owing to catastrophic APS even in previously healthy adolescents. Diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion with prompt evaluation and treatment to prevent severe morbidity and mortality.     

Cushing syndrome as a presenting symptom of renal tumors in children

Cushing syndrome as the presenting symptom of a malignant renal tumor in children is rare. We report the first case of paraneoplastic Cushing syndrome due to a Wilms tumor, in which clinical and biological signs of hypercortisolism regressed during preoperative chemotherapy. Additionally, we reviewed the literature on paraneoplastic Cushing syndrome secondary to pediatric renal tumors. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;53:211–213. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Continuous mannose infusion in carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type I

The effects on isoelectrofocusing patterns of serum glycoproteins were studied in a patient with CDG syndrome type I and phosphomannomutase deficiency during 3 weeks of continuous intravenous mannose infusion. Doses of 5. 7 g/kg/day led to stable serum mannose levels up to 2. 0 mmol/1 and were well tolerated without signs of liver or renal toxicity. While most of the pathological glycoprotein patterns, including α₁-antitrypsin, typical for CDG syndrome type I remained unchanged, mannose infusion led to a unique change of the isoelectrofocusing pattern of serum sialotransferrins with appearance of two extra bands after 3 weeks of treatment.     

Tall stature as presenting symptom in a girl with triple X syndrome

An 11 year-old girl presented with 47,XXX karyotype. Our report emphasizes the fact that triple X syndrome has also to be considered in girls presenting with tall stature that is not explained by parental heights.     

Gonadal function and glycoprotein hormones in the carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein (CDG) syndrome

Six females and six males with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein (CDG) syndrome type I, aged 4 months to 43 years, were examined for gonadal function and electrophoretic isoform patterns of four glycoprotein hormones: FSH, LH, TSH and erythropoietin. The female patients had a hypergonado-trophic hypogonadism from an early age without detectable ovaries in three cases. In the males, testosterone levels tended to be low with normal or slightly raised gonadotrophin values. None of the four glycoprotein hormone showed any signs of carbohydrate deficiency of the same type as in many liver-synthesized circulating glycoproteins. It is concluded that females with CDG syndrome type I have primary ovarian failure, and that the syndrome does not affect the terminal charged carbohydrate portion in gonadotrophins, TSH or erythropoietin. The characteristic carbohydrate deficiency in some circulating glycoproteins is thus not a generalized feature in this disease.     

Persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia presenting with a rare complication: West syndrome

BACKGROUND: Persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (PHHI) is characterized by disproportional secretion of insulin from pancreatic beta-cells. Although one of the manifestations of hypoglycemia is West syndrome, it is rarely reported in PHHI. PATIENT REPORT: A 6 month-old girl who was followed up with the diagnosis of PHHI was admitted to hospital with the complaint of jerky movements at her extremities. EEG revealed the typical pattern of hypsarrhythmia leading to the diagnosis of West syndrome. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, there is only one report in the literature of West syndrome as a manifestation of PHHI, and that was the hyperammoniemic form of the disease. The present report is the first of normoammoniemic PHHI leading to West syndrome. We wish to highlight the potential risks of PHHI, especially in inadequately treated patients, and to emphasize that close neurological follow-up is very important in children who suffer from PHHI.     

Lethargy as a presenting symptom in patients with intussusception

The author's experience with lethargy in pediatric patients with intussusception was reviewed retrospectively over a 10-year period and proved to be a symptom elicited on admission in half of the patients. The results indicate that lethargy is an important symptom in patients with intussusception when occurring in association with vomiting, melena, or a palpable abdominal mass, or all three.     

Diabetes insipidus as a presenting symptom of acute myelogenous leukemia

This report describes a case of diabetes insipidus associated with acute myelogenous leukemia. An 11-year-old boy presented with fatigue, polydipsia and polyuria. His evaluation revealed a diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukemia FAB-M2, and a water deprivation test confirmed the diagnosis of central diabetes insipidus. His brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a thickened, enhancing pituitary stalk with absence of the normal hyperintense signal in the posterior pituitary. He was treated with systemic chemotherapy, intensive intrathecal therapy, and 1,000 cGy to the pituitary. The patient achieved a remission but continued to need desmopressin therapy to control his diabetes insipidus. Diabetes insipidus is a rare complication of acute myelogenous leukemia that can be caused by leukemic infiltration of the pituitary. The diabetes insipidus is irreversible despite intensive systemic and central nervous system chemotherapy and radiation.     

Failure of short-term mannose therapy of patients with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type 1A

Carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type 1A (CDGS1A) is an inherited disorder with multi-systemic abnormalities resulting from failure to generate sufficient lipid-linked oligosaccharide precursor or to transfer the sugar chain to many glycoproteins. Cultured fibroblasts from these patients have reduced incorporation of mannose into glycoproteins which can be corrected by adding D -mannose to the culture medium. Providing dietary mannose to elevate mannose concentrations in vivo therefore might remedy some of the underglycosylation in the patients. Five children with CDGS1A aged 15 months to 14 y completed a protocol of enteral supplementation with D -mannose 100 mg/kg every 3 h for 9 d. The mean S-mannose level increased from 32 μM (range 22-42 μM) to a trough value of 72 μM (range 39–103 μM). No serious side effects were observed. Surprisingly, the mean serum concentration of four glycoproteins (transferrin, α1-antitrypsin, antithrombin, and thyroxine-binding globulin) tended to decrease, and the mean serum concentration of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) increased. Furthermore, the initially present abnormal isoforms of these glycoproteins and of protein C became more prominent and/or additional abnormal isoforms appeared. This short-term trial does not support a benefit of mannose to the deficient glycosylation of CDGS1A patients.     

Budd-Chiari syndrome as presenting symptom of hepatic sarcoidosis in a child, with recurrence after liver transplantation

A seven-yr-old boy presented with a severe Budd-Chiari syndrome, complicated by recurrent thrombosis of several successive TIPSs. Because of liver failure secondary to venous outflow tract obstruction and deterioration of his general condition, an emergency liver transplantation was performed. Steroids were discontinued three months after transplantation, and maintenance immunosuppressive therapy consisted of tacrolimus and azathioprine. Seven years later, this patient presented symptoms of recurrence of venous outflow obstruction in the transplant liver, comparable to the initial event. Histopathology of the liver revealed diffuse granulomatous inflammation with confluent non-caseating granulomas compressing the centrolobular veins. Extensive investigations excluded infections, immune deficiency, and systemic vasculitides. After treatment with a high dose of corticosteroids, the granulomas in the allograft disappeared completely. We report the first case of hepatic sarcoidosis, presenting with venous outflow obstruction and recurring after liver transplantation, in a child.     

Acetoacetyl CoA thiolase deficiency presenting as ketotic hypoglycemia

We report two children who presented with hypoglycemia and metabolic acidosis in whom acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase (EC 2.3.1.9) measured in fibroblast homogenates was deficient. Deficiency of this enzyme is normally associated with urinary excretion of 2-methylacetoacetate and in one child the urinary excretion of 2-methylacetoacetate, 2-methyl-3-hydroxybutyrate, and tiglylglycine was raised. By contrast, in the other child, the urinary excretion of these metabolites was very low even during ketoacidosis and following an isoleucine load. We suggest that this could be due to deficiency of the extrahepatic isoenzyme, a defect that may be responsible for some of the cases of "ketotic hypoglycemia."     

Localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of cerebral abnormalities in children with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome

Morphologic and metabolic abnormalities in six children aged 2-9 years with carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein (CDG) syndrome were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). In all patients, MRI revealed pronounced cerebellar atrophy. Follow-up examinations in two patients suggested early onset and rapid progression in the first years of life. Further pathologies comprised Dandy-Walker malformation, atrophy of the pons, brain stem and olives, supratentorial frontotemporal cortical atrophy, slightly dilated ventricles and a small corpus callosum. Two patients presented with small cysts in the white matter. The prominent metabolic abnormality detected by proton MRS in five patients was a reduction in N-acetylaspartate in white matter by more than 20%, indicating loss of vital neuroaxonal tissue. Further findings in white matter were glutamine and 7-aminobutyrate increases by a factor of 2. One patient with type III CDG syndrome showed the most severe alterations of metabolite concentrations. CDG syndrome, cerebellar atrophy, magnetic resonance imaging, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy