Low mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase activity in lymphocytes of women with gestational diabetes

An abnormally low activity of mitochondrial FAD-linked glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (m-GDH), relative to the paired measurement of glutamate dehydrogenase, was found in CD3+ lymphocytes from 4 out of 14 mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus, but in none of 36 control mothers. The low m-GDH activity coincided with an abnormally high incidence of familial history for non-insulin-dependent diabetes. These findings are compatible with the view that an inherited or acquired defect of m-GDH may participate to the pathogenesis of beta-cell dysfunction in a subgroup of patients with gestational diabetes.

Neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses in Italy: an epidemiological study

To establish the incidence of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCL) in Italy, we sent a questionnaire to all Neuropediatric and Child Neuropsychiatric Departments (answer rate 15/34 = 44%). Diagnoses were accepted only when based on firm clinical and/or electron microscopic criteria. We collected 58 cases born between 1966-1991 (2 infantile NCL, 37 late infantile NCL, and 19 juvenile NCL). The incidence was calculated only on patients born between 1974-1984. In this period, the incidence of overall NCL in the Italian population was calculated to be 0.56 per 100,000 live births (0.36 for late infantile NCL, and 0.20 for juvenile NCL). Our data show that infantile NCL is very rare in Italy, and that late infantile seems to be the most frequent form of NCL.

Visual, auditory, and somatosensorial evoked potentials in early and late treated adolescents with phenylketonuria

Pattern reversal visual, auditory, and somatosensorial evoked potentials were recorded in two groups of phenylketonuric (PKU) adolescents after protracted exposition to high concentrations of phenylalanine following diet discontinuation. The first group consisted of 11 early treated (before age 3 months) PKU patients (ET-PKU); the second group consisted of 11 late detected (after age 8 months), symptomatic, PKU subjects (LT-PKU). Despite the relevant lag between the two groups in mental development and neurological status, no clear-cut difference in evoked potentials could be detected. Only the wave I latency of the brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) was significantly shorter in ET- versus LT-PKU children. The P100 latency, I-V interpeak latency (IPL), and I-III IPL seem to discriminate the less severe form of PKU (ET-PKU type 3) from the most severe forms, ET-PKU type 1 plus 2 and LT-PKU. No correlations were found between clinical, biochemical, and neurophysiological parameters. The present data suggest that evoked potentials technique is of limited sensitivity in detecting central nervous system (CNS) alterations in PKU adolescents after diet discontinuation.

Oral lichen planus and chronic liver disease: a clinical and morphometric study of the oral lesions in relation to transaminase elevation

Serum transaminase levels (serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase or serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase) were found to be altered in 40 (21.39%) of 187 patients with oral lichen planus. The patients with oral lichen planus who had altered transaminase levels were on average older than those without liver disorders and exhibited a higher percentage of erosive lesions (p < 0.05) and tongue involvement. Histologically, no statistically significant differences were noted in the extension of inflammatory infiltration or in connective tissue density; nevertheless, the latter was greater in patients without altered transaminase levels. Finally, among those patients with altered liver test results and erosive lichen planus, serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase and serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase levels were found to be higher than levels in those patients without erosions. This indicates that behavior of the oral lesions is more aggressive as the degree of liver alteration increases. We emphasize that of the 40 patients with altered transaminase levels (all later proved to reflect chronic hepatitis through complementary diagnostic methods), 28 had hepatitis C virus infection.

Late infantile ceroid-lipofuscinoses. An ultrastructural study

The aim of the present study is to investigate further the ultrastructural skin patterns in five cases of late infantile ceroid-lipofuscinosis: two of these were classic forms, the others were variants. Ultrastructural examinations of skin biopsies revealed the presence of characteristic cytosomes; typical lipofuscin, consisting of osmiophilic granular materials, curvilinear bodies, and fingerprint bodies. Different ultrastructural profiles were found simultaneously in each case, without a significant prevalence of any specific one, and were often associated with lipid droplets. These inclusions were found in several epidermal and dermal cells. A different degree of involvement of the myelinated sheaths in the five cases was observed. This difference could be genetically determined or perhaps related to different stages of the disease. The findings demonstrate the involvement of clinically unaffected skin and confirm the relevance of electron microscopic studies in diagnosing these disorders. In fact, recognition of typical ultrastructural changes is a valuable diagnostic tool that can be used in supplementing clinical and electrophysiological examinations, especially when the metabolic error is unknown and no diagnostic biochemical assay is available.

Neurological and cytogenetic study in early-onset ataxia-telangiectasia patients

The clinical diagnosis of ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is difficult before the age of 4 years. We report clinical and cytogenetic data on three early-onset, early-diagnosed AT patients at the age of 12, 18 and 22 months, respectively. Postural instability of the trunk, characterized by motor impersistence, was the earliest neurological sign detected as early as 1 year of life. Dystonic movements and postures of arms and trunk and a subtle disorder of eye movement (blinking before gaze changing, increased latency and dysmetry of saccades) were observed during the 2nd year of life. All patients exhibited an unusual temper tantrum. We also observed an increased bleomycin-induced chromosomal instability in patient's cells in the early stages of the disease before all the clinical hallmarks were apparent. Our data suggest that detection of clinical indications, leading to early laboratory confirmation of AT, can reduce the age at diagnosis.

The development of auditory and visual evoked potentials in early treated phenylketonuric children

Brain-stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) and flash visual evoked potentials (F-VEPs) were gathered from 8 early treated phenylketonuric (PKU) children in a prospective longitudinal investigation during the 1st to the 12th months after birth. No consistent differences were found in the wave morphology of evoked potentials in PKU children from that of age-matched controls. Studying the latency of some components showed that in BAEPs, wave I latency was similar to control values for the whole year, but that the I-V interpeak mean latency (I-V IPL) was always significantly longer than in controls. In F-VEPs wave N1 latency was significantly longer than in controls only at 1-2 months of age, but returned to control values at 3-4 months (when all children were on dietary therapy) and remained in this range up to the 12th month. The mean latency of the P2 wave of flash VEPs was always significantly longer in PKU children than in controls. These results show that relevant alterations in evoked potentials may be found in PKU children several months after starting dietary therapy. This suggests that information processing in the brain may be impaired for a long time, due to abnormal metabolic conditions between birth and the onset of dietary therapy.

Follow-up MR studies in Hallervorden-Spatz disease

Follow-up magnetic resonance (MR) studies of a child affected by Hallervorden-Spatz disease were performed over a period of 3 years. The hyperintense pallidi shown in the first examination changed to a mixed intensity target-like appearance. All the patterns observed in our patient have been described in the literature but in different subjects. Our data show these findings to be different manifestations of the same disease during its evolution.