Experience with hyperphenylalaninemia in a developing country: unusual clinical manifestations and a novel gene mutation

J Child Neurol. 2011 Feb;26(2):142-6. doi: 10.1177/0883073810375116. Epub 2010 Sep 7.

Abstract

We report our experience in a cohort of patients with hyperphenylalaninemia in a tertiary care referral center in Lebanon. Forty-one sequential patients were studied: 34 classical phenylketonuria (PKU), 3 hyperphenylalaninemia (non-PKU), and 4 biopterin metabolism defects. The majority of cases were clinically diagnosed at variable ages with variable neurological outcomes. Only 29.3% were detected by neonatal screening. Two unusual cases were observed in the context of inadequate treatment in 1 and delayed therapy in the other: a newborn with PKU developed severe keratomalacia; and a 5-year-old girl with dihydropteridine reductase deficiency due to a novel mutation identified in the quinoid dihydropteridine reductase gene developed Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and white matter changes with periventricular cysts. Part of our experience parallels that in the West. However, the clinical manifestations observed in our patients emphasize the importance of a national newborn screening program with efficient management of diagnosed cases.

MeSH terms

  • Child, Preschool
  • Dihydropteridine Reductase / genetics*
  • Female
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Lebanon
  • Male
  • Neonatal Screening
  • Phenylketonurias / diagnosis*
  • Phenylketonurias / genetics*

Substances

  • Dihydropteridine Reductase