Biochem/metabolic Flashcards
Sweaty foot odor
Isovaleric acidemia
When should you consider a metabolic disorder?
- Catastrophic neonatal presentation
- Biochemical disturbances (ex: acidosis, hyperammonemia, hypoglycemia)
- Liver disease
- Neurologic features
- Myopathy/cardiomyopathy
- Signs of a storage disease (ex: hepatosplenomegaly, course facies)
How is homocystinuria different than Marfan syndrome?
Individuals with homocystinuria have stiff joints (MFS are lax), they tend to have some degree of DD/ID, and they are at risk for thrombosis (often cause of death)
Why do defects in carnitine transport resemble fatty acid oxidation defects?
Because carnitine is required to bring long chain fatty acids into the mitochondrion so that enzymes can work on the fatty acid to break off ketone bodies (which muscles need in times of fasting!)
Why is MTC oil a treatment for VLCAD deficiency?
Because MCT (medium chain triglycerides) can get into the mitochondrion and essentially bypass the need for working enzymes to break very long chains down into long chains, then to medium chains, etc… (so that muscles continue to get energy!)
What does the neonatal catastrophe look like?
Feeding problems, vomiting, lethargy, coma, seizures, rapid breathing, usually hypotonia and hyporeflexia, and may appear septic
What are the chronic problems for those who have an urea cycle disorder?
Poor feeding/anorexia, protein aversion, vomiting, may have hypotonia and/or develop delays
What are the problems for those who have an urea cycle disorder when they have a crisis event?
Metabolic acidosis, high ammonia, hypoglycemia, episodes of biochemical decompensation
What are the chronic problems for those who have an organic acidemia?
Poor feeding/anorexia, vomiting, hypotonia, develop delays/MR, may have protein aversion,
What are the problems for those who have an organic acidemia when they have a crisis event?
Vomiting, lethargy/coma, seizures, metabolic ketoacidosis, may have high ammonia, may have hypoglycemia
Zellweger Syndrome
Prenatal onset, dysmorphic, hypotonia, seizures, liver disease, death within months
Most metabolic/biochemical disorders follow which inheritance pattern?
Autosomal Recessive
exceptions - OTC, Fabry, X-lined adrenoleukodystrophy, Menkes, pyruvated dehydrogenase deficiency, Lesch Nyhan, Barth, glycerol kinase deficiency and Hunter syndromes are X-linked
acute intermittent porphyria is auto dominant
What are the six main categories of biochemical disorders?
UFOCAL
Urea Cycle, Fatty Acid Oxidation, Organic Acid, Carbohydrate, Amino Acid, Lysosomal Storage Disorders
What metabolic disorders can be detected in utero?
Pompe (enlarged heart fills the chest cavity)
Glutaric Acidemia Type II (rocker bottom feet, large cystic kidneys)
What is the “intoxication phenotype” that presents with amino acid/organic acid/urea cycle/fatty acid disorders?
lethargy, vomiting, poor feeding, seizures, encephalopathy (altered mental state), coma
Microcephaly, mental retardation, congenital heart disease, IGUR and postnatal growth retardation can be caused by high levels of what amino acid (teratogenic effect) during pregnancy?
Phenylalanine - poorly controlled PKU by mother causes maternal PKU phenotype (child does not have to have PKU to develop this phenotype)
Carbohydrate disorders often present with “energy deficiency” symptoms due to defect in carb metabolism. What are these symptoms?
lethargy, hypoglycemia, encephalopathy, liver dysfunction, myopathy, cardiomyopathy
What is the “storage phenotype” associated with lysosomal storage disorders?
coarse facial features, developmental regression, MR, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, cardiomyopathy, kidney failure, bone disease, muscle weakness
What disorder has a locker room odor?
Also only inborn error with dysmorphic features per Dr. N’s lecture– rocker bottom feet, etc…
Glutaric Acidemia type II
(Sweaty feet is isovaleric acidemia)
Add’l dysmorphic features: high forehead, hypertelorism, large cystic kidneys, GI defects, normal GU, abdominal wall muscle defects
What has a musty odor (if left untreated)?
PKU
What does MELAS stand for?
Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy Lactic Acidosis and Stroke-like episodes
What is Pearson syndrome?
Mitochondrial disease caused by deletion on mtDNA (usually sporadic); symptoms similar to Kearns-Sayre or Leigh syndrome.
Name the amino acid disorder: caused by deficit in ANY of the 6 essential BCKAD complex enzymes, elevated branch chain AA’s (leucine, isoleucine, valine), intoxication phenotype if untreated, classic infantile, intermittant, and intermediate (common among Hispanics) forms. Liver transplant an option, founder effect among Mennonites in PA.
Maple syrup urine disease– also sweet smelling urine, but that would be too easy ;)
What is a normal PHE (phenylalanine) level?
30-90 umols/L
benign hyperPHE to 600 umols/L
>600 umols/L= detrimental
>1000 umols/L=Classic PKU (severe enzyme deficiency)
Name the metabolic disorder & its treatment:
normal at birth, onset of GI problems, liver cirrhosis, and cataracts w/in weeks, energy deficient phenotype, susceptible to E.coli sepsis, premature ovarian failure, N314D variant associated with residual enzyme function 5-20%
Galactosemia! A carb disorder. Defective GALT enzyme. Compound heterozygotes w/ Duarte variant (N314D) confers 5-20% residual activity– much less severe phenotype, but may still have some symptoms.
Q188R is most common allele among N Am. Caucasians (no residual activity).
**Diet for life with galactose restriction.
What is the most common fatty acid oxidation disorder?
MCAD!
Describe MCAD’s symptoms and treatment
In times of illness and/or fasting:
hypoketotic hypoglycemia; hepatomegaly and liver disease; lethargy; seizures, coma; sudden death
Treatment: low fat diet (20-25%), emergent treatment, no fasting, carnitine
Why do fatty acid oxidation disorders typically present in times of crisis (aka illness or fasting)?
The fatty acid oxidation pathway is typically used as an ALTERNATE energy source with the body is out of glucose (fasting) or has increased energy needs (illness)
Broadly, what is a lysosomal storage disorder?
Lysosome is the cell’s trashcan; LSD’s result when an enzyme in the lysosome is nonfunctional; results in accumulation of ‘waste’ in the lysosome; results in DISTENSION of cell and DISRUPTION of other cellular functions–> storage phenotype.
What kind of disorders are Tay-Sachs, Pompe, and Fabry disease?
Lysosomal storage disorders (LSD’s)